Here are the steps I take when creating #pixelart in Windows Paint.
The goal is to make FAST story panels(very limited time for development left) and they need to be simple and atmospheric.
I used a minimal color palette to keep the theme strong, later I also added some blur effects on some of them.
Preview:
And OFC parallax effect for maximum depth.
Also, some of them have some basic animation, and others have unique gimmicks like this one:
I am planning to use them as the intro for scenarios.