Lam,
www.portraitsociety.org (grand prize winner year 2000) and
www.nysopa.org (honorable mention year 2001) have examples of the fabulous work of Yugi Wang. He is, I believe, Chinese and he combines the traditional with an asian sensibility.
His drawing is incredible, something that only comes of years of mastering the figure from life. I don't know where he got his classical training but his skill is formidable.
I have posted, under the Composition subject,
classical figure proportions. The artists you admire were all trained classically, of course, and learned directly from the figure. The training took years. In many cases they did not use color until their teacher felt they had a good enough grasp of form.
Yes, copying a master is a good way to learn but find yourself a school, teacher or atelier whose art you admire and study with them. That is the best way.
Sincerely