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The Good Ship Illustration

The Good Ship Illustration

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)


🚢🚢🚢

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  • 119 episodes
  • Updated July 10

Episodes119

Newest first
  • July 10 · 28 min

    RIP Hockney & (Art) school's out for summer 🤘 🌴 🍦🩲

    What're you doing this summer? Are you having a little rest? This episode is all about taking breaks and we have a wee look at our plans: Helen is in her illustrator hermit cave for July to get the next Salty Dog book finished before the deadline, with a nice August off as her reward. Tania is working on a museum commission for a 'Gossip Wall' in Berwick Museum, with plans to experiment with texture and line for the first time in ages. (Phwoarrrrr.) And Katie's about to have her first proper 6-week term-time break now that E's in school full time. Whatever your plans are, have a good one! We'll be back in September. Rough Timestamps, for you timestamp enthusiasts: 00:00 – Recording remotely, wheee 01:00 – Camping memories in France (TVs in tents) 03:00 – What does everyone's idea of a summer break look like? 04:00 – Helen's July hermit cave 05:00 – Tania's loose-deadline project 06:00 – the Gossip Wall 09:00 – Working four-hour afternoons 10:00 – Berwick Open Studios, and the Pith Sketchbook Studios workshops on 3rd & 4th October 11:00 – Walk to See, Instagram's Add Yours feature 13:00 – Sketchbooking at the Alan Carr castle auction viewing day 14:00 – Katie's first proper term-time summer break now E's in school 15:00 – Freelance guilt, privilege, trying to "do it all" rarely works 17:00 – Trying and failing to switching your email off 20:00 – RIP David Hockney 24:00 – Planning a Hockney-themed summer party 27:00 – Good luck to Helen with the Salty Dog drawings, and a peek ahead Illustration Business Club returning this autumn! Links mentioned: Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) p.s. Illustration Business Club is coming back into the chat this autumn, join the waiting list here and keep an eye out. https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business 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 🎙

  • July 3 · 39 min

    No, you *don't* have imposter syndrome - an interview with Lauren Currie OBE

    What's the point in making all this gorgeous work if you don't have the confidence to share it, eh? EH!? Who better to grill on this subject than Lauren Currie, OBE. Lets gooo: Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Intro 01:00 – Confidence = the elephant in the room for creatives 02:00 – Lauren on why confidence matters so much, especially for women and marginalised people 05:00 – The shite UN statistic 07:00 – "What would a mediocre middle-aged man do?" 09:00 – Confidence is a team sport, not a solo endeavour 11:00 – Carrying responsibility for how everyone else feels 12:00 – 10 people whose opinions actually matter (and why it's not Jeanie from school's mum's dentist) 14:00 – Imposter syndrome 16:00 – The 1970s research that labelled women with a "syndrome" instead of looking at the system 19:00 – Why self-doubt is healthy 21:00 – Confidence is a muscle 22:00 – Lauren's art 25:00 – Old lady faces 27:00 – Should you have a separate art Instagram? 28:00 – The Barcelona art show story 32:00 – Why 'just' 20 people seeing your work is a LOT of people 33:00 – Lauren's advice for illustrators who are scared to share their work 36:00 – On hiding 38:00 – We need your art!! Links and books etc. mentioned: Lauren's website: https://www.laurencurrie.co/art Upfront: https://www.weareupfront.com Be Upfront by Lauren Currie We Need Your Art by Amy McNee https://www.amiemcnee.com/order-we-need-your-art-book-amie-mcnee The Good Ship Illustration: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag course: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag 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 🎙

