The Process*:
- Imagine a rad character, become inspired
- Collect some reference, but not enough, never enough. Use reference, but always get impatient and say "ah I'll get ref for [THING] when I get to it"
- Launch one of the two programs. I suppose you could pay $5 for Maxon to give you a version of ZBrush they've artificially made worse, if that doesn't bother you.
- Sort out Pureref.
- Set up your tablet.
- Add one mesh to the scene.
- Stare at the mesh for 5 to 10 minutes, maybe poke it a little. Start making a head, but get the proportions wrong, pretend to examine your reference. Most importantly though, you have to decide you don't like it in under 30 minutes, no good art has ever taken longer to be realized in at least a basic form. Anyone saying stuff like "it took 5 years to paint the Sistine Chapel" or whatever is lying.
- Put your tablet away.
- Close the program, and save your Pureref board to a folder of abandoned reference.
- Swear you'll get back to it later as you log into FF14 or start watching Andor again from the beginning or whatever.
*for 3D Art general but specifically sculpting in this case