the latter is exactly what i do, i just draw the pose as i imagine it in my head and if theres a part of the pose im struggling with ill look up reference of that body part, i got some books with muscle diagrams ill use for that. I wouldn't worry about needing to use a reference if u do though, everyone uses references for things at first while they build a visual library in their head that grows over time which allows them to draw from their imagination, using reference is a necessary step in building that.

