>>3296463I'm in a concept art program that has a near 100% hiring rate straight out of graduation, we've learned the ins and outs of the industry so I hope you can understand my words are coming from a knowledgeable source.
Things like photobashing, and tracing a 3d model or photos you've taken yourself are great tools, however not when they're used as a crutch. They're something you wanna do after you know how to draw from imagination so that you can save time and energy.
The reason you wanna know how to draw from imagination is because there's only so much references, tracing and photobashing can do for you. Traced photos will always looked traced unless you understand the human body and where to push and pull proportions, photobashing will look wonky, and 3d models will always be stiff looking.
The reason why straight up tracing photos that you haven't taken yourself isn't really an option is because it's easy for people to discover that you're a tracer which will be met with negative backlash (in most cases), (4chan is a special case).
That being said relying on these crutches isn't necessarily a bad thing depending on how far you wanna take your artwork. If you're just a casual artist then fucking go for it my dude. If you wanna make a living out of it then you're gonna wanna learn how to draw from imagination first.
