The Good Ship Illustration

Helen Stephens chats to Prof. Martin Salisbury - Is your illustration style really yours? When influence turns into imitation 👀✏️

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0100

Ever worried your work looks a bit too much like somebody else’s? 😬 This one’s for youuuu.

In this episode, our Helen chats with the brilliant Martin Salisbury about plagiarism. The temptation to borrow a bit too heavily when you’re surrounded by endless beautiful work online is real. Hopefully this conversation helps you fly your own freak flag :)

Timestamps:

00:00 Hello Martin Salisbury
01:00 Instagram has changed creative influence
03:00 Art school before the internet
04:00 Drawing from life and finding your voice
06:00 Start with drawing
07:00 Materials, experimentation and “botching it”
09:00 How publishers and agents fuel sameness
10:00 Confidence, privilege and access
12:00 Competitions rewarding over-influenced work
14:00 Imitation and lack of awareness
16:00 Copycat styles
18:00 Learning from artists without copying
19:00 Taste, culture and creative voice
20:00 Everyday life and visual language
21:00 Sketchbooks and what’s behind polished work
23:00 School art and loss of originality
26:00 Finding your voice matters
29:00 Awkward work feels more alive
30:00 Writing and drawing from your own ideas
31:00 Trends and short-lived careers
33:00 What publishers want
35:00 Ambition
38:00 Helen’s journey and taking time out
43:00 Place and lived experience in your work
44:00 Moving on from imitation
45:00 Martin’s upcoming book

Martin Salisbury is Professor of Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art, where he leads the renowned MA Children's Book Illustration Programme. He has previously chaired the International Jury at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, and been a member of the jury at the Global Illustration Awards in China. Mr Salisbury is the author of a number of books on the practice and theory of illustration, which have been published in numerous languages around the world.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Martin Salisbury on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/profmartinsalisbury/

Cambridge School of Art MA in Children’s Book Illustration

Martin’s book Illustrator Sketchbooks

Martin’s books Children’s Picturebooks and Play Pen

Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag with The Good Ship Illustration

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙

Guide to the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2026 - The Good Ship Illustration

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0100

Absolutely knackered just thinking about Bologna? Same 😅

Here are our Bologna Children’s Book Fair survival tips. Whether it's your first time or you're a seasoned Bologna Book Fair-er.

Exciting news: The Good Ship Illustration is exhibiting this year in Hall 25, and we’d love to see you there!

This episode:

What even IS the Bologna Children’s Book Fair?
Whether you reeeally need to go
The biggest benefits of visiting
What to pack, what samples to take, and how to prepare well
How to manage your expectations / social battery / overwhelm
The best bits beyond the fair itself, including food, bookshops and wandering round Bologna
Following up afterwards and making the most of the contacts you make

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro, replay announcement, and come find us in Hall 25!
01:00 What is the Bologna Children’s Book Fair?
03:00 Should you go?
05:00 Benefits of visiting the fair
06:00 Talks, workshops and folio reviews
07:00 Bologna itself, food, sunshine and bookshops
08:00 The illustrator’s wall and what to stick on it
09:00 Accommodation tips and booking early
11:00 Tickets, discounts and Good Ship lanyards
12:00 Managing expectations and not turning it into a military operation
16:00 What to prepare and what samples to take
19:00 Dummy books, sketchbooks and standing out
20:00 The Bologna Illustrators Exhibition
22:00 Feeling overwhelmed, comparitis and pacing yourself
25:00 Practical survival tips, from snacks to spare batteries
28:00 Why the last day can be surprisingly good
29:00 Rest, museums, gelato and giving yourself permission not to do it all
30:00 Following up after the fair
31:00 Final tips, meetups and lanyard spotting

Links mentioned in this episode:

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

It’s not too late, you’re not behind, and yessss, you should still start - an interview with illustrator Carys Wright

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0100

This week, our Katie is chatting to Carys Wright - a London-based writer and illustrator, hardcore Good Shipper, and all-round excellent example of what can happen when you follow the creative thread, even if your path looks a bit wiggly.

Carys went from acting and theatre into illustration, and we chat about how sketchbooking helped her find her creative voice, and what it’s looked like to keep building an illustration career alongside marketing work and baby. (No mean feat!)

There’s chat about markets, picture books, digital vs traditional materials and finding your way back to your own weirdness. Mmmm.

Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:

00:00 – Intro to Carys Wright and her creative journey so far
02:00 – Sketchbooks, childhood drawing, and getting back into a regular practice
04:30 – From acting and theatre to illustration
07:30 – Lockdown, Fly Your Freak Flag, and following the drawing thread properly
09:00 – Early illustration jobs, theatre clients, and picture book ambitions
10:30 – Mentoring, competitions, and building confidence through deadlines
11:30 – Illustrating her first book for the Lord Mayor of London
12:30 – Motherhood, maternity leave, and drawing with a baby in the background
16:00 – Portfolios, perfectionism, and letting things evolve
18:00 – Staying connected to your weirdness while doing client work
19:30 – Digital tools, Procreate, and not panicking about how you make the work
23:00 – Opening an online shop, doing markets, and live portraits
26:00 – Other ways illustrators can work, from events to corporate projects
28:00 – AI, humanity, and why weird human imagination still matters
30:30 – Wearing lots of creative hats and letting your interests overlap
33:00 – Coming to illustration later can actually be a strength
35:00 – It’s not too late, you’re not behind, and yes, you should still start

Links mentioned:

Carys’ website: https://www.caryswright.com/
Carys on Instagram: @carys_adventures_with_a_pen
Carys’ Substack, Adventures with a Pen: https://adventureswithapen.substack.com/

Byeeee for now!

x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

p.s. Want to find your creative voice too? Come and fly your freak flag with Good Ship. We'd love to have you sailing with us!

Read all about the course here.

The 7 email rule: Pitching your work to illustration clients - Kira Matthews

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Nobody is born knowing how to pitch.

(Katie here) I've been known to pitch once, hear nothing, and decide 'Oh well. Never mind.' Then never reach out ever again. 😅

So you can imagine my SHOCK and INCREDULITY (is that a word?) when Kira told me that she will reach out 7 times to a brand before giving up. Whaaaaaat!?

Kira Matthews (aka Kira the Bold), is like confidence in a bottle. She's mastered pitching and landing work with names like Squarespace, Ganni, and lots more.

If contacting publishers and/or potential clients makes you do a little bit of sick in your mouth, this episode will definitely help! At the very least you'll feel inspired to send more than one follow up email.

In this episode, we chat about:

What to do when the work… just stops coming in
Why pitching can feel so scary
The real reason people don’t hear back. (And nooo, it’s not because they hate you)
Why one email is basically just saying hello
How to follow up without being annoying (or feeling like you are)

Timestamps:

00:00 Meet Kira (Queen of Pitching 👑)
01:00 From fashion styling to building a business
02:00 When the work disappeared… and what she did next
03:00 Learning to pitch (while still being terrified)
05:00 Fear doesn’t go away. You just get used to it
06:00 The 3-year journey to landing Squarespace
08:00 Why most people give up after one email
09:00 The stories we tell ourselves about rejection
10:00 Why you need to follow up (a lot more than you think)
11:00 How to make each email actually count
12:00 Applying this to illustration and getting your work seen
13:00 Inside Kira’s talent agency experiment
15:00 Why smaller creatives need to pitch more, not less
17:00 Agents, money, and what’s really going on behind the scenes
19:00 Why agents aren’t a magic solution
20:00 Sales: the bit everyone wants to avoid
23:00 Why follow-up feels rude (but isn’t)
24:00 Rejection challenges and building resilience
26:00 Rejection = start of the conversation
28:00 Momentum, energy, and creating your own opportunities
30:00 The actions that actually lead to results
31:00 Telling people what you do (important!!)
32:00 Katie’s rejection challenge story
34:00 Auditing your time and what’s worth it
35:00 Kira’s final pep talk

Links & stuff wot we mentioned

Kira’s website: https://www.kiramatthews.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirathebold/
Weekly pitch tips newsletter: https://kirathebold.myflodesk.com/m0elc4qip7
The Good Ship Illustration https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freebies

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

How Salty (our Picture Book mascot) became a 2-book deal

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

This week we're pulling up a chair at Helen's kitchen table to finally spill the beans on Salty. Salty Dog and Pals is the book that started as The Picture Book Course branding and somehow ended up as a 2-book deal with Walker Books.

The big question: How do you write a zillion short stories with your pal in 10 sessions flat?

We chat about the origins of Salty (and which printmaker Bernard the duck is named after), the brilliant questions from the editors at Walker Books, why Kitty is basically Tania 😆, and the Nissen Hut story that didn't make it into the final draft no matter how hard we trieeed!

p.s. Salty Dog & Pals (Helen & Katie's new picture book) is now available to pre-order and will be in shops from May. To say thank you, all pre-orders get access to a picture book MASTERCLASS.

You can sign up for your free picture book masterclass here:

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/salty-dog-and-pals-the-storm-other-stories

It's instant access, so no need to wait.

(And if you've already pre-ordered, thank you!)

Rough timestamps for our timestamp-fans:

00:00 – Where did Salty Dog come from?

01:00 – From course mascot to Walker Books character

03:00 – Bernard the duck, and colour palette chat

05:00 – The thumbnail template that started it all

07:00 – The Jarvis format: not a picture book, not a chapter book

09:00 – Writing at the kitchen table: how it worked

11:00 – The Walker Books character questionnaire (we read it out)

13:00 – Who is Bernard, really? (William Hanson + Cameron)

15:00 – Kitty is Tania (reckless, chaotic, beloved)

17:00 – Lindisfarne, upturned boats + Helen's grandparents' Nissan Hut

20:00 – The story that was too violent to make it in

22:00 – Titles first, stories second

24:00 – What the editors actually did (magic, basically)

26:00 – Procreate vs paper + the cover saga

28:00 – Pre-order Salty Dog and Pals + free masterclass! (You can sign up for your free picture book masterclass here.)

Identity + rejection: when your illustration work is you 🥲

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 06:00:00 +0000

This week we're dragging ourselves away from our hypothetical gardens and custom urn businesses (lol) to have a proper sofa-chat about the big question: what would you do if you weren't an illustrator?

Specifically: Is your identity too wrapped up in your work? What happens when things go quiet on the work front?

COMMUNITY IS MAGIC.

That is all.

Happy listening.

p.s. Salty Dog & Pals (Helen & Katie's new picture book) is now available to pre-order and will be in shops from May. To say thank you, all pre-orders get access to a picture book MASTERCLASS.

You can sign up for your free picture book masterclass here:

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/salty-dog-and-pals-the-storm-other-stories

It's instant access, so no need to wait.

(And if you've already pre-ordered, thank you!)

Rough timestamps for our timestamp-fans:

00:00 – What would you do if you weren't an illustrator?

01:00 – Tania's custom urn business plan (trademark pending)

03:00 – Katie's nanny agency pivot

05:00 – The famine panic spiral ("day three with no enquiries: my life is over")

06:00 – Identity and rejection: when your work IS you

08:00 – Service illustration vs the author-illustrator beast

10:00 – Picture book advances, royalties + why multiple income streams matter

12:00 – Artist dates and keeping your ideas fed

15:00 – The real deal: what makes author-illustration different

16:00 – Katie & Helen's picture book Salty Dog & Pals (!!!) + the Walker Books Irish jig

18:00 – Live illustration: when the job you loved becomes just a job

20:00 – Community as salvation

22:00 – Good Ship origin story + the Christmas fair era

24:00 – Isolation is corrosive (and what to do about it)

25:00 – Finding your people: local groups, Instagram communities + Pencils on Toast

Instagram Is Not Your Portfolio (PHEW!)

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

This week we’re wrapped up in some blankets havin' a proper sofa-chat about Instagram.

Specificallyyyy:
Should your Instagram be your portfolio?

What's the difference between a snazzy website folio and the mad addictive world of social media?

We also get into showing your human face, illustrators following illustrators, AI-era credibility, and why you absolutely do not owe the algorithm/tech bros your nervous system.

Rough timestamps for our timestamp-fans:

00:00 – Blankets
01:00 – Instagram as a folio: should it be?
03:00 – The golden algorithm years (remember those?)
05:00 – You don’t own Instagram
06:30 – Portfolio pressure vs social sharing
08:00 – The 360° artist: personality, process + presence
10:00 – AI, visibility + being human
12:00 – Showing your face. Do it!
14:00 – Content creator burnout (no fanks)
16:00 – “Held hostage by consistency” rebellion
18:00 – Who is Instagram actually for?
20:00 – Community vs clients
22:00 – Annuals, competitions + the old-school ways
24:00 – Bologna Book Fair chat
26:00 – Books as permanent portfolios
28:00 – Sales pages vs old-school static folios
30:00 – Final takeaway: use Instagram, don’t let it use you

🍎 Elephantasia (aphantasia) - can you see an apple in your mind?

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

This week we roll headfirst into the interestin' world of aphantasia.

It all started with conversations inside Find Your Creative Voice and The Picture Book Course - when Good Shippers were telling us, “I can’t see ANYTHING in my head.” Which sent us down a rabbit hole of aphantasia, imagination. And does everyone experience it the same way?

Nope.

In this episode, we chat about:

What aphantasia is
The “apple test” 🍎
Emotional memory vs visual memory
Why some creatives need reference and others work 100% from imagination
Whether Google has made our “mind palace” lazy
Not being able to picture things can be a creative advantage. We promise.
Smells, textures, music and sensory imagination
Synesthesia (colours for days of the week?)
Why your wobbly memory-bike drawing might be better than a perfect diagram
How imagination changes from childhood to adulthood
Blind drawing experiments we neeeeed to try at Art Club

Timestamps for our timestamp fans

00:00 – Elephantasia? Aphantasia? However you say it…
02:00 – The apple spectrum and vivid vs blank imagery
03:00 – Reading fiction without mental pictures
05:00 – Emotional memory and creepy seaside steps
07:00 – Mental collage vs drawing from scratch
10:00 – Drawing bikes from memory
11:00 – Why aphantasia might make you a better designer
14:00 – Idioms, haystacks and giant bears
16:00 – Smells, lemons and sensory imagination
17:30 – Synesthesia and coloured weekdays
20:00 – Wolves, dreams and Google as reference
23:00 – Teenage bedrooms and peak memory moments
25:00 – Is creativity in your head or your hands?
28:00 – Blind Art Club challenge incoming 👀

What about you?

Can you see the shiny apple? Or is it more of a murky apple-shaped idea?

We’d genuinely love to know. Come over to Instagram and tell us how your brain works. We're nosy.

Anna Mac on finding her creative voice (after years designing for retail)

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Permission to play can change EVERYTHING!

This week we’re chatting to Anna Mac - artist, printmaker, illustrator, product designer, sleep counsellor, mum of twins, and hardcore Good Shipper who's been sailing with us since 2020.

In this episode, we talk about scenic creative routes, why permission to play can change everything, creative voice vs paying the bills, and why sometimes felting a jumper is juuuust what your brain needs.

Rough timestamps for our timestamp-fans:

00:00 – Intro + course news
01:00 – Anna’s background: fine art, printmaking + retail product design
03:00 – Social work → creative rediscovery
05:00 – Sweden influence + graphic print inspiration
06:00 – Lockdown pivot + 100 day project energy
07:00 – Finding creative voice even when you’re already “successful”
09:00 – Taste is everywhere (home, clothes, environment)
11:00 – Confidence, feedback and trusting your own eye
13:00 – Agent life + picture book submissions
14:00 – Balancing creativity, family life and part-time sleep counselling
16:00 – Creative hobbies that are just for you
17:00 – Creativity as a way of being (Rick Rubin chat)
19:00 – Personal manifestos vs New Year’s resolutions
21:00 – Listening to your gut when making work
23:00 – Journalling + morning pages (ish, not perfectly)
25:00 – Visual diaries and recording life through drawing
27:00 – Stories we tell ourselves about who gets to be creative
28:00 – Rejection collections + persistence mindset
30:00 – Rejection rituals (tea, brownie, gallery trip recommended)
31:00 – Creative voice is never “finished”
32:00 – Lifetime access + coming back to learning later in life

Stuff mentioned:

Anna's website - www.annamacstudio.com

Anna's Instagram - @annamacstudio

Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag course
The Artist’s Way – Julia Cameron
The Creative Act – Rick Rubin

Good Ship Illustration Monthly Numbers Tracker (freebie) - To help you keep on top of your monthly numbers and track progress in your creative career.

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

Anna is an illustrator who works from her home studio in Perthshire, Scotland.
She has a background in fine art and printmaking and spent several years creating design-led product collections for the retail market. Client commissions included heritage retailers and international buyers, and her work has sold in shops and galleries in the UK and abroad.
Anna combines printmaking techniques, drawing and collage to produce her work, with a focus on children’s illustration. Anna also loves to work with lino, and she uses this approach to create prints and book covers.

Are illustrators doomed… or is this our time to shiiiiiine? [AI workshop replay]

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Here's the audio replay from our AI workshop last week. There are slides too - the full replay with slides is available to watch HERE (but it goes away today. We're putting the workshop inside Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag.) There's a PDF handout to download there too. Go grab it before it disappears!

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/aiworkshop

The audio isn't perfect, but neither are we 😅

🚢 In this episode we cover:

Why brands are craving human-made work more than ever
The weird, wonky human stuff AI can’t copy
Copyright, licensing, and why clients still need real illustrators
How your life experiences = your creative advantage
Prompts to help you find your “brain treasure” ideas
What you *can* control

Timestamps

00:00 Workshop intro + why everyone is panicking about AI
01:00 The good news
04:00 Why companies still need human illustrators
07:00 The “AI ick” and why audiences can feel it too
10:00 The power of personal voice and life experience
12:00 Human prompts to help you mine your own ideas
15:00 Anti-AI backlash in branding and marketing
17:00 Obsessions, hobbies, and niche interests = creative gold
20:00 Why we don’t teach “house style” illustration
23:00 Copyright, campaigns, and protecting creators
26:00 How AI is (and isn’t) affecting different illustration fields
29:00 Advice for grads and early career illustrators
32:00 Radical incrementalism and not fixing everything at once
35:00 Finding community without spending loads

Links & things mentioned

Justice for Creators campaign (their AI report is on there too)
Association of Illustrators resources
Creative Lives in Progress
Good Ship Art Club + freebies
Our full AI workshop replay

Aaand last but not least... Find your creative voice!

Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag - a shiny new live round begins on Monday the 16th Feb.
When you join on or before Valentine's Day, our gift to you = an instant download of our mock briefs PDF so you can start your portfolio building straight away, no faffing about and waiting.
Read all about it here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

Tara Tayyebi Fard on finding her creative voice (and illustration career) after 10 years of being an architect

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Pssst, while you're here... On Tuesday 10th February 2026 we're running a live workshop! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/aiworkshop

Standing out in a sea of robots: being an illustrator when AI is everywhere

This workshop's perfect for you if you:

Call yourself an illustrator, image-maker (or want to)
Feel a bit wobbly about AI and what it means for your style and creative work
Want to stand out in a sea of slop
Know you're brilliant, but struggle to articulate what makes you different
Are ready to stop worrying and start being more unapologetically YOU.

Let’s get weirder, eh? 🤖

------------------------------------

OK! On with the show(notes)!

"Unfortunately, I was good at maths."
-Tara Tayyebi Fard

Tara is a Persian illustrator, humorist, architect and violinist currently based in Belgium.
She grew up reading stories, playing music, keeping a stack of diaries, and offending people by drawing them all fat.
Tara spent most of her adult life studying and working in architecture, and has been whining about it ever since. She now holds a masters degree from Amsterdam School of Art, which she happily keeps in the depths of her wardrobe.
In 2023, Tara jumped aboard the Good Ship Illustration, rediscovered her love for drawing and gradually started her career as an illustrator. Two years later, she signed with her agent, Lucie at Luddington Creative; working on picture books, doing commissions, live event illustration and making personal work.

Tara pivoted to a career in illustration after 10 years of being an architect.

In this episode, we chat to Good Shipper Tara about finding her creative voice, why being properly herself is what led to her dream clients, why being unsuccessful can be weirdly freeing, aaaaand **deep breath** how consistency and creative jealousy can be big flashing neon signs to help you figure out what you DO want to do.

Rough timestamps for our timestamp-fans:

00:00 – Intro + free workshop mention
02:00 – Architecture → illustration pivot moment
05:00 – Childhood clues + diaries + sketchbooks
08:00 – Being annoyed = excellent character research
09:00 – 60 weeks of Substack and what that builds
10:00 – Illustration loneliness vs illustration community reality
12:00 – Making work when the world feels a bit bleak
14:00 – Commission hamster wheel vs personal work
15:00 – Dream clients happen when you show your actual personality
17:00 – The “what you love / what you’re good at / what pays” overlap
19:00 – Planning for creative brains (menus > rigid schedules)
23:00 – Creative jealousy = useful information, not failure
26:00 – The regret test (8-year-old you vs 80-year-old you)
27:00 – Can illustrators make money? Also: you can be bad at any career 😌

Stuff mentioned:

Tara's Substack: https://substack.com/@tarastimeout
Tara's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tara.tekentafel
Tara's website: https://www.taratayyebifard.com/

Good Ship Illustration Monthly Numbers Tracker (freebie)

Want to know what February’s #WalkToSee prompt is?

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Are you joining in with #WalktoSee?

In this episode, we chat about how our Helen's hashtag Walk to See started, how it works, (there are basically no rules 😆), and why monthly prompts are muuch gentler on the brain/energy levels than daily prompts.

In this episode:
00:00 What Walk to See is
01:30 The only “rule”
02:30 Why the format changed
03:30 How often you actually need to draw
04:30 January’s prompt
05:30 Interpreting “wet”
06:30 Why daily challenges can be a bit much
07:30 Community stuff
08:30 Being seen on Instagram
09:30 Sharing / being shared
10:30 Drawing in the rain
11:30 Drawing in the dark
13:30 Walk to See GIFs
14:30 How to get a gold star
15:30 Imperfect drawings

How to join in:
Draw something from life <-- that's the only rule!
Take a photo.
Share it on Instagram using #WalkToSeeWet to join in with February's walk to see!

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢✨

When you want to work but can’t seem to start

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Ahhh this ol' chestnut. You know it. We've aaall been there. You sit down...you need to work. But you get absolutely nowt done. Instead, you do absolutely everything else... then panic-work at the last minute, or just never get round to it.

You're not alone!

Most illustrators we speak to will have their own weird and wonderful tricks to get into work mode.

In this episode, we talk about fear, procrastination, perfectionism, and all the daft (+ useful) ways we trick ourselves into starting anyhoo.

Rough timestamps for our timestamp-fans:
00:00 – Bribery
02:00 – Fear & perfectionism
03:00 – The 20-minute rule
04:00 – Drip drip drip
05:00 – Warming up still counts!
06:30 – Calling it “the bad version”
07:30 – Drafts & sleeping on it
08:30 – Why big projects feel terrifying
09:30 – HAVE FUN OR ELSE
11:00 – Tell the logical bit of your brain to shhhhh
12:30 – Tricks for focus that work
14:00 – You like drawing, remember? 😅
15:00 – Keeping the life in your work
16:30 – Spread yourself aboot (don't put too much pressure on one bit of work)
17:30 – Your tricks - please share what helps YOU!

We are nosy. We want to hear what helps you concentrate and get some creative work done.

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢✨

Is copying ever OK in illustration? When does inspiration turn into plagiarism? 👀✏️

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Let’s talk about the big hairy thing that no one really wants to talk about… copying.

In this episode, we discuss inspiration, and how social media has changed things so much for illustrators. Trying on someone else’s illustration hat for too long can derail your creative career.

This one’s especially for you if you’ve ever felt like someone's getting a bit toooo inspired by your work, or you've though
“Ach, easy peasy. I could do that style!”
(And then felt a bit weird about it.)

We talk about:

Why illustrators now mostly look at other illustrators for inspiration (and why that’s tricky)
How social media has changed taste, trends, and originality
The danger of trend-based work and being easily replaceable
What actually makes a personal creative voice memorable
Why copying someone’s style can feel successful… until it doesn’t
Rebecca Green, ethics
Being inspired vs copying and where that line really is
Don't sand off all of your personality!
Typos, wonkiness, we luv 'em
A human made the work
What to do if you think you’ve been copied (or fear you have)
Authenticity 4eva

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢✨

You're invited! Plan your creative year with The Good Ship Illustration

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000

This is a wee replay from last year (with a new intro to tell you the new dates for our planning party)

-------------------

Are you raring to set goals, or are you feeling more “no plans, just let me lie down” this year?

We chat about:

Why some years are for sprinting, and others are for walking.
The power of visual goal-setting.
How to make goals human-sized, doable, and fun, without freaking yourself out.

Here's a Good Ship permission slip to do your 2026 goal-setting in a way that works for your brain/energy-levels/life.

Get your space on the 2026 planning party HERE: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/planningparty

You’ll Never Feel Ready. Do It Anyway. An interview with Good Shipper Amber Au.

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 06:00:00 +0000

What a treat of an episode! Today we’re chatting with Good Shipper and picture book author–illustrator Amber Au.

Amber talks about how drawing became part of her recovery from an eating disorder and how her therapist encouraged her to send her illustration work to her first ever client. Aaand how - in two whirlwind months - she was suddenly winning awards, signing a three-book deal, and being invited to meet editors at Bologna. Whaaa!?

What a blimmin' brilliant reminder to do the things. Even when you don't feel "ready".

In this episode we cover:

How Amber rediscovered drawing through her food diary
Why starting with your local community can snowball into big opportunities
How to survive mixed feedback
Competitions, and finding your people
Being a self-taught illustrator
Discipline, rest, and cultural expectations
Picture books, packaging, and branching out into multiple income streams
Amber's Bologna experience… including editors fangirling over her work (!)

Rough Timestamps

00:00 – Introducing Amber and her illustration journey
01:00 – Awards, exhibitions, and feeling overwhelmed
02:00 – From nutritionist → illustrator → private tutor → illustrator again
03:00 – Using a food diary as a creative lifeline
04:00 – Getting encouraged to approach her first client
05:00 – Community, grassroots beginnings, and early work in Hong Kong
06:00 – Entering competitions and the door-opening magic that followed
07:00 – The leap from self-taught to picture book maker
08:00 – Finding a clear voice without formal training
09:00 – Discipline, rest, and the cultural pressure to always “do more”
10:00 – Blue Tomato beginnings
11:00 – Mixed reviews, conflicting opinions, and staying true to your vision
13:00 – Bologna meetings and signing with Little Tiger
15:00 – Knowing which advice is actually useful
17:00 – Copying as learning vs developing your own voice
18:00 – Style influences: Hong Kong comics, European picture books, texture, mark-making
19:00 – Procreate, iPad life, and her work habits
20:00 – Diversifying income: packaging, food illustration, prints
21:00 – New opportunities, restaurants, markets, and thinking strategically
22:00 – Picture books, nonfiction, and future plans
23:00 – Final encouragement: “You’ll never feel ready. Do it anyway.”

Links & things mentioned

Amber’s blog: The Pencil Bakery
Bologna Children’s Book Fair (We're going to be there in 2026 - we've booked a stand! Come and say hello if you're visiting Bologna.)
Inkling Agency
Little Tiger Press
Blue Tomato (Amber’s upcoming book)

p.s. We have a little rest at this time of year, so the podcast is having a rest too. We'll be back in January! 🎁

An interview with Lisa Congdon - consistency and finding your creative voice

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 06:00:00 +0000

If you're an illustrator with access to the internet and you have eyeballs, you might've seen Lisa Congdon's work. Lisa started blogging her collections and illustrations back in the good ol' days, and even remembers Instagram back when it was good. (Remember that? It was nice, wasn't it?)

In this episode, Katie asks Lisa about consistency and how to keep on keepin' on when the world is the way it is. We also meander through topics like ADHD, collections, comparison, agents - whether or not she has one - and last but not least, daily projects that change everythinggg.

In this episode we cover:

Ceramic mushroom collection 👀
The “messy middle” bit of being an illustrator
How consistency has served her well
Surviving financially in the early years
Why not being a perfectionist was her secret super power
Instagram in 2025
How to know when to work with an agent
The magical domino effect of following excitement
Squishing comparison and staying in your own lane

Very rough timestamps in case you want to skip to a certain bit

00:00 – Welcoming Lisa! How a decade of calendars sparked the consistency conversation
01:00 – Hyperfocus, collecting tigers, cycling five times a week, and going “all in”
02:30 – Early days: Etsy, commissions, pet portraits, and figuring out a style
04:00 – Most illustrators quit
05:30 – ADHD, Capricorn energy, and learning to be organised
07:00 – Posting imperfect work online and why it mattered
08:30 – Sharing finances, getting an agent, and diversifying income streams
10:00 – “A Collection A Day” and the power of daily projects
11:00 – Agents: when they help, when they don’t, and how pricing works
13:00 – The hardest job she’s ever done and how her agent stepped in
14:00 – Instagram then vs. Instagram now
16:00 – Why video doesn’t light her up
18:00 – The comparison trap (yes, even Lisa feels it!)
20:00 – Following your gut over the algorithm
21:00 – The daily project that led to a bestselling book
24:00 – Chronicle Books, chance encounters, and the magic of just...showing up!?
26:00 – The domino effect of doing what excites you
27:00 – Human Design chat 👀
28:00 – Byeee Lisa

Links for this episode:

Lisa Congdon: https://lisacongdon.com
Lisa's Books: https://www.chroniclebooks.com
Follow Lisa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisacongdon

How illustrator Jill Calder built a long-lasting creative career (without losing her voice)

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 06:00:00 +0000

In this episode, our Tania chats with multi award-winning illustrator Jill Calder about 30+ years of illustration, and how she’s explored pretty much the entire “illustration atlas” without losing herself along the way.

Stuff we cover:

Staying recognisably Jill across 30+ years of illustration
Moving from editorial to corporate to heritage work
Building a career with both illustration and hand lettering
Big, bonkers corporate jobs (including handwriting as other people!)
Making the leap into children’s books later in her career
The reality of nonfiction vs fiction picture books (time, fees, and headspace)
Colour palettes, maps and Google Earth “walks” for picture atlases
Working with Jackie Kay on Coorie Doon and handling deeply emotional text
Bringing wild, playful colour to I Love You Every Color
Keeping energy and looseness in final artwork
What Jill’s working on now – including a brand new picture book with Gecko Press

Rough Timestamps

00:00 – Tania introduces Jill and why she’s a Good Ship favourite
02:30 – Early days: art school, editorial work and the 90s newspaper scene
05:00 – “By chance, someone took a risk on me…” – moving into design & corporate jobs
07:30 – Becoming “the handwriting person”
11:30 – The wildest job ever
15:00 – Champagne, iPads and the very fancy side of ad agency work
16:30 – Exhibition days, analogue work and why looseness matters
18:00 – Stumbling into children’s nonfiction with Robert the Bruce
21:00 – Picture atlases, strict colour palettes and Google Earth walks
22:30 – Nonfiction vs fiction picture books – fees, length and workload
26:00 – Collaborating with Jackie Kay on Coorie Doon and illustrating big feelings
29:30 – I Love You Every Colour – an illustrator’s dream text
31:30 – Two very different books in one year: soft dreamland vs riot of colour
33:30 – Handling emotion, light and character across spreads
34:30 – New project: Cass and the Beast for Gecko Press
35:30 – Keeping rough energy in final artwork (and managing the stress of it!)
37:00 – Where Jill pops up inside Good Ship courses and Facebook groups

Stuff we mentioned

Jill Calder – illustration, lettering and books
Find Your Creative Voice – Fly Your Freak Flag (Good Ship course)
The Picture Book Course (Good Ship course)
Robert the Bruce – nonfiction picture book
Coorie Doon – written by Jackie Kay, illustrated by Jill Calder
I Love You Every Colour – written by Carolyn Rose, illustrated by Jill Calder
Upcoming: Cass and the Beast – written by Clare Mabey, illustrated by Jill Calder (Gecko Press)

Byeeee for now!

x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

How to stop your illustration style looking generic & blah

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Y'know when you feel like your work is neeearly there… but it's missing a lil something-something? This podcast episode is all about that. Overcoming that.

How the heck do you put more humanness into your work?

🧠 What we talk about in this one

“Accomplished” isn’t the same as “alive”
How generic styles can creep in without us noticing
The danger of trying to look like “a picture book illustrator”
Why you need to make work that freaks you out a tiny bit 🤪
The power of real memories and emotions
Ideas that stick: why some stories stay with us
How character, tension, and contradiction shape good storytelling
Letting your real obsessions lead the way 🐌
Yessss, research in bookshops is absolutely definitely part of the job

🕰️ Timestamps

00:00 – Aaccomplished work with no heart
01:00 – “Picture book style” stereotypes and why they’re dangerous
02:00 – Generic vs personal: how to tell the difference
03:00 – Making work that stops an art director mid-scroll
04:00 – Emotion in drawings (and penguins)
05:00 – True stories - using your real life
06:00 – The Nissen Hut
07:30 – Sticky ideas
09:00 – Plots built on tiny universal moments
10:00 – A “Smile in the Mind”
11:00 – Writing craft: thesis / antithesis / synthesis
13:00 – Character dynamics and why Bernard is… Bernard 🦆
14:00 – Films to study (hello, Groundhog Day)
15:00 – How Helen learned to write
16:00 – Why sitting in a bookshop absolutely counts as work
17:00 – Picture books now vs the 90s
18:00 – Jill Calder, Libby VanderPloeg, and holding onto your voice
20:00 – Don’t perform
21:00 – Honesty wins

🔗 Stuff & People Wot We Mentioned

A Smile in the Mind - Tania's design book recommendation by Beryl McAlhone & David Stuart
Made to Stick (the kidney-harvesting myth book Katie mentioned!) - Chip & Dan Heath
Groundhog Day - film
Jill Calder: https://jillcalder.com
Libby VanderPloeg: https://libbyvanderploeg.com
Emily Howorth-Booth’s writing workshops that Helen loves
Good Ship Illustration courses: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com

We’re good at failing (and you can be too) 🤣 the power of experiments

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 06:00:00 +0000

This week on The Good Ship Illustration Podcast, we’re chatting all things experiments - we get particularly excited about FAILED experiments. In the words of that there Bob Ross, "we don't make mistakes, we just have happy accidents". 😆

Behind the scenes, Helen gave Tania a haircut just before we recorded this episode. Can you hear Tania's new hair?

Timestamps for our timestamp fans:
00:00 – Mmmm new ideas
01:00 – Katie’s “scaling the business” experiment that didn’t work
02:00 – Undoing things that aren’t fun anymore
03:00 – Helen’s new plan
05:00 – Tania’s in the boot of the car
06:00 – Helen’s failed online school visits experiment
08:00 – Moving from digital art back to paper
09:00 – Helen’s Substack paywall experiment (inspired by Blindboy)
12:00 – The birth of The Good Ship Illustration 🚢
13:00 – Haircuts
14:00 – Art Club’s accidental success
15:00 – Why experiments matter (and how to run one properly)
18:00 – Creative defiance and why being told what to do ruins everything 😂
20:00 – From accidental experiments to a whole career

Links & Stuff We Mentioned:

The Good Ship Illustration on Instagram (the Art Club replays are here!)
The Picture Book Course
Sticker snail mail bonus ends 21st November 🎟️

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

What publishers reeeeally want to see in your picture book pitch

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 06:00:00 +0000

First, before we jump into the show notes, here's the link to sign up to the Picture Book Pitching Masterclass we've got happening soon!

🗓️ When: 17th of November at 1 pm UK time

💰 Cost: Freeeee

🚢 RSVP here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/pbpm

How do illustrators actually get their picture books published? And what really goes on at Bologna Children’s Book Fair?

