Just find something you like and make it, more specifically something that you aren't comfortable with making... You can't become a great artist unless you put effort into it We can't make you work hard, that is in your hands.
I've recently started doing 7 to 8 hour days of personal projects while in the process of looking for a job. I'm mostly motivated by not wanting to suck - I would also one day like to be amazing at this whole art thing and that keeps me awake when I would like to be sleeping.
Working hard is the one variable that is almost always in your control and luckily it's the one variable that has a direct affect on your success. There's a strong sense of satisfaction when you've applied yourself all day to something and can no longer make excuses.
Actual tips:
1) Get a program that tracks your computer usage. I use two: ManicTime and RescueTime. ManicTime I use to actively track my day and see how much time I've spent working vs. how much time I've fucked around on the Internet. If you use any amount of social media you'll probably be surprised how much time you're spending there, even during time that you would otherwise classify as hard work. ManicTime keeps me honest.
RescueTime I only use because I can forget about it and it sends me a weekly breakdown of where my time has gone, and automatically compares it to the previous week. Very useful for trying to hit a 40 hour work week of actual time spent working.
2) Make something fun/appealing to you. This will keep you interested and working. If you're prone to not finishing projects then make something small.
3) Work an amount of time every day. Doesn't really matter how much at first as long as it's greater than zero. The goal is to, in some way, actively try to work every day and develop good habits.
I'm trying to do a very large amount of figure drawings this year. I started in early April and haven't missed a day since - in fact, I've increased from 10 per day to 45 per day in order to meet my personal target. The vast majority of these are very fast gesture drawings, but it has drastically increased my ability to perceive the shapes of the human body. There are many days I don't feel like doing them, or forget until I'm about to go to bed and have to stay up another half hour to finish them, but it has become an ingrained habit and having been so consistent is part of why I continue. It's incredibly easy when developing a new habit to miss a day or two and then fall off (on?) the wagon.
If you're consistent the only factor is attrition - you will get better as long as you keep doing it.
I used to find it a bit hard at the beginning because frustration kept pushing me away from work and playing games instead, but I just kept pushing frustration back until it gave up on me
Start VERY small, don't overwhelm yourself and power through it!
1) Set small goals on an hourly basis. "In an hour I'm going to have 40 quick concepts done." or "In two hours I'm going to have the low poly of this tree done."
The reason I suggest hourly goals is because if you give yourself the entire day, you'll procrastinate and possibly just give up. If you don't make your hourly deadline, that's okay, but DON'T STOP until you finish what you set out to work on.
2) Work outside your comfort zone, you'll learn more.
3) I find I learn more from small, quick projects as opposed to large, time consuming ones. You'll encounter a wider variety of scenarios and problems to solve which you can apply to other projects later on.
First of all I think this must be a joke post... but I'll go with it. If your working 2-4 hours a day on this stuff I would say your not working nearly hard enough, and you will FAIL. Not just fail, super fail, epic fail, maybe not even those kinds of fails, because your not even close enough to really fail... your not even trying at that point. If you put in 6-8 and you go to school, sure. If you don't have a full time gig, 8-10 hours more. Then your kind of trying... a small glimmer of hope
"When you're out there partying, horsing around, someone out there at the same time is working hard. Someone is getting smarter and someone is winning. Just remember that. But if you want to win, there is absolutely no way around hard, hard work."
Replies
Working hard is the one variable that is almost always in your control and luckily it's the one variable that has a direct affect on your success. There's a strong sense of satisfaction when you've applied yourself all day to something and can no longer make excuses.
Actual tips:
1) Get a program that tracks your computer usage. I use two: ManicTime and RescueTime. ManicTime I use to actively track my day and see how much time I've spent working vs. how much time I've fucked around on the Internet. If you use any amount of social media you'll probably be surprised how much time you're spending there, even during time that you would otherwise classify as hard work. ManicTime keeps me honest.
RescueTime I only use because I can forget about it and it sends me a weekly breakdown of where my time has gone, and automatically compares it to the previous week. Very useful for trying to hit a 40 hour work week of actual time spent working.
2) Make something fun/appealing to you. This will keep you interested and working. If you're prone to not finishing projects then make something small.
3) Work an amount of time every day. Doesn't really matter how much at first as long as it's greater than zero. The goal is to, in some way, actively try to work every day and develop good habits.
I'm trying to do a very large amount of figure drawings this year. I started in early April and haven't missed a day since - in fact, I've increased from 10 per day to 45 per day in order to meet my personal target. The vast majority of these are very fast gesture drawings, but it has drastically increased my ability to perceive the shapes of the human body. There are many days I don't feel like doing them, or forget until I'm about to go to bed and have to stay up another half hour to finish them, but it has become an ingrained habit and having been so consistent is part of why I continue. It's incredibly easy when developing a new habit to miss a day or two and then fall off (on?) the wagon.
If you're consistent the only factor is attrition - you will get better as long as you keep doing it.
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Hope some of that helps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO_EMmxVY3k
Start VERY small, don't overwhelm yourself and power through it!
Hope that helps
The reason I suggest hourly goals is because if you give yourself the entire day, you'll procrastinate and possibly just give up. If you don't make your hourly deadline, that's okay, but DON'T STOP until you finish what you set out to work on.
2) Work outside your comfort zone, you'll learn more.
3) I find I learn more from small, quick projects as opposed to large, time consuming ones. You'll encounter a wider variety of scenarios and problems to solve which you can apply to other projects later on.
"When you're out there partying, horsing around, someone out there at the same time is working hard. Someone is getting smarter and someone is winning. Just remember that. But if you want to win, there is absolutely no way around hard, hard work."