I've hit a wall with my art and could really use some guidance.

My goal is to draw anime/manhwa-style illustrations like the first image(credit: ikachyu on instagram) while my current level is in the second and third image.

My biggest issue is that I rely too much on references without really understanding them. When combining multiple references, I mostly end up guessing instead of following a solid construction process like I see professional artists do in their speedpaints. For coloring, I usually just color-pick from the reference instead of understanding why those colors work.

The main things I want to improve are:

* Anime faces and head construction
* Dynamic poses and anatomy
* Color theory (so I stop relying on color picking)
* Backgrounds and composition
* Overall drawing speed

I also have a question that's been confusing me: **Do I need to learn realistic anatomy first to get good at anime/manhwa art, or can I learn stylized anatomy directly?** I see a lot of conflicting advice online.

Lately I've been spending hours on a sketch, only to mess it up during coloring. Because of that, I haven't finished anything I'm happy with in the past few weeks, and it feels like I'm not improving.

What resources (YouTube channels, books, courses, or exercises) helped you improve in these areas? If you've been through a similar stage, what changed your approach?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

How do I go from copying references to actually understanding how to draw anime art?