#dayna answer

pixel art is art, and any drawing experience is good experience! so if you’re comfortable with pencils and paper over a tablet or a mouse, then practice away. though you will have to go digital eventually. but that’s ok! just draw as much as you can, and as many different things as you can.

now let’s talk software. I personally use photoshop CS4 and set my brush and eraser to the pencil settings. but ps is expensive as hell. 

a good alternative is GraphicsGale. it’s a program especially meant for pixel art and animation and has a really good FREE demo. and if you like the program the full version is only $20 USD. It’s great, I use it to make sprite sheets.

MS paint is also a good place to start in terms of cost and accessibility, but the tools are very limited and no layers. booooooo~

now let’s talk hardware! the nice thing is that you don’t really need anything fancy for pixel art. I have a intuos pro medium artist tablet from wacom, but any old tablet will do. you don’t need good pressure sensitivity for pixel art. 

hell, you could even use a mouse! Miguel Sternberg, my mentor and the guy behind They Bleed Pixels as well as many other beautiful pixel games, uses a mouse. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him use a tablet.

finally, let’s talk about some tips to keep in mind when doin’ the pixel do.- isometric perspective is your friend. learn it.- remember to build a colour palette that is dynamic. and as few colours as possible maybe? I like to keep the number low, but it really depends on the look/bit size and personal preference.- participate in things like pixel dailies. it’s a great way to meet other pixel artists, as well as see how other approach a simmilar theme and learn all kinds of neat tricks.-study other pixel art! nothing helps more than looking at other art and figuring out what worked and what didn’t. here’s a list of games in no particular order with wicked-good art:

super mario bros. 3

kirby’s adventure

street fighter alpha 2

secret of mana

super mario world 2: yoshi’s island

sonic the hedgehog

phantasy star IV

golden sun

castlevania: symphony of the night

disgaea: hour of darkness

omg, you made it to the end. yay! finally, here’s some really good tutorials you should check out:

so you want to be a pixel artist?pixel art tutorialstep by step making of pixel animation