Hey, thank you!
I usually start by gathering inspiration from fantasy games. Once I have a few ideas, I create some initial sketches. When I'm happy with a sketch, I start making the animation by creating some unfinished frames to get a sense of the movement. Once the motion feels right, I refine the frames by cleaning them up and adding details.
Everything is created in Adobe Photoshop, although I'm thinking switching to Aseprite or other software in the future.
I hope that answers your question! ^^