RPG Sprite Making - Advice

I really dislike the modern look of RPG sprites. They all have a blended look of cartoon and cutsie. A double-sized head with gigantic pie-sliced eyes and crazy stupid weird colored hair. I really can't stand it. I could go on for hours about how I dislike them. Suffice to say I'm seeking alternatives.

Anyone know of any artists that make and sell a different look? I don't mind dropping a few bucks for art if it's worthwhile. Its very frustrating that everything I find has gigantic heads with more @$#%^ eyes. It doesn't need to be lifelike but I would want it to be better proportioned.

Anyone know of any good software for making the animated spreadsheets yourself via posing a 3D model? I tried Easy Pose last month with low success, though it was my first attempt and arguably there's a learning curve here. There is a disconnect between the style of the clothed sprite and the style of my other tiles (world, furniture, etc) so I must redo them. I'm considering using them as a base underlay to create my own from scratch. It's going to be a butt-load of work and am unsure how it will turn out. Would hate to do all that with low success only to find out later there is a better way.

Also monsters/enemies would be something additional, though I don't mind the RPGMaker enemies anywhere near as much as the horridly awful actor/character sprites. I would not like to see a huge difference in style between monsters and characters.

As for my specifics, I'm kind of looking to end up with a 96x192 top down rpg sprite with idle and animated walking. Side view battle would be nice but not necessary. Other animations are a bonus but can live without. I intend to strive towards a a base model character that I can swap out layers on to create numerous permutations of featured characters.

I'm using the RPG Maker Unite engine which is similar to other RPGMaker products in their design style for the sprites. I can do a fair amount of pixel art myself so even like a base model body that I can expound upon would be something to consider. My base tile size is 96x96.

As a note, I am also a 3D cadd designer by trade. Working in Blender or other cadd software isn't too much of a problem for me, though I run AutoCAD and Inventor mostly and am still largely new to Blender. I often know what I want to do, but have to research how I get the software to comply. As such, I am usually just exporting out of AutoCAD to an intermediary format and importing that into Blender. I do all my own touch ups in paint dotnet, and am pretty proficient with it as well.

Just looking for recommendations from someone who may have been there before. I'm no worse off if I get no replies. It's also notable to mention that I'm just a hobbyist doing this for fun. I certainly lack a lot of knowledge that a true video game designer would have. I can use tips if you've been there and got em.