Originally posted by Epsilon
Brushes. I'm still getting the hang of them, since I barely ever use them.
Ok, I suggest going to deviantART and picking up some new brush packs (use Google to find out how to install them, I'm lazy at the moment), and mix and match individual brushes to get a different look. Right now your backgrounds are a bit too basic and monotone.
Also, look into using filters occasionally, but use tutorials to learn to do them right. I've seen some ugly ass filter sigs before from Photoshop n00bs.