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Thanks! There are different text tools, some of which use anti-aliasing and some of which just use pure pixels. The latter is alright, the former is not. Using software to draw shapes like circles and triangles is not a problem, as long as it draws them with pure pixels. By pure pixels, I mean a single colour. It's NPA when the software uses a multitude of colours to make a line or shape look smoother.
The canvas size depends on what you style is, but generally new artists are encouraged to start small, because as you get feedback you'll probably want to fix certain parts again and again. I've not really thought about it, but maybe nothing bigger than 25,000 pixels is a nice rule of thumb. Which means something like 160x160, 220x110 or 250x100 pixels. You could start bigger, but as a new artist, I think you learn more from doing many smaller pieces than spending two months on a 640x480 piece. Easier to stay motivated with smaller pieces.
I made the mistake of starting this huge "landscape" piece too soon, before I even knew any of the basics. Eventually, I just gave up, even though the clouds clearly look odd and unrealistic. They look like purple popcorn.
So even if I use shapes and text tools it's NPA? I see.. I'll probably redo the sky and reupload at some point. I was looking into some of your work, you're very talented. Can you give me a tip on what sort of canvas size you use when creating a landscape piece (if you have a consistent approach)?
I will read up on that tutorial, thanks for the information :)
NPA is a bit hard to define, but it basically means that you've used some sort of software tool that takes away from the whole point of pixel art, which is manual control of pixels to create good art. If you use software to make the edges of a curve softer, it's NPA. If you use software to create a beautiful gradient sunset, with 200 different colours between orange and purple, it's NPA.
Check out this tutorial to learn more about pixel art.
I did this work myself.. Sorry that I'm new to this, I'm trying to replicate other artists styles so I can learn to place my own. the only thing I even copied from superbrothers was the bushes, I don't remember them owning the style of gradient skies and that colour palet. I don't think it's neceassy to disregard it as "just a copy".
Also, could you explain what NPA means? I'm assuming it's an issue with using gradients?
There was no sarcasm, nor was I degrading it.
Those are all facts, which in no way say anything negative about your work.
Welcome to PJ! It would be better if you just kept the character and got rid of the background, which 1) contains non-pixel art (NPA) and 2) is just a copy of Superbrothers anyway 
I see. Well the whole essence of pixel art makes a lot more sense to me now.
Ahh yeah that sounds about right. I was thinking about doing some of the weekly challenges are i've been looking through and they do seem to help in areas like smaller pieces and colour restrictions. Though other people's work are so good it would almost be embaressing to upload anything..
That actually looks so good especially seeing as it is one of your first pieces. sure the clouds are unrealistic and too dense, but in a way I feel it adds to the fantical effect :D