Hm- for Pixel Art there's a lot to take into consideration. I'd say starting off, definitely work small- especially if you plan to animate- and look at classic 2D games for reference (you'd be surprised on what little cheats/tricks you can pull off with a limited canvas and palette), and check talented spriters and their tutorials such as
RHLPixels' work and take notes from groups submissions such as
NextGenSpriters. Some really good examples to learn from there!
Just keep messing around with it and you'll get it naturally ^^ From someone with your artistic skill, you'll pick it up in no time!