This episode is all about pitching, portfolios, publishers, and… how we each pronounce the word plaster? 😅

Here’s what we cover:

Bologna Book Fair! ✈️
How to submit to the Bologna Illustrator Exhibition (deadline alert! They extended it to the 6th November! Sorry, we said the wrong date in this episode, but do let us know if you managed to submit something so we can high-five you.)
The Picture Book Pitching Masterclass with Helen and Jane Porter 🎓 https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/pbpm
How to pitch your book ideas
Overcoming the terror of sharing your work 😬
Building resilience to rejection
The “myth of being discovered”
Our excitin' Bologna Book Fair plans...

🕑 Timestamps
00:00 – Bologna excitement (and confusion)
01:00 – What really happens at the fair
02:00 – Snail mail sticker packs & upcoming Picture Book Masterclass
03:00 – Helen’s no-rules pitching philosophy
06:00 – Regional accent chaos: “masterclass” vs “plaster”
07:00 – Getting seen by publishers (and why Instagram still matters)
08:00 – Facing the fear of rejection
10:00 – Mindset hacks: why what others think is none of your business
12:00 – Myths about being “discovered”
13:00 – Good Ship’s Bologna stand & plans for 2026
15:00 – Why every illustrator should go at least once
16:00 – Global publishing inspiration 🌍
17:00 – Dreaming up a “Gone Fishing” Good Ship stall

Links we mentioned:

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

'If it looks awful, keep going. It’ll work out' - an interview with illustrator Catherine Rayner

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 06:00:00 +0000

This week we’re interviewing another creative for the podcast. Hooray!

Catherine Rayner is an award-winning author and illustrator based in Edinburgh, whose books have sold over two million copies and been translated into 35 languages. She’s written and illustrated 25 picture books and collaborated with legends like Julia Donaldson, Michael Morpurgo, and Michael Bond.

Winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal (and shortlisted six more times!), Catherine also paints, runs a greetings card and babywear range, and can usually be found in her studio surrounded by ink, animals, and Post-it notes.

Phew.

In this chat, Katie asks Catherine about:

What an average week in the studio looks like
Planning everything using a wall calendar and Post-it notes
Working with Julia Donaldson
Short deadlines and thriving on a wee bit of panic
Being a mum and illustrator at the same time
Instagram, rejection, keeping your creative confidence alive
A pep talk for newer illustrators

Rough timestamps for our timestamp fans:
00:00 – Meet Catherine!
03:00 – Post-it notes, assistants, and studio life in Edinburgh
10:00 – Julia Donaldson, ear-cleaning(!?) + friendship
17:00 – Jason Donovan and creative boldness
20:00 – 100 rejections, persistence, and finding your people
23:00 – Instagram tips and why numbers don’t matter
29:00 – Motherhood, burnout, and how it really gets easier
36:00 – Catherine’s parting words

Links mentioned
Catherine Rayner’s website
Follow Catherine on Instagram

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

'If you keep showing up, you can't NOT get better' - an interview with Sandi Hester

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 06:00:00 +0100

We've decided to play around a bit and do some INTERVIEWS. Ooooh.

First up is artist and YouTuber Sandi Hester, who recently moved from the US into a 100-year-old fixer-upper house in the UK.

Katie (gently) grills Sandi about what it’s been like moving country and keeping her creative practice alive through chaos, health challenges, and renovation dust.

Sandi shares how painting has become her lifeline, why perfectionism is joy’s worst enemy, and how she’s learned to quiet the “blobbity blob” of negative self-talk that plagues so many creatives.

Nice.

💬 In this episode, we talk about:

The big move from America to England
How painting became Sandi’s release and restful place during years of illness
Building the “muscles of creativity” to keep making art no matter what’s going on
The “blobbity blob” of self-talk and why you can’t judge your art in the moment
Going back to her older, more figurative painting style after moving to the UK
Running a YouTube channel as a full-time job and how it replaced the gallery route
Why being messy and human built more trust with her audience than a polished version ever could
The unseen workload behind one 20-minute YouTube video (and why she can’t start a Patreon!)
How perfectionism stops us from creating and why “the best you can do today” is always enough
Why creatives should enjoy the journey instead of chasing the destination
Learning to separate your self-worth from likes, follows, and algorithm robots 🤖
Her advice to artists: stop stressing, stop comparing, and just enjoy the paint sliding across the page

🕰️ Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Introducing Sandi Hester and her big move
02:00 – Creating through renovation chaos and hard seasons
05:00 – The “blobbity blob” of mental chatter
07:00 – Letting go of perfection and learning to just play
09:00 – Returning to figurative painting (and why everyone thinks England “transformed” her work)
10:00 – Choosing YouTube over galleries and showing real life online
12:00 – Filming through health struggles and letting people see the messy truth
15:00 – The hidden full-time workload behind one short video
17:00 – Lowering the bar so you can actually make things
19:00 – Teaching thought process over technique
21:00 – How the YouTube algorithm punishes missed uploads (“Feed the beast!”)
24:00 – Doing good work without being salesy
27:00 – Staying the course even when you feel like bubblegum under a chair
29:00 – Why the journey is the fun part
33:00 – Re-training your inner critic
35:00 – Final encouragements and gratitude

🌈 Links mentioned

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢🎨

A Bologna Book Fair special: 6 Good Shippers were finalists in the Illustrators Exhibition!

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Hi there, Helen here.

This is a special episode of the podcast because we had six of our Good Shippers - that’s people who’ve done our courses - selected as finalists in the Bologna Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition!

Which is pretty amazing news. It’s really difficult to be a finalist because the competition is so high. Last year there were 4,374 people who entered, and only 324 were selected to be finalists. So for six of them to be Good Shippers is SO exciting.

Now that the fair’s finished, I thought it would be lovely to catch up with them and hear how it all went. In this episode, you’ll hear from Emma Simpson, Lisa Loffredo, Amber Au, Sam Jones and Kate Leiper.

A special mention to Charlotte Durrance, who was also a finalist but couldn’t make it to the recording.

Congratulations to all of you!

V Rough timestamps in case you like that sort of thing:

[00:00] Helen introduces the six Good Shippers who made it to Bologna 🎉
[00:02] Emma Simpson
[00:11] Lisa Loffredo
[00:18] Amber Au
[00:25] Sam Jones
[00:37] Kate Leiper

Other links mentioned

Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag course

The Picture Book course

DPictus Showcase

Bologna Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition info on how to take part
– Entries usually open in July and close in November

Tiffany Leeson
– Creative Director at Farshore Books

Ken Max Wilson
– Writer, illustrator and publisher

Picture Hooks
– Helping illustrators access the world of children’s publishing (based in Edinburgh, open to all emerging illustrators)

🎉 If you’d like to apply for the Bologna Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition, the doors are usually open from July until November.

Get your work ready and go for it!

We're cheering you on.

Taraa!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

#WalkToSee is baaack! The hashtag responsible for over 120,000 drawings (join in!)

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Our Helen’s #WalkToSee hashtag on Instagram is baaaack with a new monthly prompt. After seven years of #walktosee there are now over 120,000 drawings on there and counting!

In this episode, we chat about Helen’s relaunch of #WalkToSee (with new monthly prompts), drawing from life vs. photos, why small sketchbooks are weirdly hard, aaand rediscovering messy materials and carbon paper.

Special guest: an enormous chunk of charcoal.

If you'd like a gentle kick up the butt to do some drawing from life, then join in!

In this episode:

The story behind #WalkToSee and why Helen's relaunched it
How to join this month’s prompt: #WalkToSeeWeather ☁️🌧️
Why drawing from life feels more “alive”
Sketching in public = good panic
Small sketchbooks or massive sketchbooks... which camp are you in?
Materials that make drawing fun again (paint sticks! Sharpies! toilet roll!)
The autumn urge to make something just for fun
Apple presses, lino cuts, carbon paper and whisky samples

Timestamps:
00:00 – Helen on starting #WalkToSee back in 2018
02:00 – Why hashtags stopped working and how she brought it back
04:00 – October’s prompt: #WalkToSeeWeather
06:00 – Drawing tiny and feeling rusty
08:00 – Sharpies, paint sticks and rediscovering fun materials
10:00 – Drawing in public (and how to avoid chatty strangers)
12:00 – The “panic” energy in real-life drawing
15:00 – Autumn creative urges and sneaky side projects
17:00 – The joy of carbon paper and slow stationery
19:00 – Studio updates, new neighbours and collaboration
20:00 – Katie’s apple obsession 🍎
21:00 – Tiny whisky bottles

Links & things mentioned:

Join in on Instagram: #WalkToSeeWeather
Helen’s Instagram: @helenstephenslion
and ours @thegoodshipillustration
The Good Ship Illustration: www.thegoodshipillustration.com

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢

Remember drawing for...fun? 😅 what is that?

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Deadlines... yeah yeah yeahhh, but what about doing illustration stuff just for YOU!?
This week we chat about squishing in personal projects when client work always feels much more urgent.

We are gathering ourselves after a very exciting Illustration Business Club launch.

Phew! Definitely time for fun non-worky projects around here.

(Rough) Timestamps if you want to skip to a certain bit

00:00 Question: “How do you make time for personal artwork?”
01:00 Why deadlines are easier than self-led projects
02:00 Fine art drive vs. illustration mindset
03:00 Projects we have managed to finish (and why)
05:00 Creativity that doesn’t look like ‘work’
07:00 You’re probably doing more than you realise
08:00 The power of art clubs + sketching friends
09:00 Big projects that turn into ‘scratch records’
10:00 Permission to make things simple (or stop entirely)
12:00 Sorting hat trick for choosing ideas
14:00 Productivity
16:00 Parking ideas and bullet journaling
18:00 Craft supplies, hoarding, and deferring projects
20:00 New paints, new studios, more art clubs
21:00 Psssst...you’re probably already doing more than you think

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

"Double your fee without drawing more" say whaaat!?

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 06:00:00 +0100

First things first, DOORS CLOSE TONIGHT! We start on Monday.

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business

Be lovely to see you in there.

Psssst, this is the lowest the price will ever be, and we're not opening the doors again until September 2026.

🚢🚢🚢

Right. Podcast shownotes.

Yes. Where were we?

Here's a very quick lesson on copyright and licensing before you listen to this episode 🤓

Copyright = you own the work.
Licence = permission your client buys to use the work in specific ways (where, how long, which media, exclusive or not).

Ok, lesson's over. Thanks for coming.

If you'd like to earn more without drawing more, then keep your copyright, license the usage, and price it properly.

It's juicy, not boring. We promise!

Timestamps, if you want to skip ahead to a certain bit

00:00 Why giving away copyright is a no-go
01:00 Licence basics you can actually use
02:30 Picture books: advances, royalties, reversions
04:30 Foreign rights & special sales (how the money flows)
06:30 Trust, statements, and chasing missing royalties
07:30 Licensing agents & exclusivity windows
09:00 Advertising uses: above/below the line (cost jumps)
10:30 Building a simple “menu” clients can pick from
12:00 Case study: the map that earned double via licensing
14:00 Live illustration: online use vs print/murals
16:30 Excluding branding/merch in your standard licence
18:00 Merch options: flat fee vs % royalty
20:00 Originals, ownership, and cautionary tales
22:00 Why this stuff makes your work pay better

The bit art school forgot to teach you 😅

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 06:00:00 +0100

🌎✏️ The Illustrator’s Income Atlas - exciting free workshop announcement!
🗓️ 24th Sept | ⏰ 1pm UK | 📍 Online
Let's sit down together and map out your illustration income. You'll leave with a plan (a map, woohooo) you can stick on your wall and use.
Save your spot and SIGN UP HERE!

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/atlas

Ok, on with the shownotes 🤓

We’ve taken our Business Course, given it a fresh lick of paint, and made it eeeeven more fun.

It's now called Illustration Business Club...

And the doors open tonight! (19th September 2025).

You don't need your shoulderpads. Just bring yourself and a bit of an open mind to learn how the money-and-business side of illustration works.

In this episode, we talk a bit about why we’re saying goodbye to the word “course” and what this shiny new Illustration Business Club is gonna look like. You're in for a treat - it’s eeeven better.

By the way, if you're already in the Business Course, you don't need to do anything. You'll be inside Illustration Business Club automagically.

Phew!

Lifetime access
Community perks: private Facebook group + co-working every 2 weeks
Nice open chats about pricing, clients, and fees

It'd be lovely to see you in there!

Timestamps, for our timestamp fans.

00:00 Big news: the Business Course has changed
01:00 Why “club” feels right (and way more fun)
02:00 All modules unlocked: learn at your pace
03:00 Community: private group + live calls
04:00 What art school didn’t teach you
05:00 Honest conversations about money + fees
06:00 Adding new income streams
07:00 Pricing insights: Katie & Helen’s two perspectives
08:00 Guest interviews + insider knowledge
08:30 Bonus: live Q&A with copyright lawyers
09:00 How to join the Illustration Business Club

Links mentioned

Join the Illustration Business Club HERE
Sign up for our free income workshop HERE
Come and be our Instagram pals HERE

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

Nice illustrator loneliness & working from home

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 06:00:00 +0100

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/atlas

Ok, on with the shownotes 🤓

Why we secretly love working alone (almost all the time)

This week we got a good question from an anonymous listener 'how do I deal with loneliness when working from home?'

Sometimes we love it, sometimes we do not 😅

In this episode we talk about:

Why lots of us illustrators prefer working solo… sometimes
Shared studios vs. doors-that-close
Headphones, boundaries, and avoiding “being watched” energy
Partner-as-studio-mates 👀 Can it work?
Using Zoom to humanise client relationships
Instagram as a “virtual kitchen”
Local micro-communities, Good Ship meet-ups, and regular check-ins
Assuming positive intent ❤️

Rough timestamps, for people who like that sort of thing

00:00 Anonymous listener Q: “How do I deal with loneliness working from home?”
01:00 Tania’s Hong Kong years: craving team vibes
02:30 Partners in the studio: the headphone solution
04:00 Open-plan offices, self-consciousness, and wiggly energy
05:30 The magic of a shut-the-door studio
06:30 Home distractions vs. helpful pottering
07:30 The dream setup: close to home, small, warm, tree view
09:00 Commit to the space: move the “big computer”
10:00 Cloud storage and keeping work in one place
10:30 Instagram as water cooler… or a brain sponge
11:30 Real-world chats that top up your social tank
12:30 Online threads that turn into real communities over time
13:30 Good Ship meet-ups: sketches groups and weekly Zooms
15:00 Why creativity needs privacy and no-one-is-watching energy
16:00 Lonely… but nice lonely (with planned people bits)
16:30 Zoom with clients to reduce email-anxiety and “they hate it” spirals
18:00 How to write and receive feedback without spiralling
19:00 The rule that saves sanity: assume positive intent
20:00 Quick answers: studios with doors, small communities, kinder stories

Byeee for now. Let us know if you're coming to the workshop. WE ARE SO EXCITED!! Here's the link again in case you missed it:

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/atlas

Picture Book, Freak Flag, or Business… which one is calling yoooou?

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Which course should I do? 🎨📚

We get asked this aaall the time: “Do I start with the Picture Book Course, Fly Your Freak Flag, or the Business Course?”

There is no wrong order.

Right now the Business Course isn’t open, but…
✨ The Illustration Business Club (our shiny new name for it) opens for enrolment on the 19th of September!

We almost dropped the word “business” because we thought it might put illustrators off. When we asked our students though, the answer was a big NO. That word was exactly what motivated them to jump in and learn the nuts and bolts of building a creative career they love (and get paid for).

Hooray! 🎉

In this episode, we chat through how to know which course might be the best place for YOU to start, and how to avoid getting stuck in analysis-mode worrying about making the wrong choice.

Here’s what we cover:

How to know if you have found your creative voice yet
Consistency = a magic ingredient for picture book characters
When does it make sense to start with Fly Your Freak Flag?
...or dive straight into the Picture Book Course
Our creative car vs business car analogy 🚗 🤓
Why the Business Course tends to work best after Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag
Freebies you can try if you're just not sure (Childhood Illustrated, the Colour Workshop, our Character Workshop and more)
The veeeery high-tech decision tree that makes the which-course-should-I-do choice for you 😆

Timestamps
00:00 – The big question: Which course first?
01:00 – Do you know your creative voice?
02:15 – Why consistency matters in picture books
03:00 – Picture Book vs Freak Flag (gut instinct wins)
04:30 – The Business Course (and why not to mix it in too soon)
05:30 – Creative car vs business car analogy
07:00 – What to do if you are not ready yet (hello freebies)
08:30 – The one-hour live illustration masterclass
09:00 – Our decision tree

Links and goodies mentioned

Find Your Creative Voice – Fly Your Freak Flag
The Picture Book Course
The Business Course
Freebies Page
(it's a long. Grab a cuppa.)
Live Illustration Masterclass
Art Club on Instagram - we're @thegoodshipillustration

Byeeee for now!

x The Good Ship Illustration

PANIIIIC! (or don’t...) 😅 | Summer camp sketchbook week 5

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Pssst, this episode was originally published in 2023 and we’re sharing it again as part of our Good Ship Summer Camp series. It’s one of five episodes to help you fly your freak flag this summer. If you’d like to join in properly, there’s a free workbook an' everything!

You can download the workbook here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook

Riiiight, pack up your art supplies. It’s the final week of our pretend Good Ship Summer Camp.

This week's topic is panic. Mmmmm. Our favourite. (How to stop doing it.)

In this episode:

Why “no panicking” is our golden rule here at the Good Ship Illustration
Part-time jobs, anti-desperation energy, and creative freedom
Cat metaphors, war artist fantasies, and business meetings 🐈‍⬛
Why shouting at yourself doesn’t work
Cheesy notes vs reverse psychology for calming down
Creativity and nervous systems (and when to just lie on the floor)
Finding your pace, your people, and your process

Want to join in?
Download the free Summer Camp workbook here

Timestamps:
0:00 – Welcome to week 5: no panicking allowed
1:18 – You can’t force creative growth (sorry)
3:01 – Part-time jobs = creative freedom
4:08 – Don’t fill your portfolio with jobs you don’t want more of
5:05 – Recap of all 5 creative steps
5:44 – Why being kind to yourself actually works
6:06 – Walks, breaks, and giving your brain a breather
7:13 – Live deadlines vs long deadlines
8:03 – Katie's war artist career plan (sort of)
8:31 – Action step: write a cheesy note or one to rebel against
9:18 – Course doors closing soon – but no pressure
9:41 – Byeeeee from Summer Camp!

