Artonstuff Weight in. (L)

[amadarwin]

From this moment on, every time i submit anything, the first thing ppl are gonna look for is "Did he copy this?"

Fair assumption, but honestly, I won't remember who you are in a month to scrutinize your work in that manner. I vote for the pics I think a) match the subject matter best and b) are the most pleasing aesthetically. The only time I'll even ask that question will be if your pic immediately pings my memory core. Then I'll scrutinize it more and most likely call you on it, if someone already hasn't beaten me to the punch.

I applaud your effort to get away from being a slave to reference. But before you get your knickers in a twist over future images you haven't even begun to draw, you may want to tighten your understanding of what reference truly is.

There's a difference between referencing and copying, just as there is a difference between copying and tracing, though the lines dividing them are a little blurry. The latter two are frowned upon in pummel (and some professional endeavors), while the first is not.

If you stick around, and do your best to avoid copying and tracing, I have no doubt you'll strengthen your artistic skills to meet your goal of using less reference - or even better, use references properly.