Starting with C is a great idea. You'll be independant. But you can also look into any other of these topics, if you like (Not all of them at once, of course! Pick one only):
- Music, either recording from an instrument you play or using a tracker.
- Pixelart, many of the sprites and textures on Saturn all still closer to pixelart than textures in later consoles.
- 3d Modeling (and later on texturing, rigging, animating etc.).
- Scouring the internet for royalty free resources other people made (and are ideally redistributable, so one could make a community library).
Artists seem still quite rare in our community. I do 3d modeling and scouring the internet. I don't bother with pixelart or making music and I'm still new to coding.
Disagree with there not being many artists. Just watch the showcase. Plus everyone is an artist with untapped potential... it is no different than coding. Oh and to achieve a decent art quality is easy and has rules just like math and coding.
I was able to create this tree after watching my first tutorial on pixel art... it is really about following rules and guid lines. No one would describe me as artistic but if I can do this tree than imagine what you can do.
This is the course I have been using
This individual competed in a competition where he created a whole game from scratch in 48 hours so his art is very minimalistic and to the point but I am sure he can be much more detailed if he wants.
Here is some free tutorials by him as
https://youtube.com/c/uheartbeast
Here is a free channel that kicks ass in tutorials too
It is good to read about horizon line vanishing point. Complimentary colors, primary/secondary colors, light sourceetc. as Adam mentions something about when animating your sprites you want to visualize if the art is moving where the weight is going. Etc
it is so much easier than math/coding... there are rules and it is a lot more lenient.
I think the artists in the showcase do a fine job btw and don’t think they scarce. I posted this mainly for you because it seems like you doubt your potential to be an “artist” (something everyone can be)
as for topic creator... I would shift between learning various aspects of game development so you don’t get burnt out. Switch between learning C,pixel art and music construction/theory