Links mentioned:
📖 Download the free Summer Camp workbook
📚 Find Your Creative Voice – Fly Your Freak Flag course
🎧 Watch an Art Club on Instagram
📺 Watch Art Clubs on YouTube

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢

Play, OR ELSE 🎲 | Summer camp sketchbook week 4

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 06:00:00 +0100

You can download the workbook here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook

Feeling stuck? Procrastinating wildly? Hiyaaa this week's episode is for you.

PLAY!! It’s not optional. It can trick you into making your best work, and we are going to show you how to sneak it into your creative routine (even when you’re hiding from your sketchbook).

In this episode:

Why play isn’t just fluff, it’s a very necessary illustration fuel
Sneaky ways to outsmart your inner procrastinator
Fake deadlines
Making up your own artist residency (Tania-style)
Colour workshops, art clubs, and triple reverse psychology
Getting into “the zone” via flags, bush digging, or hot chocolate
One treat per timer session 🍫

Want to join in with our summer camp?
Download the free workbook here

Timestamps:
0:00 – Welcome to Day 4: Play, or else!
1:09 – Why play is the secret sauce for good work
3:04 – Fear of starting and how to ease into it
4:15 – Urgency, novelty, and fake deadlines
5:16 – Tania’s Barcelona residency (ahem, made-up)
6:09 – Playing with colour: the colour workshop 🎨
6:42 – Being kind to yourself vs bullying yourself into work
7:08 – Treats, timers, and starting small
8:12 – Getting into the zone (flags, bush digging, Blindboy)
9:31 – Action step: do an art club session with us!
10:22 – Course doors close soon + one-to-one feedback info
11:04 – Last episode of the series tomorrow!

Links mentioned:
📖 Download the free workbook
🎨 The Colour Workshop (free)
🎧 Watch an Art Club on Instagram
📺 Watch Art Clubs on YouTube
📚 Find Your Creative Voice – Fly Your Freak Flag course Doors are open right now! Come on iiiiin! Be lovely to have you sailing with us.
🎧 Blindboy Podcast

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢

Finding Creative Confidence 🚢 | Summer camp sketchbook week 3

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 06:00:00 +0100

You can download the workbook here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook

Feeling a bit wobbly about your work? You’re not alone. In fact, you’re very much in the club.

In today’s episode, we’re talking about confidence – or the lack of it – and how community, creative voice, and good pals can make all the difference.

In this episode:

The niggly voice that says you’re not good enough (blergh)
Why working alone is tough and how community helps
Creative confidence vs comparison doom scrolls
Why finding your voice removes the pressure to compete
Helen’s career pivot from baby books to bold new work
The bravery of letting your work be fast, weird and you
How to connect with fellow illustrators online (without being creepy)

Want to join in with us?
Download the free workbook here

Timestamps:
0:00 – Hello and welcome to *week* 3!
1:19 – “My work isn’t good enough” – how to quiet the voice
2:19 – Community builds confidence (and sanity)
4:32 – Competition, scarcity mindset, and the Bologna Book Fair
5:30 – Other illustrators are as important as art directors
6:17 – Instagram friendships + the power of being visible
8:37 – What if your style no longer fits who you are?
10:40 – Making a big change in your work (Helen’s story)
13:47 – Why clients want you, not just polish
15:38 – Pricing confidence + permission to go fast
17:23 – You don’t need to draw everything, just the right thing
18:11 – How to connect with other illustrators online
19:19 – A Pia Bramley fangirl moment ❤️
20:00 – Our community (Facebook group, art club, and course space)
20:56 – Your action step: Make illustrator friends, not competitors

Links mentioned:
📖 Download the free Summer Camp workbook
🖥️ Sketchbooker’s Friend Facebook Group - the free group is no longer active (you get ushered into a secret students-only group when you join any of our courses), but we do still have a Facebook page! And we love hanging out on Instagram.
📚 Our course: Find Your Creative Voice – Fly Your Freak Flag
🖋 Pia Bramley on Instagram
🎨 Molly Fairhurst on Instagram

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢

Draw draw draw! ✏️ | Summer camp sketchbook week 2

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 06:00:00 +0100

You can download the workbook here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook

Got limited time to draw? Children hanging off your leg? Perfect. You’re in exactly the right place. 😆

This week's episode is all about actually drawing. Even when you’ve only got a receipt, a half-working pen, and 3 minutes to spare.

In this episode:

Why drawing in a rush can be a superpower
Katie’s eyebrow-threading sketch session
What drawing from life teaches you about your creative voice
Tiny tools, weird surfaces, and packing your pencil case like a pro
The #WalktoSee hashtag and sketchbook magic ✏️
Three-materials challenge, anyone?

Want to join in with us?
Download the free workbook here

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro + a great listener question
1:01 – Can you find your voice if you have no time?
2:17 – Drawing quickly makes it better (promise)
3:29 – Eyebrow queues and standing sketches
4:12 – The value of drawing from life
5:17 – Pack your pencil case!
6:24 – Drawing on receipts and IKEA pencils
6:54 – Walk to See, and how to join in
7:12 – Three-material challenge tips
7:38 – A wet thing, a dry thing, and something with texture
7:51 – Sketchbooker’s Friend: the robot voice that lives on
8:35 – Action step: keep your drawing tools on you at all times
9:01 – See you tomorrow for Day 3!

Links mentioned:
📖 Download the free workbook
🎧 Sketchbooker’s Friend audio guide
🖼 All about the #Walktosee hashtag on Instagram (started by our Helen)
🖍 Find Your Creative Voice – Fly Your Freak Flag course. Doors are open right now! Be lovely to see you in there.

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢

Bask in your weirdness ☀️ | Summer camp sketchbook week 1

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Pssst, this episode was originally published in 2023 and we’re sharing it again as part of our Good Ship Summer Camp series. It’s one of 5 episodes to help you fly your freak flag this summer. If you’d like to join in properly, there’s a free workbook an' everything!

You can download the workbook here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook

🚢🚢🚢

What if your creative voice isn't one you actually like? 😬

In today’s episode, we’re chatting about that awkward bit of figuring out your voice as an illustrator, and why the weird stuff you’re secretly obsessed with might actually be the key to your best work.

In this episode:

What to do if your voice feels ick
Why “basking in your weirdness” matters
That Ira Glass quote we always bang on about
Over-art-directing yourself (oops)
Katie’s Eminem phase
Why being a people-pleaser is the worst career strategy
Your homework for this week

Want to join in?
Download the free workbook here

Timestamps:
0:00 – Hello from us!
0:47 – What if you don’t like your creative voice?
2:10 – Art direction, publishers, and breaking out of boxes
3:33 – David Bowie, freak flags and bravery
4:37 – Eminem, rebellion, and tired teenagers
6:01 – People-pleasing vs doing your own thing
8:31 – Future-proofing your illustration career
9:33 – Action step: pay attention to what you really love
10:35 – Come back next week for Day 2!

Links mentioned:
🖍 Our course: Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag
📖 Download the free workbook
🎬 Moonage Daydream documentary (about Bowie)

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢

Is AI Coming for your job? Illustrators are fighting back! (Part 2) with Chris Haughton

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 06:00:00 +0100

This week, we’re back with part 2 of our conversation with the brilliant Chris Haughton – illustrator, author, and passionate copyright advocate.

Here's a link to part 1 in case you need to catch up!

In this half of our Chris Haughton special, Chris shares how his first picture book came about, and we also chat about confidence, creative doubt, and why showing up again and again matters.

And then… we go deep on AI.

Copyright, ethics, government policy, and what we illustrators can actually do to protect our work. Chris is off to Parliament soon (!!!) and shares everything he’s learned so far.

In this episode:

How Chris got his first book deal without an agent
Staying confident through rejection and doubt
The terrifying reality of generative AI and what we can do about it
How copyright works (and what’s at risk)
The organisations fighting for our creative rights

Timestamps:
00:00 – How Chris broke into picture books (by accident)
04:00 – Animation, art school, and graphic style
08:00 – Building confidence through volume
10:00 – Words, images, and writing your own stories
14:00 – Why AI is a massive threat to illustrators
17:00 – Who’s fighting back (and how to get involved)
21:00 – Why we need all creatives on board

🛟 Links + Resources mentioned in this episode:

✨ If this episode has ye all fired up (us too!) please do share it with your creative pals – and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next!

Bye bye,
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

“Do I Have to Pick One Style Forever?! (Part 1)” with Chris Haughton

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 06:00:00 +0100

How do you make picture books if you secretly hate writing? Can you REALLY just punch holes in a bit of paper and call it a finished illustration?! 👀

This week we’ve got a proper treat for you.

This is part 1 of our chat with illustrator and picture book maker Chris Haughton! (Katie wasn’t there, but Helen and Tania held the fort and asked him all the juicy questions.)

Chris shares his brilliantly wonky career path from graphic design to editorial, picture books and his latest deep dive into the History of Information.

A total freak-flag project that he's been obsessed with for nearly 20 years.

Chris tells Good Ship:

How he ended up with a wildly colourful, unmistakable illustration style, even though he "couldn't do colour"
How 10 years of editorial work shaped his picture book voice
What hiding Mummy Owl in a picture taught him about storytelling
Why your first sketch is usually the best one
Drawing peas and chopsticks with hole-punch confetti (amazin')

🚨 This is just Part 1! Subscribe so you don’t miss Part 2.

Part 2 will be released next week (on Friday 25th July.)

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro from Katie, Helen & Tania
01:00 - Chris introduces himself and how his style evolved
05:30 - The origin of A Bit Lost and hiding things in the background
08:00 - How a greetings card turned into a picture book idea
10:00 - Chris' obsession with the History of Information
14:00 - Drawing as a form of information technology
17:00 - Chris’s brief stint as a live scribe (!!)
21:00 - Publishing headaches when your audience is "everyone"
24:00 - Finding your style vs getting stuck in a style
27:00 - Undo button = illustrator superpower
31:00 - Hole-punched peas

Links an' stuff we mentioned:

Chris Haughton's website: https://chrishaughton.com
The History of Information, Chris Haughton's book
History of Information lectures from UC Berkeley shared here via InfocoBuild
Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag course from The Good Ship Illustration
Katie’s Live Illustration course

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

START HERE - Welcome to The Good Ship Illustration Podcast! (Here's our trailer) 🚢🚢🚢

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 18:00:00 +0100

Welcome to The Good Ship Illustration - the podcast for illustrators who are quietly working away in their sketchbooks thinking… “is it just me?”

…it’s not just you!

We’re Helen Stephens, Katie Chappell and Tania Willis - three full-time illustrators from three different corners of the industry (and three different age brackets ). We live in the same seaside town in the UK and started having cuppas and chats… and accidentally became illustration agony aunts.

Now we record those chats for you! We answer your questions about confidence, tricky clients, pricing your work, creative block, picture books, publishing, and everything in between.

✨ New episodes every Friday. ✨

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and do send us your questions!

P.s. Fancy some freebies? Head to thegoodshipillustration.com for colour workshops, picture book templates, and other treats.

Byeeee for now!

x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

🚢🚢🚢

You don’t have to draw everything (even in picture books)

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Emily asked us why backgrounds can be so overwhelming. So in this episode, we share lots of low-pressure ideas to make them doable (maybeee even fun).

Please enjoy Tania nearly falling asleep under a weighted blanket 🤣

Podcast Episode Highlights:

How to stop overthinking it
Colour tips and some good stuff Chris Haughton taught us
NO ZOOMING IN ALLOWED 😠
John Burningham
Old Lady Baby

(rough) Timestamps:
00:00 – Emily’s question: “Backgrounds scare me – help!”
01:00 – The Chris Haughton breakthrough about colour
03:00 – Tonal tips: how to make your characters stand out
04:00 – Thin lines, wobbly pens, and keeping backgrounds soft
06:00 – The menace of digital zoom 😬
07:00 – Backgrounds = hints, not homework
08:00 – John Burningham, cut-out characters and painterly skies
10:00 – Embracing imperfection and storytelling over polish
11:00 – Blindboy’s advice: fail on purpose
13:00 – Art Club, recycled drawings, and happy accidents
14:00 – Upcoming Art Club news & picture book course teaser
15:00 – Weighted blankets, fancy deodorant, and Aesop air freshener 😌

Links & stuff:

The Picture book course details: www.thegoodshipillustration.com/pb
Make sure you're getting our emails for Art Club invites: Scroll to the bottom here

Bye bye bye
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

💰 How to protect your time, energy and income as an illustrator

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 06:00:00 +0100

“Can you just do it for free?” NO.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about working for free, how to say no without guilt, and why having nice strong boundaries won't ruin your career (we promise).

Tania shares a BRILLIANT script for saying no to unpaid work. Thank you Taniasan, we luv ya.

Other good bits of note:

How to stop feeling bad about saying no to cheeky requests
How charity auctions can be a smarter way to give back
Free pitching: where to draw the line
That time Katie backtracked on a call (and the world didn't end)
What to say when a client demands an answer right nowwww
The biggest myth of all: “If you say no, they’ll never ask again”

Timestamps:
00:00 – Biscuits first. We have our priorities in order 🤣
01:00 – “How do I say no to free work… nicely?”
02:30 – Quotas, boundaries, and rude assumptions
04:00 – Saying no to friends and students
06:00 – Turning FAQs into blog content
07:00 – A better way to support charities (without giving away your time)
08:00 – “I used to worry people wouldn’t like me if I said no…”
10:00 – Paid development work in picture books: what’s normal?
12:00 – The pitch trap and how to avoid it
13:00 – Katie’s mural pricing wobble (and recovery!)
14:00 – The power of taking your time to decide
15:00 – You’re not being too picky. You’re just not people-pleasing anymore!
16:00 – On "playing": why your language matters

Oh! While you're here...

You can join the Picture Book course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB

Taraaa,

x Good Ship

Is this normal in publishing… or am I being taken for a mug?

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 06:00:00 +0100

When your project goes a bit pear-shaped you might wonder if that’s just how the illustration industry is.

Well, this week we’re talking all about what's good, bad, and normal... and whether there are red flags you should look out for in your illustrator-publisher relationship.

Highlights:

Why it's never okay to get feedback on a Friday and be asked for a full redraw by Monday 🙃
What’s typical in the picture book process (roughs, colour roughs, final art, etc)
When changes are fine… and when they’re totally out of order
How to set better boundaries (and how to stick to them)
Our own early-illustration-career experiences, and what we'd do differently now

Timestamps:
00:00 – Is this normal? A horror story from an illustrator
02:00 – Unrealistic deadlines & being pressured to work weekends
05:00 – When publishers ignore your roughs completely
06:30 – What a healthy picture book workflow looks like
09:00 – Final artwork and why changing it is a big deal
12:00 – Bologna book fair: what gets shown
14:30 – When you can trust your publisher/designer (and when you really can’t)
16:00 – Agents behaving badly
20:00 – Why this doesn’t mean all of publishing is bad!

#NotAllPublishers

Links an' that

Our picture book course doors are opening SOON! Keep yer eyes peeled and grab the freeebies here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB
Got a question? Send it our way and we might answer it in a future episode!

Bye for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

“Help! I found my illustration style… and I don’t like it” 😩

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Have you ever looked at your own work and thought… egh? When you work so hard to find your style* it can feel rubbish to realise you don't even LIKE IT 😅.

*We're not big fans of the word style...but we have to use it so you know what we're on about. We have a WHOLE ENTIRE COURSE about finding your creative voice & flying your freak flag.

This episode is allll about not-holding-the-bar-of-soap-too-tight.

It's also about:

What to do when your style feels a bit too safe or mainstream
Why being too “good at drawing” can trap you
How to bring more you into your work
Whether you need to know colour theory to be a proper illustrator

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Lisa's brilliant question: “What if I don’t like my style?”
01:00 – Mainstream, safe, and not-quite-right: spotting the signs
03:00 – Flying your freak flag vs. pleasing the market
05:00 – Chris Haughton’s unusual route into publishing
07:00 – Why being “good at drawing” isn’t always helpful
09:00 – Getting stuck in the gun-for-hire trap
11:00 – Why clients want you, not your many styles
12:00 – Freya asks: do you need to know the colour wheel?
14:00 – Digital colour vs. painty messes
17:00 – How limitations can make your colour sing
20:00 – Create a family of colours (and avoid shouty guests)
21:00 – Final thoughts: soap metaphors & colour play

🔗 Links mentioned:

🎨 Our free genius colour workshop – grab it here!
🐘 Emma Tripolone’s fab work (Emma was one of our 1:1 mentoring winners from...
🚢 The Freak Flag course!
📚 Chris Haughton – Good Ship pal, designer and children’s book author-illustrator. We love 'im.

Plus, coming soon we have a Chris-Haughton-treat for your ears. Stay tuned for that.

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

The joy of not finishing (all) your online courses

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Quick note before we start:
In this episode we use the words "women" and "creative women" but we know these things don’t just affect women, and not everyone relates to binary gender labels. This chat is based on our lived experience and isn’t meant to exclude anyone. You’re always welcome aboard, however you identify. WE LUV YA.

xx Good Ship

How many unfinished online courses have you signed up for and then abandoned or forgotten about them?

👀

Yep, us too.

Oh well.

In this episode, we’re talking about why creative women often don’t finish - or even start - the online courses they sign up for.

Before you run away, please know this: it’s not laziness. It’s ✨life✨. And maybe the course still helped by osmosis, even if you only managed to watch one video.

