One mistake that is very common is that many people use very light shades of grey which only blends into an even lighter shade of gray. I don't know if you do that, but a tip when shading is to make sure that the darkest areas are really dark (like near-black), and the lightest areas are left completely white. (if you're not drawing in colour) And then have the shading smoothly blend from the darkest to lightest where the there aren't hard edges.

playing video games is actually my 2nd favourite hobby.
no 1 is listening to and making music...I couldn't live without it

EDIT: AND watching Fringe! best show ever!

i picked it up about 2 years ago so i'm not to the point where i can build rooms yet (live in a condo so i'm not sure i could even if i had the skills).  so far i've limited myself to non-essential furniture where my flaws don't matter quite so much.  getting better but the one place i'm really quite terrible -- staining wood.  for the life of me i can't seem to get an even finish.  good thing my wife like the "vintage", "worn-in" look.  :P

it's fun and when you're done you have something to show off.  i like that custom furniture fits my place perfectly too.

so plenty for anyone who wants one!  is your show in chicago?

I used to play Vietvodao, like Karate and Tennis , but had a terrible defeat once.. Now that i'm in college, i don't have much time for hobbies, but does sitting my ass in front of my computer can be considered as one ? Cause i'm good at it.
And the problem is that I'm becoming skinnier..

i'm a martial artist so i practice Taekwondo, Karate Do, Muthai, and sometimes judo... i play soccer too

I think my problem lies with making the shading gradual. Instead of a smooth progression from very light to dark, I usually get visible demarcations between the grades.

Reading, mostly science fiction.