  • June 26 · 41 min

    Help, I’ve forgotten how to draw 🫠

    This week's podcast is a sneaky peek into the live Q&A calls we do for our Find Your Creative Voice; Fly Your Freak Flag students. (They happen monthly at the moment.) WHADDA CHAT. In this episode, we talk about: Pursuing boredom The Artists' Way Why finding your style doesn’t always feel fun and easy and natural (Instagram's lying to yooou) What to do when you have hundreds of project ideas and no clue which one to choose How to handle agent/client feedback without immediately throwing your laptop into the sea Galleries are better when you don’t try to “eat all the paintings” Pens, colour, sketchbooks and abandoning black linework Quentin Blake, Mr Bingo and free flapjacks. Just a normal day, really. If you'd like to join us, go for it! Enrolment is open right now, and our next live call is happening on Thursday the 16th of July at 7pm UK time. Timestamps 00:00 Art block 00:55 Morning pages 02:00 Wide margins 04:30 Boredom 06:00 Creative sparks 08:15 Creative identity 10:20 Comparison 11:30 Constraints 13:30 Page layouts 15:15 Deadlines 17:15 Oblique Strategies 18:30 Slow looking 21:00 Drawing from home 22:30 Quentin Blake Centre 26:45 Too many ideas 31:10 Feedback 37:30 Coloured linework 39:45 Closing thoughts Stuff we mentioned & links (so many this week, woah) The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron Make Every Day Creative by Marion Deuchars David Hockney (RIP) Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies Quentin Blake Centre - Thank you for inviting us to the preview day, team QB! Derwent Pencil Museum Picture Hooks https://www.picturehooks.org.uk/ The Catchpole Agency http://www.thecatchpoleagency.co.uk/ Muji fine liners Emma Carlisle / Sarah Dyer https://www.emmacarlisle.com/ https://www.sarahdyer.com/ The Good Ship Illustration Art Club https://www.instagram.com/thegoodshipillustration/?hl=en Fly Your Freak Flag https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag The Good Ship Illustration colour workshop https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/colour 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 🎙

  • June 19 · 28 min

    "I spent ages on the detailed stuff...but they liked the quick sketch." An interview with the brilliant Alice Bowsher

    This week our Katie is chatting to Alice Bowsher, who's work she would like to bite (In a good way. The same way you want to bite very cute babies. Is it called cuteness aggression?) Anyways, there's chat about creative career paths, Glastonbury bags, cardboard bedrooms, Walker Books, baby board books, and the very very important role of biscuits. Mmmm. Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Intro to Alice 02:00 – From fine art to graphics to illustration 04:00 – The YCN internship, signing with an agent, and learning how the industry works 06:00 – Grand Matter, how commissions work "I'm definitely an agent person" 09:00 – Pricing and getting over the guilt of making it look easy 11:00 – Social media, Instagram vs Substack - Substack feels like old school Tumblr 14:00 – What happens when a brief comes in? 17:00 – Alice's cardboard bedroom 19:00 – Sketchbooking 21:00 – The Glastonbury Guardian bags and seeing your work out in the world 22:30 – Hobbies, exercise, biscuits, and the new-parent juggle 24:30 – Baby board books for Walker Links mentioned: Alice's website: https://www.alicebowsher.co.uk/ Alice on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicebowsher Alice's Substack, Easypeeler: https://alicebowsher.substack.com/ Grand Matter, Alice's illustration agency: https://grandmatter.com/ Fold out guinea pig birthday cards for Wrap: https://wrapmagazine.com/products/guinea-pig-surprise-fold-out-card We briefly mentioned Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag so here's the link to that too in case you want to bask in your weirdness and make your best work ever: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag 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 🎙

  • June 12 · 35 min

    And the award for Best Stand at Bologna Children's Book Fair goes to...