The guilt of not finishing courses (and why it’s rubbish)
How art courses can still be useful EVEN if you just skim them
Community, confidence, and cheerleaders
Why we’ve never ever chased people to “complete” our Good Ship courses
Our 1:1 mentoring competition winners (congratulatioooons Rachael, Emma, Jacqui & Catiebell!)
Bias in picture books
Thoughts on why creative women sign up more than men

Timestamps:

00:00 – Soooo… do you finish your art courses?
01:30 – Skimming, skipping, and still getting value
03:00 – Courses as permission slips and energy boosts
04:00 – Lifetime access = a soft place to land
05:30 – The joy of community (and a few sneaky sales mentions)
07:00 – Meet the new picture book mentees!
08:00 – Why women take more courses (and don’t finish them)
10:00 – Editorial vs picture book world: who gets seen?
13:00 – AI, weird shall illustrations, and missing credits
14:00 – Where are all the obvious places illustrators get seen now?

See you soon!

x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢

The curse of "Final Artwork"

Fri, 30 May 2025 06:00:00 +0100

BE MORE WONKY

In this episode:

Why quick sketches usually have more life in 'em than polished pieces
How perfectionism kills creativity
Beware of the pause button (when you're doing graphic recording / live illustration)
What to do when you're scared your work isn’t “worth the money”
Tips for keeping final artwork fresh and loose
Human vs AI: what if the secret is just… being wonky?

Timestamps, if you're into that kind of thing

00:00 – Can sketches be “the” illustration?
01:00 – The gap between sketch and final art
02:00 – Helen’s owls
05:00 – What kills good work
06:00 – The hourly rate mindset
07:00 – Simple marks 4eva
08:00 – Sketchy = human (and that’s a good thing)
09:00 – Tips for keeping your work feeling fresh
10:00 – Live illustration = brave, imperfect, magic
11:00 – Be more human, more wonky

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢

Inside Helen's hermit cave

Fri, 23 May 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Where does she go? What happens in there?

Come and have a wee peek inside Helen’s hermit cave with us.

BUT FIRST - is it true? Do you prefer a podcast when there's a video too? Katie's just been to Australia and chatted to some creatives and they all said that they *ONLY* listen to a podcast if there's a video to go with it.

Whaaat!?

Let us know on Instagram if these rumours are true. You're allowed to slide into our DMs 😆 ❤️ We're @thegoodshipillustration.

Right, podcast stuff.

This episode is all about:
– Shutting the studio door and ignoring WhatsApp
– Recreating rainy caravan holidays to get in the zone
– The magic drawer
– How long it takes to make a picture book (blimmin' ages)
– Boundaries

Timestamps, for people who like that sort of thing:
00:00 – Welcome to Helen’s hermit cave
01:00 – Dressing gowns, headphones and comfort telly
02:00 – Childhood holidays
03:00 – How long does it take to make a book?
04:00 – The magic drawer of ideas
05:00 – Making books in your 20s vs. making books now
06:00 – Burnout, insomnia and terrible lighting
07:00 – Early birds vs. night owls
08:00 – Deadlines
09:00 – Salty & Pals picture book sneak peek!
10:00 – Bedtime!

Stuff wot we mentioned:
– The Picture Book Course
– Pencil Pals (Our Helen's Substack where there are some lovely sneaky peeks of the Salty Seadog artwork in case you're as excited as we aaaare.)

See ya next Friday,
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

Get more illustration work: A pep talk, some tips, and a tiny rant

Fri, 16 May 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Errrr, how do you find illustration work in 2025? Pitching? Instagram? Postcards? SEO?

In this nice an' juicy episode we’re answering the 'Heeelp, how do I find clients as an illustrator?' question.

What works
Why we don’t “hunt” clients 😅
SEO tips to help the right people trip over you
How to be pals with art directors
Pitching can feel YUCK (but it doesn't have to)
Old-skool stuff that still works
SHOW YOUR WORK, PLEASE

Timestamps, for people who like that sort of thing:
00:00 – Listener question: “How do I find clients?”
01:00 – Why “hunting” clients feels weird (and what to do instead)
02:30 – Laying out your stall: making your online presence irresistible
04:30 – SEO tips to help clients find you
05:15 – The rise and fall of illustration directories and annuals
06:45 – Do postcards still work? (Short answer: yes!)
08:10 – Instagram, visibility and staying top of mind
10:00 – DMs and the etiquette of messaging clients
12:00 – What not to do when reaching out
13:30 – Building genuine relationships over time
15:00 – Do you need an agent or gallery?
16:00 – How to sell your own work (without a gallery)
17:00 – Strategic competitions and why they matter
18:00 – Cards, shops and flinging mud (yes, really)

Links we mentioned:

Byeeee for now!

x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

Residencies and Substack

Fri, 09 May 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Hiya. This week’s episode of The Good Ship Illustration podcast is all about artist residencies... illustrators are allowed to go on them too!

Our Tania’s just returned from her first ever residency (in a chateau, of course. Ooh la laaa) and we wanted to hear about the muscly trees, the chickens, and whether she got the entire chateau to herself.

What a residency actually looks like
How to pick the right one
Drawing for the sake of it. Mmmmm.
Going analogue, trying Procreate, and brush chat
Substack nerves, audio letters, and being “consistent” ...aghhhh.

Timestamps

0:20 – Why we’re talking residencies this week
1:00 – Tania’s chateau residency
3:30 – Types of residencies & picking the right one
5:45 – Drawing slowly, and for fun for the first time in years
7:00 – Procreate adventures + brushes we love
11:00 – Substack fears and starting without pressure
16:00 – Curating your inbox vs. doom scrolling
19:00 – Patreon vs Substack burnout
23:00 – Substack inspiration & our favourite creators
28:50 – Katie nearly drops her mic (again)

Links + Mentions:

https://saintpierredemejans.com/en/ <--- the dreamy place Tania stayed)
https://resartis.org/
Brushes we love: Vivian Mildenberger, Joel Stewart, Retro Supply Co
Our fave Substacks: Tara Ford, Garbage Day, Carson Ellis, Bob Shenanigans, and LIANA FINCK! (That's the one Katie couldn't remember)
Tania’s Substack is coming soon… 👀 Maybe. If we bully her enough.

Live Illustration (Course Closes Tonight!) Q&A

Fri, 02 May 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Today’s a biiiig day... the doors to our Live Illustration Course are closing tonight!

AGH!

In this special live illustration-y episode, we grill Katie with loads of the brilliant live illustration questions you submitted.

Katie also shares some behind-the-scenes stories about v early gigs, navigating some more unusual client requirements (hiya, Apple lawyers!), and why your own values matter just as much as your skills.

Timestamps

00:36 – Is it risky to live illustrate by hand?
03:15 – How to build your live illustration portfolio even before you’ve had a client
05:59 – How Katie got started (and her very first paid-in-sandwiches job)
07:59 – Managing nerves and the fear of making mistakes
10:25 – Is it okay to check references while you’re live illustrating?
12:11 – How much do you need to know beforehand, and what to ask your client
15:24 – Transitioning from "normal" Illustrator to Live Illustrator
17:47 – What happens if you go blank during a live session?
18:51 – How much preparation should you really do before an event?
21:06 – Can you still be a live illustrator if you’re dyslexic?
22:02 – Is live illustration realistic as a side gig?
24:37 – What to ask clients about output expectations
25:41 – Is semi-live illustration allowed?
27:06 – How to set up cameras for live drawing
28:00 – Should you specialise in a niche for live illustration work?
30:04 – What kinds of businesses actually use live illustrators?
32:39 – Final encouragement: fly your freak flag and be yourself

p.s. The doors to the Live Illustration Course close tonight (2nd May)!
If you're thinking about joining, now's the best time!

Why though?

This is the lowest price it will ever be - we're doing a special price for this first ever live round of the course
You get lifetime access
You can hop back in for future live rounds, get ALL future course updates and take it at your own pace.

The price *will* go up next time.

Find out more and sign up here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/lic

“I’m not sure how to price my illustration work. I think I panic and undercharge because I’m worried they’ll change their mind if it’s too much.”

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 06:00:00 +0100

This week’s podcast question is from Annabelle:

“I’m not sure how to price my work. I think I panic and undercharge because I’m worried they’ll change their mind if it’s too much.”

Ooft.

This is a juicy episode. Money, mindset, value, VAT nightmares, and charging what you’re worth.

Bon apetit from your Good Ship pals.

Tuck in.

Timestamps

00:00 – The question: “How do I stop undercharging?”

01:30 – People can feel when you don’t believe in your prices

03:00 – What affects your value: niche, profile, usage, experience

05:00 – Editorial vs publishing vs live illustration: pricing realities

06:30 – Raising your rates to manage your workload

10:00 – Calculate what you need to earn (and start from there)

12:00 – Most illustrators can’t actually work 8 hours a day

14:00 – Self-worth ≠ pricing strategy

16:30 – Add 20% and see what happens

18:00 – TL;DR: You’re probably undercharging

Stuff we mention:

The AOI’s Pricing Calculator
Jessica Hische’s brilliant tool: The Dark Art of Pricing
Our Business Course for Illustrators gives you the pricing confidence (and strategy) that no one teaches you at art school.
→ Join the waiting list
Freelancer’s Bible by Alison Grade – super helpful if you like numbers and practical steps

Have a lovely week. And up yer rates.

x Helen, Katie & Tania
The Good Ship Illustration

Illustrator vs artist: what’s the difference? + Creating your portfolio 🥳

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Thanks for sending in yer juicy questions. Here are the ones we tackle in this week's podcast episode:

“How do I build an illustration portfolio if I only have fine art work?”
“What’s the difference between an illustrator and an artist?”

Ahh yes that ol' chestnut. How to pivot from fine art to illustration without losing your mind. We dig into the figuring out what kind of work suits your actual personality. No more trying on other people's uncomfy too-small style jumpers. The illustrator vs artist line is a bit blurry - we get into why that’s actually a good thing. Promise.

Honourable mentions:

Fenugreek soup
Dream clients and imaginary briefs
Katie’s two-week job limit
"Just make the kind of work you want to get hired for”

Timestamps

00:25 – Q1: How to turn a fine art practice into an illustration portfolio
01:00 – Making the kind of work you want to be hired for
02:00 – Picking your corner of illustration industry
03:30 – Fine art vs illustration: different goals, same skills
05:00 – Picture book makers: an exception
06:30 – Your personality probs already picked your niche
08:20 – Know what suits your work style (and what definitely doesn’t)
10:00 – Unexpected places you might find your dream illustration job
11:30 – Be a detective: trace the work you love back to the source
12:00 – Q2: What’s the difference between an artist and an illustrator?
13:30 – Do labels even matter anymore?
14:30 – “Artist” vs “Illustrator” – what clients think they’re hiring
15:30 – Choose the title that helps the right people find you

Stuff we mention:

Our Business Course for Illustrators walks you through exactly how to figure out where you fit and how to build a portfolio that attracts the right clients.
→ Read aaaall aboot it here
Want to uncover your weirdness and figure out your unique style?
→ Fly your freak flag with us

Got a question for the podcast?
Pop it in the question jar here:
Podcast question form

Thank you!

x Helen, Katie & Tania
The Good Ship Illustration

Illustration trends vs your creative voice PLUS what materials to use

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 06:00:00 +0100

Two more chunky questions for this week's episode:

“How do I choose the right materials and techniques when I love them all?”
“How do I keep up with new tech and trends without hopping on every train and going bananas?”

It's a longer one this week! A podcast title that went in the bin was: Mouldy bingo dabbers: A love story. A moment of silence for that title. It woulda been great, but not very useful or searchable 😆

Alas.

Timestamps

00:00 – “How do I choose the right materials?”
01:00 – You don’t have to pick just one
02:00 – Mixing media
04:15 – Why learning 'the proper way' can sometimes kill your weirdness
06:30 – The gouache phase
07:30 – Storytime: The incredible grasshopper drawings
09:00 – Wrong materials = the right results
10:00 – Drawing with stuff you don’t like
13:15 – Listener question: “How do I keep up with tech & trends without going mad?”
14:00 – Learning Procreate while making a book??
17:00 – Trends are sneaky
19:30 – Don't force yourself into a trend box
22:00 – Are you a fan or trying to be someone else?
24:00 – Going off-grid

Stuff we mention:

Our Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag course
The doors are open! You can join right now.
Want a fun excuse to make stuff without overthinking it?
Try our free Colour Workshop

Got a question for the Good Ship Illustration podcast?
Send it here, go on!
Podcast question form

Right, we’re off to draw with things that smell like school. Mmmm.

Bye!

x Tania, Helen & Katie
The Good Ship Illustration

Perfectionism, CMYK & a shout out to Barry in the cupboard (lovin' your work, Barry)

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 06:00:00 +0100

This week we’re answering TWO of your excellent questions:

“How can I stop overthinking my story and just... FINISH IT???”
“Which is better, RGB or CMYK?”

Here’s what we chat about:

That annoying feeling when you know your story’s missing something but you can’t figure out what
Ask your characters what they eat for breakfast
Magic picture book editors - you don't need to do it all alone!
And... how Helen sent a whole book to print in RGB and no one stopped her (justice for Barry in the cupboard)

This episode is especially for you if you are stuck in perfectionism mode or feel personally attacked by the confusing colour settings in Photoshop/Procreate.

Timestamps:

00:00 - “How can I stop overthinking my story?”

01:15 - When feedback clings to your brain like a wet sock

02:30 - Mild peril

04:15 - Character stuff

06:30 - Asking weird questions = finding the heart of your story

08:00 - Maybe... you’re actually a nonfiction illustrator? Hmm!

09:10 - How to make your agent's life easier AND still move forward

11:00 - QUESTION 2: RGB or CMYK? Which one's better?

11:40 - Sad, sad orange

13:00 - Barry in the cupboard and the mystical RGB loophole

15:10 - Saving your artwork (and your sanity)

Stuff we mention:

Our Picture Book Course is the best place to learn about story arcs, and how to stop overthinking every. single. thing. Join the waiting list here
Our free Colour Workshop will BLOW YER MIND. Download it here

Got a question for us to answer next? Submit it here:
Podcast question form

See ya soon.

x Tania, Helen & Katie
The Good Ship Illustration

How to become a paid illustrator (The step-by-step guide! lol)

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 06:00:00 +0000

This is something we hear quite a lot, and it's a BIG broad question: How do you actually become an illustrator who makes money. Dear Good Ship Illustration please break it down for me, step by step.

No pressure (aaagh 😅)

Alas, there is no tidy step-by-step guide… but in this episode we're doin' our very best to give you a solid direction to head in.

Step 1 = loadsa drawing
Finding your creative voice and confidence
Sharing your brownies
How to balance a job while building your illustration career
A big ol' mistake new illustrators tend to make - not you though. You're cleverer than them.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Where to start
01:30 – THE STEP-BY-STEP PLAN (lol, sorry, there is no plan)
03:20 – Share! Or else!!
05:45 – Job juggling
08:15 – Feeling behind?
(Does anyone ever feel ahead though?? No. Nothing to worry about then.)

Taraa for now.

x The Good Ship Illustration

Should you quit Instagram if you're an illustrator?

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 06:00:00 +0000

This week, we’re answering a question from listener Eilidh:

"How do you navigate social media? Do you have a strategy or just post willy-nilly?"

Gah. It’s complicated. In this episode of the podcast we chat about:

Do illustrators really need Instagram anymore?
Should you have a strategy, or is it fine to post when you feel like it?
Why social media isn’t our main way of getting work (and what is).
The ONE thing every illustrator should have on their Instagram right now.

Aaand, we discuss why we haven’t abandoned Instagram (even though everyone keeps saying it’s dead), how publishers actually find illustrators, and, y'know, a very important discussion about videos of the King’s Guards horses biting tourists 🐴 chomp.

Timestamps:

00:25 Question: “How do you navigate social media?”
01:00 The old days of Instagram strategies (do they still work?)
02:20 Why everyone is fed up with Instagram… and also fed up with people being fed up with Instagram.
04:10 King’s Guards, AI Jesus & cabin crew chaos.
06:00 Should illustrators jump ship to other platforms like BlueSky, Mastodon, or Threads?
07:45 Does Instagram actually bring in clients?
09:15 What should illustrators post?
10:30 The biggest mistake we keep seeing on illustrators' IG profiles
11:50 What’s more important than social media?
12:40 How publishers find illustrators (and why Instagram still plays a small role).
13:30 A practical idea: Tidying up your Instagram highlights so people can easily find the important stuff
14:20 Final thoughts: Social media is what it is… but please don’t rely on it for all your work!

See you next week! And if you need us, we’ll just be over here watching horse videos 😂

x Byeeee

Your website might be missing this one thing – and nooo, it’s not more portfolio pieces

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Ahoy! Doors to the Business Course (for illustrators!) are closing TONIGHT! We're going to be having a chat over on Instagram and you're more than welcome to bring your business of illustration questions along. Be lovely to see you there. We're @thegoodshipillustration over on Insta.

p.s. Once the course doors close, they close. We're strict! You've got until 10pm UK time tonight (Friday 14th March 2025)

🚢

This week, we’re talking about one of the best things you can do for your illustration career (but it also just so happens to be something that most illustrators dread and avoid like the plague):

📸 Updating your website bio and getting proper photos!

We cover:
✔️ Why a great photo makes clients trust you
✔️ The biggest mistakes we see illustrators make on their 'About' page
✔️ How to write a bio that actually sounds like you without overthinking it
✔️ And why drawing a wee smiley face instead of uploading a headshot just won’t cut it anymore

If you’ve been putting this off, consider this as your sign to finally get some proper photos and sort yer website oot.

p.s. We’ve got an About Page Bingo guide inside the Illustration Business Course, so if you’re in there, go find it!

Timestamps:

01:00 Why updating your bio & website photos is the best thing you can do
02:15 Katie just had a photoshoot - here’s why it was worth it
03:40 How to find a great branding photographer (and what to ask them)
05:00 Feeling awkward about getting your photo taken? Some tricks to make it easier
06:15 Props, pets & sketchbooks
07:40 The price of a good photographer and why it’s worth the investment
09:10 Writing your bio: The easiest method
10:20 Why your bio should match your audience (formal vs. friendly)
12:00 “Clients don’t actually care about your personal life…” (or do they?)
14:15 How illustrators, live scribers & picture book makers should approach bios differently
16:30 Why illustrators should think like plumbers
17:45 Final push: Just get something on your website today (half arse it now, you can always tweak it later)

Done is better than perfect.

