Anatomy attempt #394 (the closest to a tutorial you'll get from me)

I just CAN'T get the perfect body, WHYYYYY!?

Allright, so, I've been asked to do a shading tutorial, but, those do not not work. You don't learn how to ride a bicycle by watching people ride one, or learn math by just seeing the solution, do you? You have to do it yourself, over and over again until you got it just right. And don't even get me started on templates.

What I can do however, is give you a little boost into the right direction. You see, what you are mosly trying to do, is to replicate a certain style, this could be cartoony, realistic or like a classic SNES sprite style or something. Now, the key to replicating that wich you want to replicate, is to look at it. You just have to look at it, for as long as you can. You have to understand why shades are in certain places by gettig a good image of what it would be like. But ofcourse, the hardest part is actually getting it onto that limited flat surface. Now you'll have to use your shading to add detail, to add the depth you looked at. Do you now understand why a simple gradient from head to toe does nothing for your skin?

Again, I'm kinda having trouble putting my thoughts into words, because english is not my native language.