I've been using them off and on for years but I've never really mastered them. Usually I just mash them into the paper as hard as possible instead of trying to give them any sort of nuance. I used to do this because I thought that if I didn't make the coloring as dark as possible it wouldn't be visible. I prefer working in traditional media over digital work so I've decided to take the time to try and get better with them. Some of the stuff that I've posted recently has been my beginning work on improving my colored pencil skills. I like the way that something hand-colored looks over something filled in with a paint bucket tool or whatever so hopefully I'll improve quickly enough and start putting out much better work.
Practice, right?