I don't know where to put this, but most people will use this tutorial for their fan-games, so I think it fits best here.
As stated, this is a multi-part tutorial, with more chapters added over time: The first lesson will be the basics of spriting, with tips and general guidelines.
Lesson #1: Learning the Basics
1.1 Getting your tools
1.1.1 Image editing Program
You will need a program to edit and make sprites. Below are a few of them, with good and bad points. All of these programs are fr