I actually don’t use PureRef but it’s a very popular and capable option! I simply use Krita, starting with a large canvas (8196×8196 for example) and simply copy/paste images one by one, trying to fit them together like a puzzle. It works for me but I believe pureref has a more automated solution.
…are there other benefits that I don’t know about when you import a collage into the Image Editor?
When you get to the texturing stage it’s nice to have the option of color-picking from your ref image. I do this during the skin painted section. Besides that I also like that the image editor keeps the same hotkeys. I don’t like having to switch my mental hotkey map between an external image editor app and Blender.
That said I used an external image editor for years and still do. Importing ref to Blender is also ideal for recording tutorials so I’m biased 😅
