One thing that is all important in growing as an artist, just as in playing a musical instrument or anything you are trying to grow skills within–practice! I had a friend who had as his motto C.O.D., which is interpreted as Create One a Day. That’s about right. It’s like a prayer offering to the Great Giver of Ideas. It is a way to show yourself your sincerity about your goal.
Now, do not be too hard on yourself if you don’t do it as often as everyday, you could say C.O.W. (Create One a Week) as easily. But always be aware you are about progressing and it is required of you, if you are to reach your goal. There is no end or finish line to this effort, it is ongoing. It becomes richer the more effort you deposit. But sometimes you do need vacations in order to return with freshness and that’s fine too. But never lose sight of the next goal in your adventure of becoming whatever you want to become. You will change viewpoints as you progress, so your goals will shift as well.
My goal last night was to create a complete scene and my random marks had developed into a beaver-like direction, so I went with it. I started with a blank screen and just made a random pile of swipes with my stylus.
Sometimes nothing comes from a small goal, but it contributes toward the bigger goal–the fact that you moved forward to explore a possible direction.