The reference is not off that much.. yes I did play with the proportions a bit while modeling for the tut but nothing too major.

As Mike stated, in a studio most of the time you are handed a drawing of a character in a pose, not a straight front view or side view and you have to model it from just the character sheet.

Remember this is your first real modeling project and it will take you some time and a lot more practice to get the results you want right off the bat.

Im sorry if you feel the tut is a waste now but from what I've seen you have learned a lot from both parts.

Kurt