References Poll

[miascugh]

[...]
Draw from life. It might be fun to draw anime chicks and beefy dudes with swords, but remember that the basis of all fantasy is reality. Drawing from real life will greatly improve the way you draw from your imagination. Enrol in figure drawing classes. If that's not possible, just go out in public and draw people as they go about their business, or draw your family, friends and pets while they are reading, sleeping, or watching television. Draw the things around your desk. Draw buildings. Even drawing from photographs is a lot better practice than drawing from your mind.
[...]
Use references. When drawing anything, it helps a lot to have the object in front of you, or at least photographs of it. For example, you may think you know what clouds look like, but there are many types of cloud, and their color and texture is always different. That doesn't mean you have to copy the photo or object exactly, but a reference always helps your depiction of lighting, texture and form.
[...]

Copying from eatpoo because it's nicely put. It's a good read btw, you might want to check the rest too.

[goat]

the eatpoo guide is your mantra; meditate upon it daily.

[flaber]

hehe alright

im glad to hear that it is acceptable - or almost preferred
i just wanted to double check that i wasnt 'cheating' or doing anything poorly

[Ai]

Something the eatpoo guide doesn't mention is this (pretty speculative, but seems intuitively right):
Drawing from reference is for improving your accuracy, whereas drawing from imagination is for improving your style.

[goat]

It's not something I'd generalize on.  Drawing too much from imagination can lead to all your work being self-referential and repetitive.  It can also reinforce bad practices if you're drawing something "wrong" and don't have a reference to check against. 

Of course, everyone finds a balance between life reference and imagination as they progress in art.  The "draw from life!!!!!!!!!!!" rule the Eatpoo guide sets forward is one that is eventually meant to be broken; while the statement may be flawed, functionally it works:  those who follow it will have a strong foundation in realism and nature, which GREATLY reduces the chances that they'll get stuck in an overly stylized trap that will stunt their artistic growth.