I don't think the problem is the shading itself, it's just that there isn't any clearly defined light-source. It's basically pillow-shaded. I made a quick edit to show how I think it could be improved.

 

No, but seriously, if I were you I'd stick with tutorials for now. There are some kickass ones listed in General Discussion.
They sure have helped me to improve a lot, I only got into pixelart in 2004.

where's the art helm?

and good lord this is the shit, i think i'm gonna make a barbarian just for fun xD

Good idea. This is now officially the "Post your Barbarians"-thread.. 

Turbo:
My hero! Excellent edit and crits! Especially the added thumb to his right hand, wich I completley forgot about. I've tried adjusting some of the things you mentioned, but man.. those pixel hands make me cry like a little girl..


Xion Night:
They do? Well, they were! Hah, I'm such a cheap artist. Well, at least I haven't resorted to doing plain color reductions (yet). Thanks though.


Kennethfejer:
Thanks, man! And yes, I agree, the BG needs more polish. I've tried to fix some of that in my edit. I'm not sure I agree with you and Helm about the pose though. Sure, it's silly (I've nicknamed it the All Star Barbarian Batter), but that's how it's supposed to be!


Helm:
I saw your image before it was taken down. Very badass, sir. It actually looked like what the Amiga version should've looked like!

About the remake guy, do you mean TBD Soft? http://tdbsoft.pullenbar.nl/html/projects/barbarian.html   I thought about just redrawing the graphics in that game for a while, but considering the ammount of work it'd involve, I thought it'd be better to just do my own thing, since I wanted to add more stuff then the original had. 50 to 60 additional frames of animation, revamped combat system, etc. But it's all a pipe dream for now. 


luxregina:
More remakes! Looks really cool, very faithful to the original. I dig the Conan-esque Atlantean sword you've got there, but man, what's up with the lack of furry loincloths? That just ruins the blatant homoerotiscm! 

Language? Well, since I'm not a coder I've thought about making it as a MUGEN mod or something, but that'd have to be later this year since I'm caught up in another game project at the moment.

Good luck with yours, though! I'll keep an eye out for it on your website. 


DrDerekDoctors:
Haha, thanks! I saw the project you mentioned and obviously there's only so much you can do with the original sprites, but I think they're doing allright.


rabidbaboy:
Thank you!