A Potato's Crap Dump

[UselessPotato]

Good discussion going on in here! Here's my two cents:
Since doing studies is a means to an end, in most cases, one should try to do a personal piece (doesn't have to be "finished") once in a while as a way of testing out if the study has improved your imaginative work. 

So if I, for example, have done a lot of proportion and gesture studies , I'd want to draw something from mind later to make sure that I've actually learnt something from doing those studies. It usually feels really rewarding too see the improvement directly, even if it's just a sketch or two. 
Sometimes we go into auto-pilot when we study and just end up copying the shapes without much thought. Like Xelfereht said, people can end up just doing studies endlessly and when they attempt a personal piece they've build up so much expectation, so this piece has to be perfect! Speaking from personal experience, I find this soul crushing, 

So hard to write about this without rambling on for ages, so I'll leave it as is for now. 

Good luck in your art endeavours! :)

Omg sorry for taking ages to reply... I kind of agree... personal piece are a good way to test your skill... also an easy way to spot your weaknesses... Definitely a good way to know yourself xD

I'm also guilty of high expectation :Y