" Just my own personal view, but working from drawings is still keeping the would-be 3D artist tied to a 2D mind-set. Isn't it better to develop a sense of in-the-round design, and a feel for three dimensions, from the outset?" I don't see any reason that couldn't be done, but for alot of people the concept begins on paper. There is no one "correct" approach to it, but I've read articles from pros who say that some clients have demanded full color character treatments on paper from which to choose. In a situation like that you'd be SOL if you couldn't draw what you think they'd like, or you'd have to pay someone else to sit there and draw it for you as you explain. Depends also on what kind of 3D you're talking about - Like in Poser, for example obviously the included and purchased figures offer a good starting point, but if you're talking about modeling a whole new character fom scratch in a program like LightWave or Max, pre-visualization in one form or another is an absolute must.