My first digitally shaded pic

My first digitally shaded picture, still work in progress (I still have to improve the bodie's shading + shade the cape, clothes and some other parts). I need C&C concerning the shading. I'm also a 100% starter at coloring pictures, so if anyone has ideas they'd be welcome.

err.. the pose is rather stiff, but u can liven that up w/ good shading.

1. u should have a stronger light source... right now, u just shaded anywhere, and not from a specific light source.. it makes it look boring.
2. Armor is usually a darker tone than skin, unless there is a lot of light, and makes a reflection.
3. i SERIOUSLY hope youre not using dodge/burn... in my opinion, it makes any painting look less professional.

thats all i see now.. ill give more crits when u update it... hope i helped...

nice shading for the first time. And colors, now?
mhh... for the metal of the armor, more reflections are needed, and more contrast (then something more shining): it's metal, not plastic. and too, little imperfections are always nice on an armor. see the attached picture of samwise.
and... you'll see... the cape will be atrocious to color... ^_^

Thanks. The pose is exactly what I wanted it to be, I know it doesn't sound very "alive" but I wanted her to look as if she were made of stone, awaiting the enemy without moving a bit, so the stiffness is intentional.
About the armor, it's supposed to be elven armor so I don't know if imperfections would not ruin the elven feeling, I'll probably make it darker when I color it though. I'll see whta I can do for stronger reflections, maybe I wont do this part until I color it.
What tool should I use to color the picture (could I, like, select all the shaded armor and use image/adjustments/color balance)? I'm using dodge and burn for the shading cause it's the only way I know, what should I use instead?

you should use photoshop 7, like me, or if you're a pro painter you can use open canvas.
with photoshop: since all is already shaded, the only thing you have to do is actually select with the "lasso" the part of the picture you want to color, and use the tool with an icon like a becher (with the mode: color), set the opacity to about 10%, select the color you want, and click on the pic until the desired color is obtained.
the dodge and burn is cool... there's another way of shading: the tool called "dégradé" (I suppose you have the french version of photoshop...), another mode of the tool with the becher-icon. but the shading obtained are very artificial, though it looks good for the weapons.

Thanks. I've got photoshop 7 in English, but I see what you mean. I'll try that becher thing. About "dégradé" (it's the gradient tool I think), I've never managed to use it, at least never for curved surfaces.

yea.. im not a big fan of the filters.. or lasso. id just shade w/ different layers in photoshop. start w/ a layer, putting down only the base, then the darker colors.. next, make another layer putting a general highlight...not necessarily the brightest of colors.. but bright enough so u know where the light hits it. i usually use light opacities to blend. then to get extra bright highlights.. change ur brush to screen, and paint over the parts u want extra bright.

btw you can you create color burns and color dodge layers, its act a bit like dodge and burn but you got way more control over it, similar to cell shading a bit, you select greyscale then according to the oppacity you choose it will dodge or burn the layers behind it at a certain level, only problem is that it take damn lots of time but for sure you got more control, apply a blur filter to that layer and it will be smooth

I didnt read the whole thing but here is my sudgestion. Make the entire image a shade of grey, for the darks you make it darker and for the rest you make it slightly brighter. For skin, it changes from neutral to bright quite fast. And for metal, dont make brights, instead, just make it all the same color, add dark, make it hardly any brighter on the part where the light source is hitting it and make a reflection with a straight white line (thick) and make it slightly dark in areas to make it have a reflection. Instead of dodge and burn use a hard brush at a low opacity with the color set to the color you want to get. Also, if you intend to color it, at the shadows, add a cooler tone of color (especialy on skin) and a warmer tone at the highlights.