    This week, we're STIIIIIILL talking about Bologna Children's Book Fair (for the last time, we promise 😅) - this episode was supposed to come out as soon as we got home, but the technology gremlins have been fighting with us every step of the way. BACK OFF, GREMLINS. You'll hear at the very end that we went on talking for three whole blimmin' episodes before we realised the microphones had conked out. We chat about having a stand and exhibiting for the very first time, our Best-Stand award, given to us by the one and only Chloe Savage (sponsored by ham™️), meeting the most brilliant people, and...Mega Duck! Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Back from Bologna! The brain dump begins 01:00 – What it was like having a stand for the first time 02:30 – The Best Stand Award wot we won 04:00 – 1,500 stripy bags, tattoos, and the ham situation 06:30 – Meeting podcast listeners in real life 07:00 – A lovely chat with Steve Anthony (Mr. Panda!) and his route into illustration 09:00 – The Cambridge School of Art stand and Good Ship grads 10:00 – Katie interviewing people on the stand with mega microphones 11:30 – Holly's observation about illustrators 13:00 – Why picture book people are the best 15:00 – The Illustrators' Survival Corner 16:30 – Meeting new people and being mistaken for a publisher 18:00 – Jo Overend and the Mega Duck story / Walker Books 22:00 – Lisa Loffredo, the Nami Concours shortlist, and a very good group photo 24:00 – The Good Ship Illustration as a showcase for talent (a big idea brewing...) 26:00 – Our Bolognese Palace 28:00 – Tania on nonfiction illustration 31:00 – How to research publishers from home 33:30 – Whoops, the microphones weren't recording. Goodbye Bologna! Links & people mentioned: 🎨 Steve Antony (Mr. Panda author-illustrator): https://www.steveantony.com/ 🎨 Cambridge School of Art MA in Children's Book Illustration: https://www.aru.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/childrens-book-illustration 🎨 Jo Overend on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joverendillustration/ 🎨 Lisa Loffredo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisaloffredo_/ 🎨 The Bologna Children's Book Fair: https://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/ 🎨 The Bookseller (check out the April issue, useful for agents and publishers list): https://www.thebookseller.com/ Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) p.s. Heard Jo's story and feelin' a bit inspired? Good! If you want to find your own creative voice and start putting yourself out there, come and fly your freak flag with us. https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag 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 🎙

  • June 5 · 33 min

    "Help! I love my rough illustrations and panic on the final piece. How do I get out of my own way?"

    It's all fun and games until someone mentions FINAL ARTWORK. (Arghhhh) Sound familiar? Thought so. So we get stuck into Inky's question: how do you get out of your own way and switch off the overthinking brains? All three of us wrestle with this in different ways. Also mentioned: expensive paper + a shared fantasy about buying a tiny round Father Ted caravan to draw in. Pour yourself a decaf tea and get comfy. 🫖 Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – The question from "Inky" 02:00 – Why your best work happens when you're distracted 03:00 – Helen's voice coach revelation 05:00 – The "kiss of death" of the final piece 06:00 – First violin nerves and propranolol 07:00 – Why Katie does live illustration 08:00 – ADHD, body doubling and visual timers 09:00 – Tania's surprise panic attack 10:00 – The fear of expensive paper 11:00 – Cheap sketchbooks, and never stretching paper 12:00 – Working on five versions at once 13:00 – Pia Bramley's drawings in the New York Times 14:00 – The dim light box trick 15:00 – Gluing over mistakes 16:00 – Why scaling up kills a drawing 17:00 – The blobby technique, and INCUP 19:00 – Tania loses her portfolio on the bus 20:00 – Katie's secret competitive streak 22:00 – Are illustration competitions worth it? 24:00 – Getting into the zone 25:00 – Rain, gas fires and working audios 27:00 – The dream caravan studio 29:00 – Dressing gowns, woolly hats and working caves 31:00 – Working around kids, and burnout 33:00 – Larks vs owls Links mentioned: Pia Bramley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piabramley/ Picture Hooks (mentoring and competitions for picture book makers): https://www.picturehooks.org.uk/ The Blindboy Podcast: https://theblindboypodcast.ie/ Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) p.s. You're v welcome to make your best work ever and come and bask in your weirdness with us here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag 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 🎙

