Since many people ask for advice and there are tons of tutorials out there. I just decided to share this link to my #1 tutorial that i have used to learn pixel art. I give this link to EVERYONE that asks.
http://www.natomic.com/hosted/marks/mpat/
Look in the general skills section for all you need to know about pixel art.
the tutorials are short and sweet. I hope it helps other people wanting to learn the fading art of pixeling. If you need more examples or insperation for pixel art i recommend studdying the art from the
Gods of pixels who created the Metal slugs images. (my pixel idols)
practice makes perfect or closer to it anyway.