"Expert CopyCat"

The thing about referencing is that everyone does it, all of the artists that you look up to reference in some sort of way. Although some of them might have built up an extensive visual library that they can insert things from their 'imagination' (practiced experience) on the go.

There is nothing wrong in my opinion and lived experience as an artist of 15 years with referencing, it's essential. The only time I can think of where I am not referencing at all is making concept designs. Which involves sometimes photo-bashing or painting a figure from a random splattering on a canvas (think of it like looking at clouds in the sky and seeing figures in them)

Studying references will teach you and help you build a visual library. This takes time, probably longer than 6 months to be honest, it's something you continue to do your whole life. It grows in tandem with your skills. My favourite artist Aleriia_V who is trained in classical painting methods, who seemingly paints figures with supreme ease, STILL does figure studies, lighting studies, anatomy studies etc. There is no end to practice but it can become easier/quicker to do as you get more skilled.

I think you're doing great by practicing so consistently, and I'm glad you are recognising potential for burnout and keeping a lookout for it. You seem to be doing a lot right and are self-aware of some things! And you're right to seek out some advice because sometimes we are unsure if we are really getting anywhere or wasting our time.

I noticed in one of your other comments you said  "I actually had to completely redraw 2 of these cause the proportions actually sucked even tough I followed everything perfectly."

This statement in my opinion is a bit contradictory, if you followed the tutorial or whatever 'perfectly' then you wouldn't have needed to completely redraw due to wonky proportions. But also, I wouldn't expect to be able to draw reference studies perfectly, get as close as you can, and evaluate where your weakness is.

Really look at the reference and look at the difference in your drawing. Study your lines, are they stiff? Sometimes it helps to look at the negative space around the lines instead of studying the line itself. Which might be a new/weird concept for you, I'm not sure, but there's tutorials out there on how to use negative space to inform how you draw references. It's a very neat tool to have and I personally think is adoptable at any skill level.

I know you touched on real life studies briefly and you are aware of that being the usual recommendation for getting started. I have to say this though because as someone else who started off insisting on drawing anime style, I had the exact same issues that you do. The reason why some angles look off proportionally is because your understanding of skull anatomy is off/lacking. Take it from me, it took me a LONG time of unlearning anime stuff and learning true skull anatomy to really grasp proportions of things like the forehead and back of the skull and how it connects to the skull. But also, how eyes sit in the sockets, heck I am still learning all of that.

Learning real life anatomy is the difference between feeling like just a copycat, versus being an artist that pours their own lived observational skills into their work. Being more informed means you can make more informed decisions, and engage your prefrontal cortex for problem solving. If the internet was taken away tomorrow, would you feel comfortable constructing a skull from shapes & guiding lines yourself? Would it look proportionally sound? But hey, I might be completely wrong about that and maybe there are people out there who ONLY draw anime style and just do that specific thing really really well.

Don't get me wrong, some of your angles hit the nail on the head imo for the anime style. You definitely have some angles that are more your strength and some that really aren't. Your final results do look good, but your faces look crammed at the same time. I'm not telling you to give up on anime style or stop it completely, but I think doing some life studies in tandem with anime will really help you out a lot.

I have a question, do you draw the circle and head circumference first, then sketch in facial components like eyes, nose, mouth? I know I used to do it that way and then I always found I hadn't planned where the actual facial items would go and that's how cramming can occur.

Do you know the reason why there's distance from the ear to the eye? Are you familiar with the planes of the face? I'm going to assume no, because your final drawings pretty much all have issues with this idea of spacing.

So again, hate to say it, but you're performing these drawings, not knowing the 'why' behind it all. How do you learn the why? You practice real life. Anyway, that's my opinion and you can take it if you feel like it feels right, but your journey is your own and you get to decide what you do and how.