You know, now that I think about it, I haven't done anything with colored pencils in years, literally. Any tips, Greg?
Alright, here's a basic tutorial in words.
If you're working over pencils instead of inks, make sure to fill in the pencil lines first as dark as you can so as to get a natural feel in the outlines, depending on the color inside of that outline. That's how I did Dark Knight of NIMH.
If you're working with inked outlines, then that's an easier matter. All you have to do is make sure to add hard pressure whenever you're shading a piece of work and depending on how dark the shadow is, add some black in there and really smooth into your shade and make it feel natural. It's a diligent process. Wherever it reflects the light (example: Sonic's head highlights and shades have always reflected the light source and where it's coming from, see all of the classic Sonics, of course) make sure to color very lightly, but do keep in mind if your object is shiny or not. If not, then don't go TOO light or it will look ridiculous (like something from Sonic Heroes).
How's about another lesson? I know of this technique that Tim Burton uses for most of his artwork, so just continue readnb please.
This technique is called "mute colors". You see, this technique is where if you want to color in a secondary color, make sure to fill in the two primary colors that make up that color. Say, if you wanted to color orange... Well, you would have to pull out the red and yellow, and meld the colors together and whatnot. Again, I'll bring light sources into the discussion again, and whichever color was the brighter one, that would be the lighter shade that I'd need to show off where the light source is coming from. For darker areas, combine the colors in as harsh as possible and then touch it in with some black of course. Now, the same could be said for the Primaries, but using their opposite colors on the Color Wheel instead. Blue's companion is orange, so in the dark blue areas, there will be some orange in there. Mute Colors is a style, and a very unique one at that. Whenever you're shading a white object, keep in mind, that Mute Colors allow you to have a good hold of the atmosphere of the picture... Use your colors wisely. If you're going to shade an eye, go with a light blue and shade it in lightly with some grey (or black VERY LIGHTLY NOW.), if you're shading a hand do the same. It feels so good, and so right. It makes the piece feel a whole lot more natural if you ask me.... Which is why I've never forgotten to shade my eyes that way.
Hope that helps.
Well, I'm not Greg, but something I've always found helpful is to make the colors darkest around the edges of the lines on your sketch. And then go lighter as you move on.
Uh... You have your head in the right place, but your method is simple. It's not bad, but it's just... SIMPLE.