  • May 29 · 25 min

    ⚠️ Illustration scams to watch out for

    Ooft, this is a good one. This week we're discussing illustration scams We've all had them land in our inboxes, we see 'em in the Good Ship community (too) regularly, and TBH you need to know what to look out for. 👀 Plus: Salty Dog is in actual bookshops and the Waterstones staff read it and couldn't stop laughing. Weyyy! 🎉 Timestamps, if you like that sort of thing: 00:00 – Why we're talking about scams (community posts, industry warnings, and everyone's inbox) 01:30 – The Mr. Takeshi email - the famous one doing the rounds right now 03:00 – Copy and paste a paragraph into Google. Reddit will know. 04:00 – The overpayment scam 04:30 – "I'm deaf, so please only email me" 05:00 – Katie's hacked email story 06:00 – Tania's mysterious hotel chain job 08:30 – Vanity publishers 10:30 – Real publishers don't advertise for illustrators on their homepage 12:00 – Rebecca Green and legitimate self-publishing (not the same thing!) 14:00 – "Dear Helen, I've written a book, please illustrate it" ...not a scam, but still a no 16:00 – AI emails from Francis. Every single daaaay. Still can't unsubscribe. 18:00 – "I'd like to buy three pieces of your artwork". 20:00 – 🎉 Salty Dog is in Waterstones! And the staff loved it! 21:30 – The terrible/brilliant fake Photoshop of Helen and Katie in the bookshop 23:00 – Could Salty Dog become a Yoto card? (We think yes, and yes we are biased) Links mentioned: 📚 Salty Dog by Helen Stephens and Katie Chappell - find it in all good bookshops: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/salty-dog-and-pals-the-storm-other-stories 🖼️ The AOI (Association of Illustrators) — good source of scam warnings: https://theaoi.com 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 🎙

  • May 22 · 20 min

    'They keep asking me to tone it down.' Flying your freak flag in their faces 🚩

    This week we're answering a brilliant voice message from @shanaramadesigns. Shana asks about Russian illustrator Victoria Semikina: how does someone learn to draw in that gloriously exaggerated, expressive way? And why, when she does it, does everyone love it, but when Shana tries it, art directors ask her to tone it down? NO FAIR. Happy listening :) And hellooo to Victoria - we've been chatting this week and there *might* be a special video coming to the Freak Flag course from her. EEEE! Watch this space! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Crying over Christian Robinson's new book 'Dad' (it needs a warning label) 01:30 – Shana Rama's question: how do you learn to draw in an exaggerated, expressive way? 03:30 – Victoria Semikina: fine art, printmaking, jazz parties, and accidentally becoming an illustrator 05:30 – Why drawing from life filters through your personality, and why that matters 07:30 – "Just be yourself even harder" 09:00 – Finding publishers who love you as you are 10:00 – British art education, the A-level folio problem, and Frieda's story 15:30 – The exam board vs actual creativity, and feeling for students without artist parents 17:00 – Victoria's sketchbooks the gap between rough and final is tiny (mmmm) 18:00 – Embodying a pose while you draw: Tania channeling Tudor barmaid energy Links mentioned: 🎨 Victoria Semykina on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria_semykina/ 📚 Christian Robinson's book 'Dad': https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/christian-robinson/dad/9781035088393 Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) p.s. Doors to the Live Illustration Course are now open for enrolment! This live round kicks off on 1st June. See you in there :) https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/lic 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 🎙

  • May 15 · 33 min

    "I used to cry in the toilets before every job (and then I'd go draw)" - a live illustration chat with Katie

    This week, our Katie's chatting with Helen and Tania about her favouritest thing and specialism/niche: live illustration. What's it like to arrive at a fancy corporate event with an iPad (or a board and some paint), when someone says "ok, draw everything"? It's a proper deep-dive into the live illustration world, from the adrenalinny (new word) thrill of drawing in real time, including the crying-in-toilets. Is AI a threat to graphic recorders? Spoiler: being a human is, somehow, now a USP. 😂 There's also a crackin' question from Joanna about being asked to work for free for a live illustration agency, and we have Thoughts. Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Intro and is live illustration under threat from AI? Katie's honest take 02:00 – Being a human = a selling point 04:00 – Hand-drawn work is more exciting to clients 05:00 – Infographics, AI, and the kinds of work that aren't worth worrying about 08:00 – Why Katie loves working live 09:00 – Helen on the same feeling during school visits and drawing on stage 11:00 – The different flavours of live illustration: corporate, fashion, wedding, events... 12:00 – Joanna's question: should I work for free for a live illustration agency? 14:00 – How to build your portfolio without getting trapped in the free-work loop 15:00 – SEO for live illustrators 17:00 – Helen's local museum project: well-paid, rooted in place, in the collection for 20 years 21:00 – What Katie teaches in her course: synthesising information, calming your brain, and knowing what to leave out 23:00 – How to turn corporate speak into images without just drawing a lightbulb 💡 25:00 – Katie's favourite technique: using the page as a visual timer 27:00 – The early fear vs the hard-won confidence (and yes, the toilet crying 😅) 31:00 – You'll never feel ready, so just start charging anyway 32:00 – The live illustration course opens on 15th May! Links mentioned: The Live Illustration Course: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/lic Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) p.s. Curious about live illustration but not 100% sure if it's for you? Come and join Katie for a free Live Illustration Masterclass, it's a good place to start! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/LIM 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 🎙