Byeee for now! And merry photoshoot-booking.

If you get some nice new headshots for your about page, do tag us on Instagram so we can admire them. We're nosy!

x Good Ship

Is there enough work for illustrators? The truth about illustration jobs in 2025 - a rising tide floats all boats 🚢🚢🚢

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Doors to the Business Course (for illustrators!) are open TONIGHT! We're going to be having a chat over on Instagram and you're more than welcome to bring your business of illustration questions along. Be lovely to see you there. We're @thegoodshipillustration over on Insta.

🚢

This week, we’re diving into the live illustration industry. How much work is actually out there, how to get it, and whether it’s the right fit for you.

We grilled our Katie and found asked her...

Is there really loads of work for illustrators, or has it been a slow year?
What’s this new Illustrator Jobs Board all about? (Live illustration gigs, client budgets, and real-life illustration job opportunities.)
What actually happens in a live illustration session?
How much do clients pay for live scribing, and how can you charge more?

If you’ve wondered about going into live illustration - or just want to see what clients are paying - this episode's for you!

p.s. If you’re curious about Katie’s Live Illustration Jobs Board, you can find it over on Substack here.

Timestamps:

00:25 The big debate: good year / bad year
01:50 Why 2024 was overwhelming
03:15 The Jobs Board experiment
04:40 What kinds of jobs are coming in?
06:00 UK vs. international jobs (and why some illustrators have upped their rates after seeing the budgets).
07:15 What actually happens at a live illustration gig? Is it really 8 hours of solid drawing?
08:30 What do clients want from a live illustrator?
09:40 The most requested topics: AI, data, and… scrubbing data with a sponge?
11:00 How much do clients pay for live illustration?
12:15 The tech side: Do you need to be a tech whiz to do this work?
13:30 Live illustration vs. fashion illustration gigs
14:45 The Jobs Board results so far
15:30 Should you try live illustration? The skills overlap with mapping, editorial, and even school visits
16:50 Katie’s Live Illustration Course is coming soon! (If this episode got you excited, stay tuned 🤓).

If you like the sound of the live illustration course, you can register your interest here.

See you next time!

Byeee 🚢💨

Feelin' guilty about not drawing as much lately? [A Good Ship Illustration permission slip]

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 07:00:00 +0000

"I'm not drawing as much anymore - Aghhhhh! Is this ok!?"

If you feel like you’re not drawing as much as you “should”, then you’re definitely, absolutely not alone. In this episode, we share our drawing ebbs and flows, why guilt often sneaks in, and how to let yourself off the hook when life gets lifey.

We chat about:

The natural phases of a creative career (and why it’s A-OK not to be drawing all the time).
Why forcing yourself to draw can backfire.
How other creative stuff like sewing or gardening can feed your illustration work.
Finding the balance between illustration, work, and real life.
How to quiet the mean voice in your head.

See you in there!

What size should your picture book be? (And other silly mistakes to avoid.)

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 06:00:00 +0000

🚢 The Picture Book Course closes TONIGHT!

In this episode, we’re tackling three of the biggest picture book questions we hear all the time:

1. What size should my picture book be?
2. Do I need kids to write picture books?
3. How do I get my book in front of a publisher? (So that they actually SEE it.)

If you’ve been agonising over book dimensions, stressing about margins, or wondering whether your book must be a certain size before a publisher will even look at it, this episode's for you!

Plus, we grill our Helen all about how publishers actually work, find out why your picture book does not need to be fully finished before you pitch it, and learn a sneaky way to speed up your storytelling skills (hint: it involves buying lots of books. Oh no, what a shame. Heh.)

p.s. The Picture Book Course closes TONIGHT! If you're listening on Friday 21st Feb 2025, this is your last chance to hop jump and skip aboard before the doors close.

The world has a your-picture-book-shaped hole in it.

Let's fix that.

It's time!

Click here to read all about the Picture Book Course.

Timestamps:

00:25 Question: “What size should my picture book be?”
01:10 The real answer
02:50 What actually matters more than page size?
04:00 Bookshop logistics: Why your book needs to fit on a shelf.
06:15 Do publishers ever tell you the exact dimensions?
07:05 The BIG mistake
09:10 Why publishers love flexible illustrators.
10:30 The magic of working with an art director
12:05 The storytelling trick we might steal from Sydney Smith (Sydney Smith if you're reading this, it's a joke. 👀)
14:00 Should you apply to publishers, or just self-publish?
15:45 How to find the perfect publisher for your book.
17:10 Second question: “Can you write picture books if you don’t have kids?”
18:00 The surprising list of famous picture book authors who never had children.
19:30 The secret to writing picture books with emotion (even if you’re not around kids every day).
21:00 School visits, nannying, and other sneaky ways to absorb children’s interests.
22:00 Final call! The Picture Book Course closes TONIGHT at midnight! 🚀

Join us over on Instagram (@thegoodshipillustration) for Art Club Live TONIGHT at 7pm UK time!

Be lovely to see you there.

The secret to actually finishing your picture book ❤️

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 06:00:00 +0000

First things first, we've got to let you know that the doors to the Picture Book Course are FINALLY OPEN AGAIN today!

We'll officially fling 'em open tonight at Art Club (7 pm UK time over on Instagram. Our IG username is @thegoodshipillustration.) See you there! 🚢

Right, back to the podcast show notes.

In this episode, we’re answering a brilliant question from Lou, who asks:

"I've got a picture book for adults. Is that a terrible idea?"

The short answer = not necessarily, but it could be a tricky sell to publishers.

The longer answer = this podcast episode! We discuss bookshop logistics, sneaky ways to get an illustrated book into adult sections, and why tweaking your idea just a little bit might make it way easier to get published.

Plus, we talk about what to do when your mind is pinballing between story ideas, and how to anchor your book in a way that makes finishing it muuuuuch more likely.

p.s. The Picture Book Course is OPEN! If you're listening before 21st Feb 2025, the doors are still wide open. Scramble aboard before they close for another year!

Timestamps:

00:25 Question: “Can a picture book for adults work, or should I pivot to kids?”
01:10 The practical problem: Where would it actually go in a bookshop?
02:50 Illustrated fiction for adults: Rare, but not impossible!
04:00 Gift books, philosophy books, and sneaky ways to get into the right section.
06:15 The Charlie Mackesy effect (a rare publishing phenomenon).
07:05 Should you self-publish? A way to test the waters.
08:40 Question 2: “How do I stop my story ideas from fizzling out?”
09:10 The pinball problem: Too many ideas, not enough finished books.
10:00 How we created Salty (and why anchoring your characters makes writing a lot easier).
11:30 A game-changing tip: Make a “character questionnaire” to build stronger stories.
13:45 Reminder: The Picture Book Course is open for one week only!

We’ll be back next Friday with more questions and one last reminder before the course doors close.

Join us over on Instagram (@thegoodshipillustration) for Art Club Live on Friday 14th Feb & Friday 21st Feb at 7pm UK time! See you there!

Saying no as an illustrator: dropping projects can boost your career.

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Juggling too many plates, saying yes to everything, and wondering if it’s time to let something go... It's not a fun place to be. (And all three of us have been there, got the frazzled t-shirt).

In this episode, we share the projects, jobs, and ideas we’ve binned along the way to make room for the shiny new stuff.

We chat about:

Why it’s okay to drop what isn’t working (even when you love parts of it).
Illustrator school visits, online shops, and in-person events.
The power of saying no. NOOOO!
How dropping things helps you focus on what you’re brilliant at.

Links Mentioned

We made you some workshops and resources to help you navigate a creative career: The Good Ship Freebies

Why drawing digitally is NAUGHTY 👀 (or is it?)

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Nahhh. It's not really. That was a naughty title.

Anyway, we got this brilliant and juicy question in our students-only Facebook group for the Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag Course.
🎺 31ST JANUARY = YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GET SOME GOOD SHIP ILLUSTRATION SNAIL-MAIL STICKERS WHEN YOU JOIN!
Don't say we didn't warn you! Sign up here.

Megan said: "I just opened up the Microsoft Surface Pro I bought for digital drawing, and I’m freaking out a little. Not just about the expense, but a sense of cheating or something. Will this kill the joy of drawing on paper? Does anyone combine analogue and digital drawing worlds?"

Topics

Megan’s question: Is digital drawing cheating?
Analogue vs digital: can you mix them?
Why digital tools are lifesavers for fixes, tweaks, and deadlines.
Handmade isn’t about the tool, it’s about you!
The danger of too much choice.
Top tips for keeping your digital work cohesive.
Happy accidents.
Will drawing digitally kill your love of drawing on paper?

Other Stuff we mentioned

Our Tania’s Genius Colour Workshop: Join in here
Brush sets for Procreate by Vivian Mildenberger: voila (we're not an affiliate, we just love 'em.)
Find Your Creative Voice - course doors are open, in case you fancy workin' on flapping your freak flag a bit more in 2025.) Click here to see what all the freak flag fuss is all about.

Can you be an illustrator with children and a job?

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Chelsea asked us: "Would love some advice goal-wise for those of us still holding part-time jobs and two small kids under five, trying to transition to an illustration career. Is it even possible? I'm feeling impatient and a bit trapped."

We chat about:

Why “slow and steady” beats high-pressure goals.
Low-pressure ways to carve out creative time (even with little ones around).
How parenting can inspire your creative work.
The importance of being kind to yourself and how to keep drawing.
Why editorial illustration might not be the best fit right now.

Links Mentioned

Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag Course doors are open!
Check out Polly Dunbar’s lovely illustrations: Polly Dunbar on Instagram
Freebies for illustrators on our website: The Good Ship Illustration Freebies

p.s. Good Ship Illustration News
Our course, Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag doors are now open and if you clamber aboard before the end of January we'll send you some exciting snail mail (a brand new Good Ship sticker pack!!) 💛

Read all about it here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

What tech do you use as an illustrator? Featuring Helen's 25 year-old Epson scanner that WILL NOT DIE

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 07:00:00 +0000

At The Good Ship Illustration, we love keeping it simple. You don’t need the fanciest gear or the latest tech to be an illustrator. Our Helen’s 25-year-old scanner has survived being dropped multiple times and it’s still goin' strong.

This week on the podcast, we’re sharing the tech setups we actually use to get our illustration work done.

Katie tells us about her iPad obsession, the magic of cloud storage, and why a second screen is a game-changer when she remembers to switch it on.
Helen sings the praises of her indestructible Epson scanner, her return to good old-fashioned paper workflows, and where she stashes all that paper.
Tania shares her decades of Photoshop muscle memory, her love-hate relationship with Wacom, and her dream tech collaboration.

Dear Apple, if you’re listening, please call us about the maxi pad™ (an extra-giant iPad for picture book illustrators) 😅

Listen to the episode for:
CMYK vs. RGB in Procreate, and whether publishers have a preference.
Our ongoing battle with storing work.
Why we’re convinced illustrators need a bigger iPad (yep, it's the maxi pad again).

Timestamps:

00:20 🎉 Find Your Creative Voice is open all year!
03:10 Katie’s tech setup: giant iPads, Procreate hacks, and Dropbox magic.
06:30 Helen’s trusty scanner and her glorious return to traditional workflows.
09:45 Tania’s Photoshop loyalty, Wacom woes, and dream tech.
13:00 CMYK vs. RGB in Procreate—how does it really work for publishers?
16:30 Why illustrators need an oversized iPad.
19:30 Our tips for archiving your creative work.

x Your Good Ship pals 🚢✨

Pssst… Exciting news! 🎉
Our course Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag is now open for enrollment all year round! Join anytime and get instant access.
🌟 December & January Bonus: Everyone who hops aboard gets a shiny Good Ship sticker badge. Plus, three lucky new members will win 1:1 mentoring with the captains.

Climb aboard HERE.

Help! I’m shy. Do I really have to go to book fairs to start my illustration career?

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Ahoy! 🚢

In this episode, we’re answering a brilliant question from listener Cat, who wrote: “Help! I’m shy. Do I really have to go to book fairs to start my illustration career?”

The short answer = nope.

The longer answer = this 15-minute podcast episode. Grab a cuppa and we'll see you in there!

p.s. Freak Flag course doors are now open! If you join before the end of January 2025 we'll send you a Good Ship sticker badge in the post an' everything. Come on in and find your creative voice :)

Timestamps:
00:25 🎉 Listener question: “Do I have to go to book fairs to succeed as an illustrator?”
01:15 Why being shy isn’t a disadvantage in the illustration world.
02:10 Starting from home: Your portfolio, website, and Instagram.
03:42 Why book fairs aren’t essential for finding work (and what they’re really like).
05:18 Building your portfolio: Focus on six pieces you’re proud of.
06:30 Social media tips for introverts: Finding the platform that feels good for you.
08:15 Dealing with negative comments.
09:43 Why “marketing” is just sharing what you’re already excited about.
12:05 Building confidence.
13:16 Freak Flag is open! Join us for stickers, mentoring, and creative breakthroughs.

Big goals, no pressure: Planning your creative year with The Good Ship Illustration

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Is it time to set goals, or are you feeling more “no plans, just let me lie down” this year?

We chat about:

Why some years are for sprinting, and others are for walking.
The power of visual goal-setting.
How to make goals human-sized, doable, and fun, without freaking yourself out.

Here's a Good Ship permission slip to do your 2025 goal-setting in a way that works for your brain/energy-levels/life.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Happy New Year! Goal-setting: exciting, overwhelming, or somewhere in between?
01:00 – Join our Planning Party on 16th January (details inside!)
02:30 – Sprinting vs walking: knowing when to slow down and when to push forward
03:45 – Loose goals, intentions, and the value of taking things slowly
04:50 – Why “no plans” can still count as a brilliant plan
07:00 – Visual goal-setting: drawing the year ahead and keeping it in sight
08:15 – Human-sized goals: how to make planning feel manageable and fun
10:00 – Intentions beyond work: making space for life, joy, and connection
16:00 – Ideas for tackling the overwhelm of “too many things to draw”

Links Mentioned:

You're invited to our Planning Party on 16th January!
Sign up for our emails here to get your invite: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/

Hardest Year Ever? An Honest Look at the Illustration Industry in 2024

Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:00:00 +0000

As 2024 winds down, we’ve been hearing all sorts of things - budget cuts, AI fears, and whispers of a downturn. There’s no denying it’s been a tricky year for many illustrators. But is it all doom and gloom? Not necessarily!

Timestamps for you to skip around:
00:20 Special news - The doors are open for Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag!
01:15 What we’ve been hearing from illustrators about the industry.
03:00 Why illustrators are feeling the pinch of budget cuts.
06:30 The world is craving handmade, delightfully wonky work.
09:45 What’s going on with picture books, then?
13:30 Fly your freak flag - this is your moment to shine.
16:00 Licensing, animation, and new media - growing areas to keep an eye on.
18:15 Inclusivity in illustration and what agents are looking for in 2025.
19:50 Why you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.

🎉 Exciting Announcement

The doors to our Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag course are open!

✨ Enrol whenever you like - no more waiting for us to open the doors.
✨ Join by the end of January 2025 and you'll get:

A Good Ship Illustration sticker pack.
The chance to win a 1:1 mentoring session with us - the 3 captains.

Learn more and join here: Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag

Ho ho ho 🎄 pressies for illustrators (love from Ron & Betty Frampton x)

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 07:00:00 +0000

What do tiny bowls of crisps, the world’s fanciest pencils, and a mysterious couple called Ron and Betty Frampton have in common? They’re all in this week's Christmassy podcast!

Get ready for festive chaos, creative inspiration, and permission to buy yourself something lovely, courtesy of Ron and Betty.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Who on earth are Ron and Betty Frampton?
01:20 – What’s on our Christmas wishlists? Pencils, paint, and tech setups
04:30 – Christmas bingo, tiny bowls of crisps, and the unwritten rules of bingo culture
08:15 – Why quick, unplanned drawings can sometimes be your best work
10:50 – Helen’s 30-second cut-out reindeer and a carpet fitter
11:50 – Permission to treat yourself this Christmas. Ron and Betty would approve

Links Mentioned:

Find Your Creative Voice Course – Treat yourself to a creative boost Find out more here (and if you join before the end of January 2025, we'll send you some gorgeous stickers in the post. SNAIL MAIL!)

🎄 Merry Christmas and a happy new year from all of us at The Good Ship Illustration 🎄

The Confidence to Fly Your Freak Flag: A guide for illustrators and creatives

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Here's your early present from Good Ship. Our previously-just-for-paying-students private VIP podcast episode all about building your creative confidence.

We're celebrating that Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag is now open for enrollment all year round! Instant access. You asked, we listened.

EVERYONE who joins during December 2024 & January 2025 will get one of our much-coveted Good Ship sticker badges. Mmmmm.

We're also opening up a rare chance to win 1:1 mentoring with The Good Ship Illustration captains. There are 3 spots up for grabs! When you join, we'll email you all of the details.

Click HERE for all of the course info and to climb aboard.
We'd love to have you sailing with us.

Anyways, what's this podcast episode about?

From early career wobbles to trusting your creative voice, tackling imposter syndrome, and the confidence to charge what you're worth.

Plus, loadsa tips to help you separate your self-worth from your creative work (they're not the same thing!)

Got a question for us to tackle in a future podcast episode? Send it in - we’d love to hear from you!

👉 Submit your questions here

Timestamps:

00:21 Celebrating that Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag is now open for enrollment all year round!
03:00 Why you’re not a “wannabe” illustrator
05:15 Navigating client relationships
07:55 The power of asking clients what they love about your portfolio
10:38 Silencing negative self-talk and spotting unhelpful stories you tell yourself
12:12 Why it’s better to be an indie band than Top of the Pops (for illustrators)
13:13 The magic of “imperfections” and human marks in your work
15:17 Pricing confidence: why your value isn’t tied to your hours
16:18 Gamifying rejection and making it work for you
18:37 Forget the rules: how naivety can be your creative superpower
21:46 Avoiding comparison traps with a creative quarantine
22:35 Why having multiple versions of your work can unlock playfulness
25:34 Tips for breaking big, scary projects into manageable chunks
28:26 Time tricks for staying fresh and playful under pressure
30:00 Why getting older makes everything easier

Links & Resources:

🎓 Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag Course
🎁 Enrol by January 2025 to grab your free badge and the opportunity for 1:1 mentoring.
📅 Join our Planning Party: 16th January 2025, 1:30 PM (UK time).

