i always start by drawing from imagination LOL but whenever it looks like dogshit or im having trouble trying to recreate the image in my head, i will look up refs 🫡

i didnt do it on purpose im just stubborn but i think theres like an actual strategy to learning (shrimp method?) thats basically what i do -> first u attempt to draw from memory, then look for a reference pic and u draw it again with the reference but you actually //look// at it and figure out what you didnt know about it before, u study it and add it to your internal library, then u draw it again with the new info in mind and no reference and thats how u solidify that knowledge in your head

its something i ended up doing on accident on my own lol! but its a legitimate method!!