improve my drawing skills

I cant even begin to describe the improvement that I’ve seen in my drawing lately. I tried out about 3 different methods and they’ve all made a tremendous difference. I drew a portrait if my favorite guy that came out so beautifully, but i wont show it to him until i deem it to be perfect. :) I picked up an excellent book as well, and it really helped me with my shading problems which makes all the difference in my art. I still have trouble, but practice makes perfect. I’ve noticed that I’ve been looking at a lot of things differently lately. Knowing where to shade has also altered my aspect on the things that i see. it sounds weird, but many many times this week when i’ve been looking at people or objects, ive taken a conscious notice of darkened areas and details. It’s weird! I was chatting with one of my friends, and I noticed that I was taking in all of the details of her face as if I were preparing to draw her. Cool. I suppose noticing my surroundings more often will definitely make a difference as well.

My drawing isn’t bad, but it needs work nonetheless. What i really need to work on is shading. I don’t even know how! My artwork would look much better if I knew how to shade. Does anyone know how/know how I could learn?