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>amateur pixel art
disgust.
1) start with clean line art
2) lines that are not clean can be cleaned with anti-aliasing (do this MANUALLY)
3) color and block
4) apply border shadows (give more shape to blocks, and apply anti-aliasing against borders where removing the border would not be acceptable
5) apply shading and highlights
6) dither, or/and apply mid tones
don't forget to study art. color choice is incredibly important when working pixel by pixel with limited palette. pretty much any artistic skill translates.