  • May 8 · 34 min

    You don't have to pick just one thing - an interview with illustrator-astrologer Nicola Allan

    This week, our Katie is chatting to Nicola Allan, an artist, writer and consulting astrologer based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. After 12 years working as a lawyer, Nicola pivoted to illustration and has since built a brand that weaves together everything she loves: The Wild Way. Nicola's a brilliant example of what happens when you stop trying to choose between the things you're drawn to and just bring them aaaall along for the ride. We chat about slowly switching from a regular job to illustration, why crowdfunding is such a powerful way to test if your idea has legs before you make all the things, and how to weave your obsessions (in Nicola's case: astrology) into work that's unmistakably yours. Plus the maths of email lists vs. social media, why you should start promoting WAY earlier than feels comfortable, decans and scribes, trusting your gut, and the idea that ideas themselves will find someone else if you don't act on them. Mmmm. Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Nicola's wiggly path from law to illustration to astrology 01:00 – Early days of greetings cards and Not On The High Street 02:00 – Why a slow transition beats quitting cold turkey 03:00 – Remote lawyering from Mexico 04:00 – Pandemic, dogs, and the chance encounter that became Nicola's first tarot deck 05:00 – Why Nicola walked away from a publisher to crowdfund instead 06:00 – The Kickstarter campaign that ended up on their front page! 08:00 – Coming back to Scotland on a whim and never leaving 09:00 – The Wild Way oracle deck and the 36 decans 12:00 – Katie's reading and the literal scribe in her chart 13:00 – More years studying astrology than law, apparently 15:00 – Recurrence transits and creative breakthroughs in the birth chart 16:00 – Why 2026 and 2027 are big collective years 19:00 – Everyone's wired differently (phew) 20:00 – Self-publishing the Wild Way 22:00 – Coming up: a 78-card Wild Way tarot deck on Kickstarter in June 23:00 – Top tips for first-time crowdfunders 26:00 – Start small: a calendar, an enamel pin, anything 28:00 – Email list maths 30:00 – Trusting your gut and listening to the little voices 32:00 – Ideas have a lifespan and will find someone else if you don't act 33:00 – Trust yer gut Links mentioned: The Wild Way: https://www.the-wild-way.com/ Find Your Creative Voice: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag The Wild Way on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewildway_ Nicola on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicola__allan/ Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) p.s. If you loved Nicola's "take all your weird interests and weave them into something only you could make" then you'll probs get excited about our Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag course, a safe little cocoon to figure out what work is properly yours and start basking in your weirdness. Come and fly your freak flag with us! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag 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 🎙

  • May 1 · 10 min

    This illustrator got a book deal lead on DAY ONE of Bologna… 😳 (part 2)

