What do you need to know for pixel art?

[Sabata]

I have a question of what exactly you need to know to make good pixel art?
When I first started my sprite I didn’t even knew how to make outlines, not speaking about shading…
So by this time I have good outline skills (At least I consider so ) the main problem now is color choice and shading, sometimes you just don’t know where to make the “shiny” part. Trying to resolve this I spent hours reading Color Theory, Color Wheel and other articles from artists…
The real question what exactly you consider very important to know for making pixel art?

[bengo]

http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=3467.0
Does anybody even know this thread exists? Seriously, we have like 2-3 people start a 'I wanna learn pixel art' thread every month, anyway the link above has everything you need.

[AdamAtomic]

the most important thing to know for making pixel art is how to make art.  there is very little about good pixel art that is specific to that particular art form.  For example, solving this problem:

sometimes you just don’t know where to make the “shiny” part

...has nothing to do with pixel art, and everything to do with the fundamentals of artistic expression.  So by all means, do check out our tutorials thread, but it sounds like a good place to start for you is the general art tutorials, not the pixel-specific stuff.

[griffy6]

I, for one, checked out every single tutorial that thread (and the internet) has to offer. This was the result.



 

EDIT: Alright, that came out wrong..I didn't mean any offense to the tutorials here, they're fine. All I meant to say was that no amount of tutorials, good or bad, are going to make you a genuinely good pixel artist instantly. It takes time -- a LOT of time -- to get the hang of things. Hell, I looked at every tutorial out there, made pixel art, got critiques, made some more, got critiques, searched the web for MORE tutorials, made another piece, got more critiques... and I still have a loooooooooong way to go.