On the real. This is good. Hummm, I have a degree in traditional Illustration and part of becoming good is tracing over Old Masters' work to learn how they did what they did. Nothing is worn with that. Passing it off as your own yeah, that is bad.
One of my favorite artists is Patrick Nagel. He was a graphic designer turned painter. Nagel studied Japanese woodblock forms and applied that to his paintings. He was always trying to simplify the human form.
The only way to get good at that is by studying the human form. Even if you are illustrating a stylized version of something real it's imperative that you study from life. That will give your work that X-Factor.
You can't BS art.
Keep on keeping' on man!
