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Apologies for coming slow on my guides, but I figured this is revelant.
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What is a "figure study"?
As the name is obvious, a "figure study" is the study of figures. Whether it be for video games, animations, drawings, or other media. They can be drawings, or a collection of photographs of various beings doing different actions. To put it plainly, figure studies are used to promote correct anatomy and to learn how something moves.
Why is it important?
Well, no one likes looking at "bad art." This can include improper anatomy and motions not available to that organism. So, lets face it, figure studies help you improve as an artist. They hone your ability of anatomy, sense of motion, and therefore detail.
Is it only photographs?
No. You can have someone hold still while you sketch them (sketch fast!). Of course, it's not like you're going to get a tiger to hold still, or a lion, or a wolf, in mid-action. Photographs are more helpful than art for anatomy.
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How to get to it:
To begin, you must first have an organism and a good search engine (such as Google Images or Yahoo! Images). Once you've got both, place specific searches for what you're looking for. (Ex: "tiger walking" or "wolf running.") If you're bland and just type in "wolf" or "lion," you're going to get an array of junk.
Therefore, you can run specific searches for the animals' motions. At one point, I searched "Rottweiler jumping" to gather figure studies of, of course, a Rotti jumping. I got many frames from several sites of a Rotti jumping over a staged hurdle (in front of a backdrop). They're all very helpful, and allowed me to observe the correct motion of a live-action Rottweiler.
Using photographs does just that - ensures that the anatomy and detail is proper. Stray away from artwork and direct referencing! Figure study references are not "I want to draw this pose," they are there for anatomy and detail. It's up to you, the artist, to approach them correctly and practice your anatomy.
Once I have my images selected out, I print them. Printing them allows me to use these anywhere - so they're not on my computer and I can only use them when a computer is present (when there isn't 100% of the time for anyone). The paper(s) can be easily stored in a folder or sketchbook.
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Figure Studies are commonly used to promote proper anatomy, motion, and detail! Like I said - stray away from artwork. There's no garuntee that the artists' sense of anatomy is, not only right for you, but correct.
As I said before, don't reference the pose! This can lead to copyright infringment or misunderstanding. No one wants to be called a "thief," trust me. Use the images and sketch them out a time or two, until you feel comfortable with that animal's anatomy. I suggest using one (maybe two) pages, filling them up with the sketches. This way, you know it wasn't a WIP (Work in Progress). I also suggest labeling them "FIGURE STUDIES" in bold writing on top of the page.
Then, you can move on and apply it to your own artwork. With your sketches in hand, you can reference back to them when you ask yourself, "What does this part of the body do when the animal is doing this?"
Believe me, it makes the artwork all the more enjoyable. ;3
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If you have any questions or other tips, please, speak up!
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