>>5768876The steps you or anyone has to go through to get to a certain level of drafting ability are the same, the "academic method" only refers to some prescribed milestones and methods of study to get you to the end goal efficiently.
Think, if you wanted to get fit you *could* go to a gym and just fiddle around with various weights and machines and over time start figuring out more specifically what you should and shouldn't do based on the results you see, or you could get an instructor or look up some work out regimens that would let you just go from step to step and get to your target sooner.
All you're doing is saving yourself some time, and the idea that it locks you into only being able to draw one way is a myth. If you're at a point where you can't draw freely it only means you haven't completed the journey yet, because the ultimate goal is to allow you to make the kind of art you want to make and you're only limited by how much learning you decide to do. There's no reason someone who draws cartoons like Spongebob can't also learn to paint portraits like Sargent, they need only put in more study on that specific style once they have the basics down.
