I don't know how many stances (is that the right word?) I'll need?
-Stand
-Shoot
-Jump
-Jump Shoot
-Walk (how many of these do I need for a smooth walk sprite?)
-Dead
:s
Now we're talking animation. Frames is probably the term you'll see the most.
Generally, the more frames you have, the smoother its going to be, as well as slower. For more abrupt movements, you don't need a lot of frames.
Stand (1 frame): Assuming you don't want it to be doing anything while the player is not moving. For example, Link in the Zelda series does a few things when the player is gone.
Shoot (1 frame): If it's a basic shot and not a more complex, powerful shot, then this is all you need to show that the character fired something.
Jump (1 frame): "
Jump Shoot (1 frame): "
Walk (depends): Mega man uses three, but generally an even number of frames are better. The most basic one is, in my opinion, 4 frames. The most smooth one I've ever done had 8 frames.
Dead (depends): Mega man has an explosion which takes a few frames, but you gotta know how you want the character to die.