So i was lucky enough that before doing my texture and detail exercises i saw the new info that was written in the main page for texture and detail, but honestly it has confused me even more.

It is told to us, that we don't need to copy our references but rather understand them.

Says that the majority of the student were only copying the reference or cast shadows of the reference, and that they rather need to Observe, Understand and Transfer the reference. One of the last parts says:

The cast shadow you draw may be present in the reference image, or it may not. It may also be present, but different - because the reference is subject to one lighting scenario, while your drawing may have another - for example, with the gradients the light source is always at the far right, blasting away the cast shadows closest to it to create that transition in density.

So with this in mind, when we analyze our reference and then place a few marks on our page, can we place them in whatever place and position we want as long as we understand how the cast shadows in the reference behaves?.

Like, as the way i understand it, we look a our reference, understand how the cast shadows of the reference behave, and then place our shadows depending on our own "setting" (like having a different light position).

So basically, can we put our own cast shadows in whatever place and position as long as we understand how the forms casting the shadow work in our reference?