    Here's part two of our Bologna interviews. Thank you so much for listening, and if you managed to come and find us at Bologna Children’s Book Fair, thank you. We had so much fun meeting everybody, and we’re hoping to do that again one day because it was cool. Okay, see you soon. Enjoy listening to these brave people 🚢🚢🚢 ⏱️ Timestamps for our timestamp fans Lauren 00:00 – Part 2 hiya 00:40 – Lauren: flew in from Chicago for her first Bologna 01:20 – Corporate job, layoff, creative reset 02:00 – Why she chose The Picture Book Course over a Masters in illustration 03:00 – Actually doing the work (not just watching 👀) 03:40 – Approaching a publisher… 04:20 – “Can you send me this book?” (!!!) 05:00 – Bravery > having it all figured out 05:40 – No agent, just going for it :) Yves 06:20 – Yves and his genius portfolio move 06:45 – Printing your portfolio as a book 📚 07:30 – How he uses it in reviews 08:00 – Printing panic 08:40 – New style feedback 09:10 – Feeling excited to create again (!!) 09:40 – “You just have to keep going” Links an' that wot we mentioned: Yves Kervoelen on Instagram: @yveskervoelen/ Lauren Cox on Instagram: @kareuoneart/ Courses: The Picture Book Course (the one Lauren mentioned) Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag 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 🎙

  • April 24 · 15 min

    Brave Good Shippers at Bologna - we shoved a microphone in these illustrators faces 😆 (part 1!)

    Interview #1 is with Paulina Zawiska and Kate Osmond. Interview #2 is with Lorna Burt (begins at 05:30) Bon apetit! We just announced the winners of our iPad giveaway and art supply shop vouchers - come and celebrate the winners with us over on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thegoodshipillustration/ Timestamps: 00:00 – Welcome to Bologna (the audio isn't perfect but neither are we 🤪) 00:30 – Paulina’s third time… still overwhelmed 01:30 – The illustrator wall and comparisonitis 02:00 – Kate’s first time and top tips for arriving 02:30 – Portfolio reviews: exciting or terrifying? 03:15 – Should you approach publishers at the fair? 04:00 – First Bologna experiences: sensory overload 04:45 – Making a plan (being brave) 05:00 – Good Shippers in the wild 🥹 05:30 – Lorna’s story 06:30 – “You need bears” 07:00 – The work that felt most you = the work that landed 08:00 – Not all feedback is equal 09:00 – Researching portfolio reviewers before you listen to them 10:00 – The danger of trying to fit the mould 11:00 – Letting your “weird” lead the way 12:00 – Using courses to reset when you wobble 13:00 – From fashion designer to children’s book illustrator 14:30 – Fast-tracking your learning vs figuring it out alone 15:00 – Pitching stories In these interviews we talked about the Find Your Creative Voice course, fly your freak flag! As well as the Picture Book course and last, but not least: Illustration Business Club. (Doors to illustration business club will open again in September/October so get your name on the waiting list if you want to join in next time. 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 🎙

  • April 13 · 46 min

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

    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: https://www.aru.ac.uk/arts-humanities-education-and-social-sciences/cambridge-school-of-art Martin’s book Illustrator Sketchbooks - https://www.thamesandhudson.com/products/illustrators-sketchbooks?srsltid=AfmBOorX15ljDyYAhbjtRgg0jWBuOL5Gpg0GWh2lMPDwQ5WvkvcGsITj Martin’s books Children’s Picturebooks and Play Pen - https://www.laurenceking.com/products/childrens-picturebooks-second-edition?srsltid=AfmBOopfucbQXUzJtWZA1WTMWxKntifcuVquG8WpR7vk5GmmSECaHtn0 Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag with The Good Ship Illustration - https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag 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 🎙

  • April 10 · 31 min

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

    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: Download and print your Bologna lanyard here!! Bologna Children’s Book Fair website Illustrator Survival Corner Inuit bookshop, Bologna 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 🎙

  • April 3 · 37 min

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

    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. 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 🎙

  • March 27 · 38 min

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

    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) 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 🎙

  • March 20 · 29 min

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

    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.) 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 🎙

  • March 13 · 26 min

    Identity + rejection: when your illustration work *is* you 🥲

    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 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 🎙

  • March 6 · 21 min

    Instagram Is Not Your Portfolio (PHEW!)

    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 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 🎙

  • February 27 · 29 min

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

    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. 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 🎙