No matter how it is framed you should take his advice, shading like that is an easy habit to fall into and a bad one to do.
Gradient shading (that is what it is, even if you didn't use a gradient tool) is both unappealing and unrealistic. You need to make sure you have a clear light source and make less use of whatever dodge/burn tool or transparent brush you have been using.

Yes but typically people aiming to offer helpful advice and not just be rude/trolling tend to actually... offer helpful advice, not say "it sucks, don't do it again."

Now im presuming Miggles didn't intend to be rude/troll but it would be nicer if when critiquing somebodies second colored drawing they have ever made to offer a positive alternative to the thing you have a problem with.

EDIT: on a side note would anybody care to help me figure out why the first colored image and the second one have a severe gap in quality? im assuming its because in the first one i actually had a light source that wasn't ambiguous.

Pretty much that, yeah.
Lightning makes a lot of difference.

Honestly the first one could have done with a lot more contrast too and what shading you have doesn't exactly make sense.
Everything on the body seems to be a curved plane even when it shouldn't be and shading with a white light source makes things look a little unnatural. Try shifting your hue at the same time as the luminosity.
You even have patches of light just appearing in the middle of nowhere!

Try and consider where contours would be on the body (such as between those plates you have that you have shaded as a single shape with outlines drawn across it) and shade there, and don't go overboard!

Flat two color shading beats gradient shading by ∞.

this is a good tip I suppose, the main issue is the skill difference required to make gradient shading look good, as you basically have to have a very good knowledge of how lighting, different materials, different textures, and contours work in the real world, more so then normal people would.

Well I didn't say I was going to stop trying at that, but it is my goal to learn at least a little of every form of digital art I can think of.

You missed the point.

The point being to try shading using two shades, as opposed to gradient shading, until you can do it. (Then try adding in more.)

not even mentioning the shading, but the form of that.. gun? i mean, it is clearly meant to be a gun, given the sight + handle + 'stock', but... it doesn't *really* look like a gun, you know?

Something about art because everyone's talking about art.

Hey guys look what I made.

Follow my simple instructions and you too can draw in a really shitty fashion


I need to start using figure skeletons but it's a bit pointless on a character who doesn't even really have limbs

I made this:





It is mario. is it art?????

it is Mario and it is Art.

no thats luigee you dumb poerson you can tel by the blue