Start thinking of your right hand as two separate things--the thumb plays the base line and the fingers play everything else. It is helpful to think of your right hand as playing two parts--like the two hands on the piano. Boogie-woogie or road-house piano consists of a walking bass played by the left hand while the right hand plays the melody. This is exactly the effect you want when you play finger-style guitar with a walking bass. Often--especially in jazz and bluegrass--the base line "walks" through the notes of the chord in the harmony. In classical and flamenco, the base line is sometimes counterpoint to what is happening in the melody line.
Learn (or create) the bass line first--this is what piano players do. Then learn (or create) the melody attached to the firm foundation of the bass. A walking bass is a series of bass notes that take small steps up or down the scale--reversing directions at key points in the composition. Simpler bass lines hit the tonic or sub-dominate of the harmony chord on the first beat of a measure. One of the main reasons for playing finger style is so you can separate the base and the melody and make a guitar sound more like a piano--while retaining the rich playful tone of the guitar.
Learn how to backthumb. This is a technique that originated in flamenco that has spread to other guitar finger styles--especially classical and bluegrass. The usual way for the right thumb to strike a bass string is to push it toward the high strings and release it. Backthumbing involves activating the string in the other direction--pushing the string toward the guitarist's head and releasing it. This takes a little practice but it can greatly increase the speed and accuracy of walking bass lines and you will not have to keep moving your thumb to the top of the target string--you can strike it from either direction. Playing walking bass lines means hitting several notes on the same string and backthumbing makes this a lot easier.