hey! thought i'd try posting here because i'd love more tips to improving my art. im new to digital drawing and colouring in general, so my art looks very umm amateurish atm, like a 13y/o's work LOL so i really want to improve! i really love the fire emblem style of shading, with the 'harder' shades rather than a soft blended look. up until recently ive been using that, until i thought it kinda looked messy and ugly and tried for the harder shade styles. here's my most recent example!

EXAMPLE

i use SAI to colour, and i copy over an initial sketch from a traditional sketchbook. im still also struggling with clothes and folds so anything is helpful, even pointing out my anatomical mistakes ahaha

Hi

So really I would say, focus on deeper colors in your shaded areas. i like to look at photo references to see just how deep shadows can be. They don't need to be BLACK, but introduce more contrast in the shadows. Also looking at references for different light sources helps as well, to determine how shadows fall on the face, body, etc. It's a long process (i've been learning for over 10 years and still consider myself a work in progress) so don't expect to be an expert over night. Focus on one thing at a time and you'll improve. Just practice practice practice!

This site is nice for practice - so maybe offer some freebies, or even sell some pieces. You got it! :)