New to Pixel Art. Tips?

[Ethyron]

Hey everyone! I've done some pixel art and practiced a bit. Im probably of an average beginner level atm. I aspire to create original and interesting sprites along with amazing environments to go with them but would like to just focus on learning how to make great sprites. I keep a composition graph notebook with me everywhere I go to practice whenever I got free time. Anywho I was wondering what I should practice or where I should start when it comes to having NO experience with making sprites. All help is appreciated. Keep in mind I have no experience with sprites.

A note about the kind of art I like. I really admire how the Final Fantasy sprites look so amazing yet they are made with such little space. (the 16x24 sprites for FF4-FF8). I pretty much admire anything from Final Fantasy 4 to 8 hah xD

Welp I hope I can find some guidance here. Thanks to anyone who helps!

[MysteryMeat]

Two things: start with non-pixel art first, then move in to pixels. Don't make my mistake! The Andrew Loomis guides are a great primer and should have you up to speed fairly fast as you move through them.

As for various tips and tricks for pixelart, there's a pretty comprehensive list of info and tidbits here: http://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=19594.0

[Cherno]

I think it's important to learn a few basic things, either my experimenting or by looking at other people's art. Two of these thigns are shading (with a fixed light source; start with a simple box with beveled edges) and dithering.