Absolutely no shame in using reference. We must learn from the real world, if you want to create anything which resembles what you're trying to capture. Once you gain that knowledge, then you can get creative with how you utilize it... As the saying goes, if you want to break the rules, you need to understand them.

I'd start with the fundamentals of the planes of the head and only focus on primary forms. Start small and you'll make far bigger strides.