I saw everyone else saying it and now I’m trying to will it into existence

Please be mindful of this and stop defending a copycat. I hope she takes this hiatus and learns from this. It is absolutely okay to call out bad behavior and still support them and want better. Two things can be true at the same time.

You need to make sure you are giving credit where it’s due. Referencing work is different in that you are using it for inspiration and not full out copying it. There are certainly DTIYS where it’s okay for it to look copied, but even then you are still to credit the original.

Make sure you are crediting the original artist. Especially if you are using them for shading or sketching reference. Also there’s a big difference in using an artists work as a reference and a pose of a real person for your work. Both should be credited and cited. Like any sort of research paper.

I should also mention for those with no nuance skills, that tracing in general isn’t bad. It’s how a lot of artists start out and learn and grow. It’s okay to do it and keep it to yourself. What’s not okay is posting said tracing online and passing it off as your own.