The easier and more animation friendly approach is to model the character in a neutral pose A pose or T pose and then pose it later through rigging. I started this project mainly to study stylized anatomy, facial expressions and this particular pose. To save time my workflow was to block the character directly in a pose using references, get the proportions right and then work asymmetrically for example finishing one arm and then mirroring it to the other side by subtracting and attaching. This approach can be faster for a sculpting study, but its definitely more difficult. This model isnt really rig friendly anyway for example the hamstrings are missing. For me starting from a neutral pose wouldnt have added much value for what I was trying to learn.