I’ve been drawing for about six and a half years, but id say - watching youtube tutorials, - finding a favorite artist that you want to ‘mimic’ their style (you will develop your own along the way; i went with leyendecker), - 3d models and references are NOT cheating, build that pinterest board, - canvas flipping, color theory, values contrast, etc all that mess. I personally go by “learn the rules before you break them” but i doubt thats a hard and fast rule for everyone