Yes, I meant latter as in the second possibility (not having a solid idea or image) and I meant former as in the first possibility (havine a solid image).
Its just a basic expression people use. "Former and the latter". Its often used to discribe two instances of something.
To add to Fairfeather's sound and good advice, I have to caution you about anime in particular. DO NOT rely on it as your sole source of reference, even if thats the type of style you see yourself getting into later. The reason for this is anime characters are sometimes anotomically exagerated and lack essential fundamentals that one should know in drawing faces, bodies, etc. They are not always realistic and the method to drawing them is watered down, simplified and made too easy, to a point where (in my opinion) it teaches the artist incomplete values and leaves them with holes to fill which the anime methods did not teach them.
A nose is usually just a slant or a small line with a shadow next to it, for example. A person learning to draw may like the concept and find it easy and because its their first style or its the genre they're basing their artistic education on, they use manga style artwork as a crutch. They learn to draw noses that way, and then they have unnecessary trouble later trying to break the habit and drawing realistic noses.
As a beginner, you would be much better off in the long run if you started out with non-anime styles in order to access a much broader perspective of art, and then, when you're ready to make your own personalized style with anime, you'll be better prepared and won't fall into the pitfalls.
To make a long story short, manga style is an easy way out alot of the time. It is not as demanding nor does it encourage an artist to tap their full potential. It teaches them little more than complacency. Its really easy for an artist to use anime as their style, and they end up just copying something that looks redundant already.
The reason you see many artists out there who draw anime like characters that look cool and differnet from the mundane and generic ones is because those are the people who took the time to learn other things and didn't just jump into anime expecting that it would teach them everything they need to know.
Anime is very appealing, especially in this day and age, but if used as a crutch, it can create an artist who can only draw so many things. And that would be like tripping yourself.
Obviously, I am myself draw anime as you know, and I speak from experience that I could have done myself a bigger favor if I would have included more traditional art styles in my art earlier on, rather than later. While it hasn't slowed me down or proven a difficulty or hurt my art overall, if I would have taken more time to draw other things I will have mastered them by now. Its easy to fall into a loop. Do yourself a favor and don't.
