So how many calories should I really eat?

I've just started exercising a bit more seriously, and here's what I do:

30 minutes of weight/strength training every second day. In between days, I do about 30 minutes of cardio.

Aside from that, I'm pretty much sedentary, sitting in front of the computer most of the time and drawing (I'm an illustrator) and reading books.

My stats: 20 years, 5'6", 121 lbs
My goal: to gain some muscle

CC tells me that with "light activity" I should eat about 1810 calories daily, and that's what I do.

Is this enough for gaining muscle? My exercise even might fall into "moderate activity", but I am sedentary beyond that, so I'm assuming that I'm "lightly active".

I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. What do you think?

I would increase it to 2300, 40% should be protein, 30% carbs, 30% fats... if your still not gaining muscle i would continue adding like 250 cals.

If your not fat at all.. I would probably just do cardio for 5-10min to warm up, lift 45-60 minutes 3 days a week and keep increasing the weight every week for every exercise..  do squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, curls, tricep pulldowns, pullups/chinups, push ups, crunches

I agree. Since you weigh 121 lbs, 2300 sounds about right. More times than not, people who exercise regularly, don't eat enough. 

For example, I was doing 5-6 hours of cardio a week easy, and lifting 4-5 times per week. However, I was only getting 2000 calories. I wasn't getting any results because my nutrition was off and I wasn't eating enough. My doctor recommended 3000-3200 calories per day based on my weight and my level of activity. I made sure to eat the right type of foods, and only have one cheat meal a week. I hit the weights hard four days per week, and cut my cardio way back to three HIIT sessions per week. My bodyfat has dropped signifigantly and my strength has never been better in the weight room. I never thought that eating more would give me such good results.

Just make sure you are eating the right foods (protein/complex carbs from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats), and that you eat 5-6 small meals per day (1 every 2-4 hours). By eating more often, you keep your metabolism sped up more.

Original Post by viduus:
 and keep increasing the weight every week for every exercise..  do squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, curls, tricep pulldowns, pullups/chinups, push ups, crunches

Thank you for your reply! :) I can't exercises with special equipment, since there's no gym nearby and I couldn't afford it anyways, but I use dumbbells and the exercises I do work all body parts/muscles, and I really feel my muscles so it'll probably work. Since I am a total beginner and not strong at all, I think I shouldn't add extra intensity after only a week? From what I understand, I should do that when I have gained some muscle and/or the routine gets (too) easy.

I will definitely take in more calories. Thanks for your advice! :)