What should you tackle first!? Starting out as an illustrator.

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 06:00:00 +0000

When you’re starting your illustration career, there is so much advice out there, so in this episode, we're untangling the nice juicy question of “Where do I even start!?”

We share a bit about how we've each learned to hop in and out of our business & creativity cars over the years. Plus, we'll dish out some wisdom nuggets on balancing creative bursts with the less exciting bits of building your freelance illustration career.

Come and say hello, we're friendly! Have you got a question you'd like us to tackle on a future podcast episode?

Please send it in!

Click here to send in your podcast questions!

Timestamps:

00:31 Taming the overwhelm gremlin (aka Your To-Do List)

03:25 Website? Social media? LinkedIn? 🤯

04:48 Building a portfolio (without stressing yourself out)

14:08 The juggle is real: business vs. creativity

16:18 Sharing your work and being picky about it

What you workin' on, pal? A Good Ship Illustration chat.

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Show Notes

When we meet up, this is always one of the first things we ask each other. We'd ask you too if you were here!

"What are you working on, then?" is the question that made us want to start The Good Ship Illustration all those yeeeeears ago - we realised how mega different our illustration careers are, even though we're all illustrators.

Grab a cuppa - in this episode, Tania shares her big goal to create a personal map (including residencies, studios, and maybe a little bit of procrastination). Helen's talking about writing stories and why she never wants to write alone again. And Katie takes us through the ups and downs of scaling & right-sizing a creative business.

Plus, we chat about the magic of saying "no".

Nice. See you in there.

Timestamps:

00:19 Tania's maps

10:44 What's Helen up to

12:41 Writing with a pal

22:46 Katie's nap goals

26:17 You Are NOT a to-do list! (Good Ship permission to slow down)

The burnout life raft (for when you're drowning in to-dos)

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Show Notes

Feeling frazzled & running on illustration fumes? You're definitely not alone!

In this episode, we wade on in to discuss the murky waters of burnout. Don't worry, we've got your life raft right here! We chat about what burnout actually IS, why it seems to be so common amongst illustrators & creatives, and most importantly, what you can do to nip it in the bud, or escape it if you're already knee-deep.

So grab a cuppa, put your feet up, and recharge your batteries with us for a bit.

Timestamps:

00:38 Defining burnout

04:37 💰 What's money got to do with it anyway?

04:54 The Instagram hamster wheel and how to escape it

05:35 Virtual assistants = sanity savers

11:30 "Illustrator's boob" - yep, it's a thing!

What do illustrators DO all day? Featuring keep-fit cuppas, & coworking 🤓

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Are you as nosy as we are? Weyyyy, you're in the right place.

In this episode, we talk about our daily routines as illustrators. What do we DO all day?

We discuss morning routines, our creative processes (or lack thereof), and the importance of deciding when to eat dinner.

When we said we'd love to hear about your day-in-the-life, we mean it! Come over to Instagram and say hello / tag us in your daily routine posts :) We're @thegoodshipillustration on there.

Timestamps:

00:18 Tell us about your day, then

01:46 Morning routines

04:02 Keep-fit cups of tea

05:37 Daily work and to-do lists

07:57 Balancing work and toddler-wrangling

14:32 Tania = the night owl

Should I have 2 websites?” + how many mailers until you see results?

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 06:00:00 +0100

Firstly, if you like this episode, you’ll LOVE The Business Course! Doors are open for enrollment until the 18th of October 2024. Be quick!

You can read all about The Business Course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business

If you do miss the boat 😩 and the doors have already closed by the time you're listening to this, you can jump into our free ‘Get into Your Business Car' challenge here in the meantime:
https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businesscar

(Once those Business Course doors close, they’re closed. We’re strict.)

Show Notes

As soon as we start talking about marketing for illustrators, we (almost always) get the question, 'Should I have a separate Instagram account for my illustration work?'

See also: Do I need more than one website? Do I need more than one newsletter?

In this episode we're answering that burning question, plus lots more all about the rollercoaster that is sharing your illustration work online.

Your online presence does NOT have to be shiny and polished. We're all about done-is-better-than-perfect, and we hope this episode gives you the firm-but-tender Good Ship kick up the bum you need to start sharing your stuff more consistently, whatever consistency means to you.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro and today’s big question
00:36 – One account or two?
01:25 – The “doorway method” for your website
04:38 – Juggling different styles in one space
05:38 – Why adding a personal touch is key
10:18 – Tweaking your marketing so that you get noticed
19:52 – Wrapping it all up with some final thoughts

p.s. it's NOT all about social media. We talk about offline options that are super effective too.

Get your illustration work noticed by people who actually want to buy it.

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 06:00:00 +0100

Firstly, if you like this episode, you’ll LOVE The Business Course! Doors are open for enrollment until the 18th of October 2024. Be quick!

You can read all about The Business Course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business

If you do miss the boat 😩 and the doors have already closed by the time you’re listening to this, you can join the waiting list for a future round. You can get stuck into our free ‘Get into Your Business Car’ challenge here in the meantime: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businesscar

(Once those doors close, they’re closed. We’re strict.)

**Shownotes:**

Yes yes, there is a HUGE amount of joy to be had in the creative side of illustration.

But when your work is both a joy to make, and sells well, too? That's a whole new level of good stuff.

In this episode, we talk all about selling your work! All 3 of us have run online shops at some point in our illustration careers, and we dig into the things that worked for us to get our work seen and, most importantly, sold.

We're not shy about talking about pricing and the perils (+ good bits) of managing an online shop and in this episode you can expect

🚢 Social media marketing for illustrators running a product-based business
🚢 Building an email newsletter audience
🚢 Selling your illustrations & illustrated products at fairs
🚢 Running an online shop & more 🤩

See you in there!

x Helen, Katie & Tania

Timestamps:

00:00 Hello!

00:59 Running an online shop: what's it like? What works well?

03:15 Marketing strategies 🤓 for online shops

04:38 Pre-selling - your new secret superpower (so that you don't end up living in a house full of unsold products.)

07:37 Postage challenges

09:46 Selling to other shops and wholesale

13:28 Pricing strategies and stuff to consider

20:36 In-Person Markets and Pop-Up Shops

23:17 👋🏻 Byee!

Busy? How to handle multiple illustration projects like a pro.

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 06:00:00 +0100

Firstly, if you like this episode, you’ll LOVE The Business Course! Doors are open for enrollment until the 18th of October 2024. Be quick!

You can read all about The Business Course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business

If you do miss the boat 😩 and the doors have already closed by the time you’re listening to this, you can join the waiting list for a future round. You can get stuck into our free ‘Get into Your Business Car’ challenge here in the meantime: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businesscar

(Once those doors close, they’re closed. We’re strict.)

**Show Notes: **

In today’s business podcast **puffs up shoulder pads** we had a good chat about the fine art of juggling when you have more than one illustration project on the go.

Setting boundaries and managing expectations came up a LOT. Clear communication and smart scheduling are biggies, especially when it comes to working with publishers and keeping yourself sane & your deadlines on track. We also touch on negotiating rush fees and the importance of having a dedicated schedule for client feedback so you don’t get stuck in one of those endless revision loops of doom! 😩

Plus, we grilled Helen on the nitty-gritty of working in the publishing world.

Behoooold, the timestamps!

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction and Listener Questions

00:22 – Managing Multiple Projects and Avoiding Burnout

01:00 – Scheduling and Client Communication

05:53 – Setting Boundaries and Handling Rush Jobs

07:43 – Client Feedback and Project Management

10:58 – Publishing Industry Insights

16:42 – A nice awkward Good Ship goodbye 👋

Pricing your illustration work 💸 & how to handle ghost-clients that disappear 👻 Bit of a scary episode. Sorry about that.

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 06:00:00 +0100

Welcome aboard the Good Ship Illustration podcast! In this spooky, scary episode, we tackle one of the trickiest areas for illustrators: pricing and negotiations. (Aaaagh!)

Firstly, if you like this episode, you’ll LOVE The Business Course! Doors are open for enrollment until the 18th of October 2024. Be quick!

You can read all about The Business Course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business

If you do miss the boat 😩 and the doors have already closed by the time you’re listening to this, you can join the waiting list for a future round. You can get stuck into our free ‘Get into Your Business Car’ challenge here in the meantime: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businesscar

(Once those doors close, they’re closed. We’re strict.)

**Show Notes:**

In this episode, we dusted off the crumbs from our Greggs Vegan sausage rolls (v good lunch Helen, thank you) and settled into Tania’s living room for a thorough no-holds-barred chat about MONEY STUFF.

One of our favourite things to talk about is how different the money/pricing stuff can be in different markets, and different bits of the illustration industry.

We put the world to rights and covered everything from knowing what’s ‘normal’ in the industry, to how to negotiate fees for different types of projects. Budgets can really vary depending on the market. We also bang on about the importance of charging what you’re worth. (And we’ll carry on doing that until the starving artist myth is where it belongs → in the bin.)

Ghosting from clients? It happens to the best of us. We share some tips in this episode on how to deal with it, and why it’s important not to take the silence personally.

Katie gets excited about how much she loves using automation to manage the behind the scenes stuff in her business. And to wrap things up, we remind you to think of yourself as a business, not just a creative. Your creativity brings HUGE value to your clients. Don’t forget it.

Charge your worth.

If you’d like a bit of help with quoting confidently, come and have a look at The Business Course. We’ve got a whole entire module dedicated to the money stuff (the practical bits *and* the mindset stuff.)

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business

Timestamps:

00:06 – Navigating pricing as an illustrator

01:00 – Negotiation tactics and client budgets

03:06 – Understanding the publishing world

10:55 – Dealing with clients ghosting you

14:52 – The Smeg Story 😆 and rejections

15:54 – Business systems and processes

19:37 – Final thoughts and one of our nice traditional awkward Good Ship goodbyes

Figuring out your illustration style - how long does it take?

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0100

If you’d like to boost your illustration work and dig in to finding your creative voice, you’re in luck!

Doors are NOW OPEN for our course, Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag. Just so you know, this the last time to join at the current price. We’d love to have you sailing with us!

You can learn more here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

Feeling stuck? Creative block be GONE!

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0100

This episode is chock full of our very toppest of tips for overcoming creative block. Buckle in 🙂

If you’d like to boost your illustration work and dig in to finding your creative voice, you’re in luck!

Doors are NOW OPEN for our course, Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag. Just so you know, this the last time to join at the current price. We’d love to have you sailing with us!

You can learn more here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

Want to get your illustrations published? Here are Good Ship’s top tips

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0100

This episode is JUICY. Here’s a checklist of action items if you want to put it on your studio wall and get some more eyeballs on your work.

Reach out to publishers directly by sending samples and requesting meetings to show your folio and get feedback
Send out batches of samples at a time
Follow up with publishers by sending new samples every 3 months
Research publisher websites and publications like The Writer and Artist Yearbook to find calls for submissions that match work
Ask other illustrators for recommendations on who provides constructive portfolio reviews (not all portfolio reviews are created equal!)
Consider sending thumbnail sketches and illustration samples in addition to dummy books for feedback from publishers

If you’d like to boost your illustration work and dig in to finding your creative voice, you’re in luck!

Doors are NOW OPEN for our course, Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag. Just so you know, this the last time to join at the current price. We’d love to have you sailing with us!

You can learn more here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

How to describe your illustration style

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0100

In this episode we dig into some juicy questions about describing your own work (aaaargh!) marketing, authenticity, and using your past to find your creative voice.

Doors are NOW OPEN for our course, Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag. Just so you know, this the last time to join at the current price. We’d love to have you sailing with us!

You can learn more here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

Surviving Bologna Children's Book Fair with The Good Ship Illustration

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Planning a visit to Bologna Children's Book Fair this year? You're in luck. Our Helen has made you this INCREDIBLE PDF document to accompany this podcast audio guide to the fair.

What else is inside the downloadable guide?

A Good Ship Illustration lanyard to print out
if you'd like to fly your Good Ship Illustration flag and help fellow Good Ship pals spot you while you're wandering around the fair!
Details on when and where we're holding our first ever Good Ship Illustration meet up
The must-haves you don't want to forget in your Bologna bag (blister plasters, anyone?)

If you're going to the fair, we'd LOVE to see you there. Keep an eye out for us!

Grab your free guide and lanyard here and read about the meet up dates etc.

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/bologna

✨✨✨✨✨

Picture book Q&A QUICK FIRE 🔥 | Picture book mini series episode #5

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Pssst, if you like this, you'll LOVE our course The Picture Book Course. Climb aboard now while you still can - the doors are closing in a few hours. BE QUICK! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB

In this episode we answer a zillion of your brilliant picture book questions. Here's a summary of the key takeaways:

Finding stories to illustrate
Publishers, and how they pair up writers and illustrators
Tips for working with authors
How picture book publishers work in general
Some live event illustration tips from Katie
TIP: When pitching ideas to publishers, don't submit a fully illustrated book. Instead, submit a couple of double-page spreads, and some character development sketches.
ANOTHER TIP: When you're just starting out in your illustration career, you can get your work under publishers' noses by creating a digital portfolio and using social media (eg Instagram). Make the most of hashtags and connect with fellow illustrators and publishers in the industry. You never know who's watching!

Read all about the Picture Book Course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB

Self publishing...is it a scam!? + what dimensions should I make my picture book? | Picture Book mini series episode #4

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the picture book mini series, we're answering some of your MOST JUICY questions all about:

Self-publishing - is it a scam?
The correct dimensions for your picture book
Invoicing and contracts in the picture book industry.

It's all the nitty gritty stuff. We love it!

Doors are closing really soon. If you'd like to join The Picture Book Course, now's your time!

Here it is: thegoodshipillustration.com/PB

How to run AMAZIN' school visits with your picture book | | Picture Book mini series episode #3

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Did you know, the doors to our course The Picture Book Course are now open? Come on in! We'd love to have you sailing with us. Read all about it here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB

What are the big secrets behind successful school visits and events? In this episode, Katie and Tania grill Helen on all the insider bits and VOILA.

We talked about

Setting boundaries when doing school visits
How to structure your time
The TOPPEST OF THE TOP TIPS to help children remember your name and connect with you as an author.
Being clear about your needs when doing author visits and book festivals.
Alternatives to in-person visits.

p.s. Tonight over on Instagram we're doing a live Q&A call. This is the best way to get your questions answered on the spot by Helen (Katie will be there too, and Tania is manning the comments/chat box thingie.)

See ya there! x

Juggling life while also creating picture books | Picture Book mini series episode #2

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

In this episide of The Good Ship Illustration, we share juggling skills. Whether you're juggling babies, mental health, or just... life stuff, hopefully some of these can help!

EXCITING NEWS: The Picture Book Course is open right now! Click here to read all about it ---> https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB

And you can sign up for the Character Workshop here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/cw

See ya there! x

Can you make a living as a picture book illustrator? | Picture Book mini series episode #1

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Good Ship Illustration podcast, we talk all about making a living as a children's book illustrator.

EXCITING NEWS: the doors to The Picture Book Course are open right now!! Go go go: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB

We're running a character workshop on Zoom. You can sign up for it here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/cw (it's free!)

AND

Our live Q&A is happening on Instagram at 7pm (UK time) on Wednesday. We're @theGoodShipIllustration on Insta. See you there!

PANIIIIIC! (or don't...) 🚢 | Find Your Creative Voice Mini-Series #5

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0100

The pressure's off; there are no fancy art materials here, and our golden rule is no panicking. Start where you are, use what you have. Be kind to yourself.

Today we're wrapping up our 5-part adventure. Thank you SO MUCH for listening along. If you've joined the course, we'll see you in there!! We can't wait to see you discover your creative voice.

Also, Art Club is on this Friday if you fancy some stress-free drawing time. It's over on Instagram.

----------

WELCOME to the final part in our 5-part mini-series, all about finding your creative voice. This week we're dropping one episode a day, where we tackle that ol' chestnut: how to find your creative voice. We've answered questions and created actionable steps for each episode.

Want a fillable workbook? YOU'RE IN LUCK! We've made one for you to download here.

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook

p.s. The doors to our 8-week online course Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag are now open. We'd love to have you sailing with us. Read all about it here.

Doors close for this live round on the 15th of September 2023 and we are STRICT. Don't miss the boat!

Play, OR ELSE 🚢 | Find Your Creative Voice Mini-Series #4

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0100

How do you get over the fear of starting a new illustration? In this installment of our mini-series we talk all about overcoming procrastination and fear of the blank page.

WELCOME to our 5-part mini-series, all about finding your creative voice. This week we're dropping one episode a day, where we tackle that ol' chestnut: how to find your creative voice. We've answered questions, and created actionable steps for each episode.

Want a fillable workbook? YOU'RE IN LUCK! We've made one for you to download here.

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook

p.s. The doors to our 8-week online course Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag are now open. We'd love to have you sailing with us. Read all about it here.

Doors close for this live round on the 15th of September 2023 and we are STRICT. Don't miss the boat!

Finding Creative Confidence 🚢 | Find Your Creative Voice Mini-Series #3

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0100

How do you stop the niggly voice 'my work isn't good enough' from interfering with your creative confidence?

WELCOME to our 5-part mini-series, all about finding your creative voice. This week we're dropping one episode a day, where we tackle that ol' chestnut: how to find your creative voice. We've answered questions and created actionable steps for each episode.

Want a fillable workbook? YOU'RE IN LUCK! We've made one for you to download here.

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook

p.s. The doors to our 8-week online course Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag are now open. We'd love to have you sailing with us. Read all about it here.

Doors close for this live round on the 15th of September 2023 and we are STRICT. Don't miss the boat!

Draw draw draw! 🚢 | Find Your Creative Voice Mini-Series #2

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0100

Draw draw draw, then draw some more. PLUS we answer the brilliant question: "...my schedule is not allowing me the time I would like. Can I really find my style if my time is limited?

