I'm a programmer who has dabbled in video game programming here and there for a few years, but I've never gotten anywhere because I'm...well, I'm not really all that artistic, and so I lack content. Anyway, I've decided to bite the bullet and start trying my hand at it...otherwise, I'll never improve. :) That said, here's my first attempt at a sprite. I'd welcome any comments or critiques.

Not bad! I like your colour choice, but I would suggest that you make the colour of the pants darker so it doesn't look so similar to the skin.

You don't have to have a black outline for everything. Try to imagine better color choices for your shading.