Good work 
About time, hey, no need to rush, the most important is to progress, it always better to assimilate the base and to be able to pass the next level.
About “copying/imitating”, everyone does it at a point, we always learn by mimicking.
The most simple example is… tutorials!
Also as you stated, the original animation is not yours, we can’t consider it as stealing or for profit.
Just if possible (as I always recommend it), try to credit the original author as @veermetri05 does in his prolific thread Animation in Synfig | Micro Animation by me [project files included]
It is always pleasant for a creator to see his work being a source of inspiration for the others 