Well at least you guys could give them base pointers instead of complaining...
If you are drawing in MS Paint the curve tool will be your friend. It's very simple to use and you can make shapes go a a little smoother.
Dithering is one of the best techinques when shading. It leaves one pixel of free space between two shades. If you apply it wisely it'll look pretty good.
If you need more assistance and/or visual examples bug me.