WELCOME to part 2 of our 5-part mini-series, all about finding your creative voice. This week we're dropping one episode a day, where we tackle that ol' chestnut: how to find your creative voice. We've answered questions and created actionable steps for each episode.

✨ Want a fillable workbook? YOU'RE IN LUCK! We've made one for you to download here.✨

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook

p.s. The doors to our 8-week online course Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag are now open. We'd love to have you sailing with us. Read all about it here.

Doors close for this live round on the 15th of September 2023 and we are STRICT. Don't miss the boat!

Bask in your weirdness! 🚢 | Find Your Creative Voice Mini-Series #1

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0100

Bask in your weirdness. What to do if the voice that’s emerging isn’t the one you like?

WELCOME to our 5-part mini-series, all about finding your creative voice. This week we're dropping one episode a day, where we tackle that ol' chestnut: how to find your creative voice. We've answered questions, and created actionable steps for each episode.

Want a fillable workbook? YOU'RE IN LUCK! We've made one for you to download here.

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook

p.s. The doors to our 8-week online course Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag are now open. We'd love to have you sailing with us. Read all about it here.

Doors close for this live round on the 15th of September 2023 and we are STRICT. Don't miss the boat!

Our most weird and wonderful illustration jobs ft. sausages

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 22:00:00 +0100

We’re here to offer no-nonsense advice for illustrators and image-makers navigating a creative career

Here are 3 things you need to know:

At The Good Ship, our big mission is to help illustrators and image-makers navigate a creative career.
There are 3 of us - Tania, Helen and Katie - and we are the Goldilocks (3 bears!) of illustration, covering 3 areas and eras of the industry.
We believe your creative work should feel good, make you money, and leave you feeling confident to fly your freak flag!

---------------------

In this episode we talk about:

Katie somehow stumbling her way from local beer sketching jobs to Google HQ
How Helen (almost) became the face of sausages
Tania's magical jobs in Hong Kong (feat. Bryan Ferry)

Substack for Illustrators! Message in a Bottle

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 22:00:00 +0100

We’re here to offer no-nonsense advice for illustrators and image-makers navigating a creative career

Here are 3 things you need to know:

At The Good Ship, our big mission is to help illustrators and image-makers navigate a creative career.
There are 3 of us - Tania, Helen and Katie - and we are the Goldilocks (3 bears!) of illustration, covering 3 areas and eras of the industry.
We believe your creative work should feel good, make you money, and leave you feeling confident to fly your freak flag!

--------------------
In this episode we let Helen get REALLY excited about Substack. She shares all of her top tips to get you excited to start writing, sharing and hitting publish tooo.

We're on Substack! Come and say hello

Helen's Substack, Pencil Pals
Katie's Substack, Katiedraws (and writes)
(Tania doesn't have one yet, but don't worry... we'll keep peer-pressuring her until she starts one too.)

Art qualifications... do you need 'em? - Message in a Bottle

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 22:00:00 +0100

We’re here to offer no-nonsense advice for illustrators and image-makers navigating a creative career

Here are 3 things you need to know:

At The Good Ship, our big mission is to help illustrators and image-makers navigate a creative career.
There are 3 of us - Tania, Helen and Katie - and we are the Goldilocks (3 bears!) of illustration, covering 3 areas and eras of the industry.
We believe your creative work should feel good, make you money, and leave you feeling confident to fly your freak flag!

In this episode, we talk about:

The (un)importance of qualifications in art
The importance of having a masters
Stamps of approval
Choosing yourself
Gatekeepers
Be a punk

Did you like this? You might love Art Club too! Come on over to Instagram and be our internet pal. We host pop-up art clubs every now and again and our entire back catalog is on there too.

We're @thegoodshipillustration

https://www.instagram.com/thegoodshipillustration/

HELP! I don't think I have a style - Message in a bottle

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 22:00:00 +0100

We’re here to offer no-nonsense advice for illustrators and image-makers navigating a creative career

Here are 3 things you need to know:

At The Good Ship, our big mission is to help illustrators and image-makers navigate a creative career.
There are 3 of us - Tania, Helen and Katie - and we are the Goldilocks (3 bears!) of illustration, covering 3 areas and eras of the industry.
We believe your creative work should feel good, make you money, and leave you feeling confident to fly your freak flag!

Stuff we talk about in this episode:

Style is like the zodiac
How to find out who you are
Finding your uniqueness
Hiding away from social media.
Creating a stronger identity and finding your creative voice.

p.s. if you like this episode, you might love our course "Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag".

You can read all about it here.

Using kids as inspiration for picture book illustration - is it a good idea? - Message in a Bottle

Sat, 06 May 2023 07:00:00 +0100

Wahooo, another picture book podcast!

The Picture Book Course
If you're listening to this and you're interested in making picture books, you've listened at a brilliant time...

The Picture Book Course doors are now open!!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!

It's an eight week course and the cover creating your own picture book. Making your best picture book work ever.

We'd love to have you on board :) Read all about the course here.

🚢 🚢 🚢

For this episode we've got three brilliant questions sent for our Message in a Bottle series.

This episode's messages in bottles:

Is it a good idea to use your own children as inspiration for a picture book?
-from Katherine Steel
Development work: how do you tackle it?
-from Adam Ming
Which way should your picture book character face?
-from Sandy

Thanks for listening!

Lots o' love
-Good Ship

p.s. If you're listening to this later, when the doors are closed, you can join the waiting list and we'd love to have your sailing with us.

p.p.s We are doing some extra special pop up Art Clubs this week on Friday! Come along and join in on Instagram. We're @thegoodshipillustration.

Picture Books, drawing and storytelling: Emma Carlisle chats to The Good Ship Illustration

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 14:00:00 +0100

We had a brilliant chat with Good Ship pal, Emma Carlisle on aaall of the things:

The importance of bad drawings
Tackling social media as an illustrator
Studying an MA in illustration
Finding out what you're interested in
PICTURE BOOKS!
Mental health and creativity
Drawing from life and filling sketchbooks
Getting discovered
...aaand lots more

Meet Emma and learn more about her work here https://www.emmacarlisle.com/

p.s.
DOORS ARE OPEN RIGHT NOW to our big juicy Picture Book Course!

If you are ready to get your picture book made and out into the world, now's your time! But be quick - doors close on Friday 7th October 2022.

Read all about it and join here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB

We'd love to have you sailing with us!

x Helen Stephens, Tania Willis & Katie Chappell

Figuring out where YOUR illustration work fits - Message in a Bottle

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0100

In this episode we answer the questions:

How do I know if I'm an illustrator or not?
How to navigate "The Gap" (see quote below!)
How to keep the magic and energy in your finished work

The Gap

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
― Ira Glass

🚢🚢🚢

Right now we have two courses, and the doors open again very soon...

The Picture Book Course
Find out more about The Picture Book Course here!

Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag
Find out more about Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag here!

p.s. Got a question for the podcast? You can send your questions to goodshipillo@gmail.com and title it 'message in a bottle' so we know what it's about.

Getting started as an illustrator - Message in a Bottle

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0100

In this episode we answer the questions:

How do I get started as an illustrator (even if you're not a young thing fresh outta art school.)
How to get your first big break as an illustrator.
Do I need an illustration agent to be successful?

🚢🚢🚢

Preppin' your illustration portfolio - Message in a Bottle

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0100

In this episode we answer all of your portfolio questions:

Do I need one!?
What to put in your illustration portfolio.
How to reach out to potential illustration clients.
Should I follow the current illustration trends in my portfolio?

🚢🚢🚢

Nightmare clients, good snacks, illustrator fashion and lots more - Message in a Bottle

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0100

In this quick fire interview-style episode we answer the questions:

What was your most horrific client experience?
What's your favourite subject to draw?
Favourite snack + subject combo...
Most unusual client request?
Life drawing: the good, the bad and the ugly.
Have you ever gone against some advice and it worked out well?
What outfit makes you feel most illustrator-y?

PLUS
Tania talks about

pitching work to clients
map work and living in Hong Kong

Katie talks about

Introvert working / knowing yourself and designing a career you love
The joys of SEO (search engine optimisation)

Helen talks about

Whether there's room for you in the picture book world
How to draw out and about #walktosee without being interrupted by well-meaning people

🚢🚢🚢

Analogue vs. digital illustration - Message in a Bottle

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0100

In this episode we answer the questions:

Analogue vs digital drawing - how to deal with feeling torn between the two
How to store your artwork (ahhh that old chestnut)
Do I HAVE to work digitally to be a picture book illustrator nowadays?

🚢🚢🚢

Goal setting for illustrators - Message in a Bottle

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0100

In this episode we answer the questions:

How do I set goals as an illustrator?
Am I allowed to illustrate existing book covers?
What makes a "good" illustration?
Contracts!? The business side of illustration and design.

🚢🚢🚢

Creative Inspiration and Where to Find It

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 18:00:00 +0000

Avoiding the comparison trap

In this episode we answer the questions:

Is there room for me in the illustration industry?
How can I find time to create my work!?

🚢🚢🚢

Want to be part of an online community, full of fellow creatives?

Build your illustration career and make your best creative work ever?

It's time to discover how good it feels to truly be yourself in your work!

Bask in your weirdness and follow your creative dreams - our course doors open on 30th October for FIND YOUR CREATIVE VOICE: FLY YOUR FREAK FLAG.

Find out more and join the waiting list: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

Doors open on Friday 30th, and close on the 6th of November, OR when we reach capacity!

🚢🚢🚢

p.s. See you at The Good Ship Art club. Friday 8pm UK time on Instagram. We'll open the doors to the course live.
We’re @thegoodshipillustration.

The Essential Drawing Materials Every Illustrator Needs

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 18:00:00 +0000

Our top tips for choosing the best drawing materials.
(Don’t let materials trip you up - they're a distraction)

Start where you are, use what you have.

Fancy materials can freeze you up / feel like too much pressure

Your choice of drawing materials can help you blast through a pesky creative block. Rough and ready! Cheap! Easy to grab!

The free audio drawing guide we mention, ‘The Sketchbooker’s Friend’ is here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/sketchbookers-friend

🚢🚢🚢

Want to be part of an online community, full of fellow creatives?

Build your illustration career and make your best creative work ever?

It's time to discover how good it feels to truly be yourself in your work!

Bask in your weirdness and follow your creative dreams - our course doors open on 30th October for FIND YOUR CREATIVE VOICE: FLY YOUR FREAK FLAG.

Find out more and join the waiting list: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

Doors open on Friday 30th, and close on the 6th of November, OR when we reach capacity!

🚢🚢🚢

p.s. See you at The Good Ship Art club. Friday 8pm UK time on Instagram. We'll open the doors to the course live.
We’re @thegoodshipillustration.

What's Stopping You? Overcoming Imposter Syndrome to Find Your Creative Voice.

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 18:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we talk about imposter syndrome, authenticity, getting excited about your own work, and how to be consistent.

Bonus: how to eat an elephant

🚢🚢🚢

Want to be part of an online community, full of fellow creatives?

Build your illustration career and make your best creative work ever?

It's time to discover how good it feels to truly be yourself in your work!

Bask in your weirdness and follow your creative dreams - our course doors open on 30th October for FIND YOUR CREATIVE VOICE: FLY YOUR FREAK FLAG.

Find out more and join the waiting list: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

Doors open on Friday 30th, and close on the 6th of November, OR when we reach capacity!

🚢🚢🚢

p.s. See you at The Good Ship Art club. Friday 8pm UK time on Instagram. We'll open the doors to the course live.
We’re @thegoodshipillustration.

Finding Your Creative Voice with The Good Ship Illustration

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 14:00:00 +0100

This is the first episode of our podcast!

Helen Stephens, Tania Willis, and Katie Chappell are the crew at The Good Ship illustration, and this episode is all about getting to know us.

Learn more about The Good Ship Illustration and how we each found our creative voices.

Grab a cuppa, listen while you draw, and let us know what you think. (Instagram is our favourite place to hang out. We're @thegoodshipillustration)

p.s. Our course Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag is now open for enrollment!

Show Notes:

Finding your creative voice, standing out from the crowd, building career-longevity, and being yourself.

1. Helen's story
Taking a year out from picture book illustration to get back to her own creative voice.

2. Tania's story
From fine art to illustration via Hong Kong. 80s corporate imagery, MA at the Royal College. The value of being in a creative community.

3. Katie's story
Why getting fired from being an in-house graphic designer/illustrator was the best thing ever.

Learn More About the FIND YOUR CREATIVE VOICE: FLY YOUR FREAK FLAG course.

https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag
(Doors close again on the 7th of August, 10pm UK time)

The Good Ship Illustration

Helen Stephens chats to Prof. Martin Salisbury - Is your illustration style really yours? When influence turns into imitation 👀✏️

Guide to the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2026 - The Good Ship Illustration

It’s not too late, you’re not behind, and yessss, you should still start - an interview with illustrator Carys Wright

The 7 email rule: Pitching your work to illustration clients - Kira Matthews

How Salty (our Picture Book mascot) became a 2-book deal

Identity + rejection: when your illustration work *is* you 🥲

Instagram Is Not Your Portfolio (PHEW!)

🍎 Elephantasia (aphantasia) - can you see an apple in your mind?

Anna Mac on finding her creative voice (after years designing for retail)

Are illustrators doomed… or is this our time to shiiiiiine? [AI workshop replay]

Tara Tayyebi Fard on finding her creative voice (and illustration career) after 10 years of being an architect

Want to know what February’s #WalkToSee prompt is?

When you want to work but can’t seem to start

Is copying ever OK in illustration? When does inspiration turn into plagiarism? 👀✏️

You're invited! Plan your creative year with The Good Ship Illustration

You’ll Never Feel Ready. Do It Anyway. An interview with Good Shipper Amber Au.

An interview with Lisa Congdon - consistency and finding your creative voice

How illustrator Jill Calder built a long-lasting creative career (without losing her voice)

How to stop your illustration style looking generic & blah

🧠 What we talk about in this one

🕰️ Timestamps

🔗 Stuff & People Wot We Mentioned

We’re good at failing (and you can be too) 🤣 the power of experiments

What publishers reeeeally want to see in your picture book pitch

'If it looks awful, keep going. It’ll work out' - an interview with illustrator Catherine Rayner

'If you keep showing up, you can't NOT get better' - an interview with Sandi Hester

A Bologna Book Fair special: 6 Good Shippers were finalists in the Illustrators Exhibition!

#WalkToSee is baaack! The hashtag responsible for over 120,000 drawings (join in!)

Remember drawing for...fun? 😅 what is that?

"Double your fee without drawing more" say whaaat!?

The bit art school forgot to teach you 😅

Nice illustrator loneliness & working from home

Picture Book, Freak Flag, or Business… which one is calling yoooou?

PANIIIIC! (or don’t...) 😅 | Summer camp sketchbook week 5

Play, OR ELSE 🎲 | Summer camp sketchbook week 4

Finding Creative Confidence 🚢 | Summer camp sketchbook week 3

Draw draw draw! ✏️ | Summer camp sketchbook week 2

Bask in your weirdness ☀️ | Summer camp sketchbook week 1

Is AI Coming for your job? Illustrators are fighting back! (Part 2) with Chris Haughton

“Do I Have to Pick One Style Forever?! (Part 1)” with Chris Haughton

START HERE - Welcome to The Good Ship Illustration Podcast! (Here's our trailer) 🚢🚢🚢

You don’t have to draw everything (even in picture books)

💰 How to protect your time, energy and income as an illustrator

Is this normal in publishing… or am I being taken for a mug?

“Help! I found my illustration style… and I don’t like it” 😩

The joy of not finishing (all) your online courses

The curse of "Final Artwork"

Inside Helen's hermit cave

Get more illustration work: A pep talk, some tips, and a tiny rant

Residencies and Substack

Live Illustration (Course Closes Tonight!) Q&A

“I’m not sure how to price my illustration work. I think I panic and undercharge because I’m worried they’ll change their mind if it’s too much.”

Illustrator vs artist: what’s the difference? + Creating your portfolio 🥳

Illustration trends vs your creative voice PLUS what materials to use

Perfectionism, CMYK & a shout out to Barry in the cupboard (lovin' your work, Barry)

How to become a paid illustrator (The step-by-step guide! lol)

Should you quit Instagram if you're an illustrator?

Your website might be missing this one thing – and nooo, it’s not more portfolio pieces

Is there enough work for illustrators? The truth about illustration jobs in 2025 - a rising tide floats all boats 🚢🚢🚢

Feelin' guilty about not drawing as much lately? [A Good Ship Illustration permission slip]

What size should your picture book be? (And other silly mistakes to avoid.)

The secret to *actually finishing* your picture book ❤️

Saying no as an illustrator: dropping projects can boost your career.

Why drawing digitally is NAUGHTY 👀 (or is it?)

Can you be an illustrator with children and a job?

What tech do you use as an illustrator? Featuring Helen's 25 year-old Epson scanner that WILL NOT DIE

Help! I’m shy. Do I really have to go to book fairs to start my illustration career?

Big goals, no pressure: Planning your creative year with The Good Ship Illustration

Hardest Year Ever? An Honest Look at the Illustration Industry in 2024

Ho ho ho 🎄 pressies for illustrators (love from Ron & Betty Frampton x)

The Confidence to Fly Your Freak Flag: A guide for illustrators and creatives

What should you tackle first!? Starting out as an illustrator.

What you workin' on, pal? A Good Ship Illustration chat.

The burnout life raft (for when you're drowning in to-dos)

What do illustrators DO all day? Featuring keep-fit cuppas, & coworking 🤓

Should I have 2 websites?” + how many mailers until you see results?

Get your illustration work noticed by people who actually want to buy it.

Busy? How to handle multiple illustration projects like a pro.

Pricing your illustration work 💸 & how to handle ghost-clients that disappear 👻 Bit of a scary episode. Sorry about that.

Identity + rejection: when your illustration work is you 🥲

The secret to actually finishing your picture book ❤️

Juggling life while also creating picture books | Picture Book mini series episode #2