More CG practice

I'm surprised this is still getting attention, considering it was the fifth piece of art I ever did, waaaaay back in july. The lines weren't inked but were drawn over with a B pencil. A very soft, dusty kind which is why it's a bit ragged.

Anyhoo, no idea how I work the magic. I see nothing but a long way to go before I get better.
As for how I started, I looked up a wee tutorial on DA to get an idea of how to do basic cell shading then started up my copy of photoshop elements. Though I tend to (at least I try to) mix soft shading with cell shading, as I find a little soft shading can really help compliment the cell stuff. Some artwork that I've seen do this always looks really nice and helps add a ton of depth that a solid block of colour doesn't quite give. The two styles go very well together if done right.