Jamuk's Sprite Thread

[Jamuk]

Hello again tSR, long time no post.

So I've been working on a load of top-down Zelda-inspired stuff recently, looking for some constructive criticism on them and I'd be interested to hear any thoughts.
Mainly I'm thinking the player looks a bit odd from the side, but also I'm having some trouble time-wise; this style takes a long time to do, so if anyone has any tips to speed up work, I'd be grateful.

Player:




Sword swing (to be overlaid onto player):


Items:


Effects:


Tiles:




Mockups: