The Good Ship Illustration

The Good Ship Illustration
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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) 🚢🚢🚢

  1. 1h ago

    The illustration job nobody tells you about 🌈

    It's Tania Willis is in the hot seat this week (have you heard of her? That name rings a bell...) and our Katie is grilling her about maps!  We dug out our dusty listener question spreadsheet and the first one out was a good 'un: how long does a map take?  HOW LONG IS A PIECE OF STRING?  Tania is going to tell you. Just hit play and snuggle in, ok? Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – How long?  02:30 – Map scales  04:30 – Off-plan fantasy  05:30 – Blue and green  07:30 – Problem-solving  09:00 – That dog  11:30 – Mouse mats?!  13:30 – Accidental cartography  15:00 – Morning pages  19:00 – Resistance  20:30 – Play first  21:30 – Black outlines  22:00 – Peer pressure Links mentioned: 🎨 Free colour workshop (in the freebies section): https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com 📖 The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: https://juliacameronlive.com 🌱 Creative Wellbeing by Studio Emie: https://www.emmi.co.uk/the-creative-wellbeing-handbook 🚩 Freak Flag: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) P.S. Are you feelin' a bit stuck? May we recommend the genius (and free!) colour workshop? It's v low pressure paint-along vibes. Aaand it’s what got Helen to ditch her black outlines for her book Smelly Peggy! TADAAA: 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 🎙

  2. Oct 30

    How do I get my work featured? With Creative Boom's Katy Cowan

    This week our Katie chats to Katy Cowan, founding editor of Creative Boom, the independent platform that's been cheering on creatives of every background for 17 years. It started as a side project dreamed up on a sun lounger on her honeymoon (true story!) and now reaches over 300,000 readers a month. If you've ever wondered how illustrators get picked up by Creative Boom, Katy tells us everythiiiiing: keep sharing your work, keep your Instagram active, and make your website a nice 'n' friendly place for journalists/art directors to land.  Grab a notebook, this one's full of amazin' tips 💛 Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Meet Katy 01:00 – Gatekeeping 03:00 – Goody gatekeepers 04:00 – "You're not in trouble" 05:00 – Marketing when you're shy 06:30 – Hiding behind the brand 07:00 – 2024 10:30 – A new brainstorming buddy 11:30 – AI, the nuanced bit 14:30 – Where the work is 15:30 – The perfect storm 16:30 – The tightrope 17:30 – The future is human 19:30 – The courage to be disliked 20:30 – Getting featured 23:30 – Press-ready websites 25:00 – GEO 25:30 – Honeymoon ideas 26:30 – Slipped Disc 27:00 – Being enough Links mentioned: 🌟 Creative Boom: https://www.creativeboom.com 🎧 The Creative Boom Podcast: https://www.creativeboom.com/podcast/ 📸 Creative Boom on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativeboom/ 🎶 Katy's personal Instagram (for the Slipped Disc DJ videos): https://www.instagram.com/katylcowan/ 🎨 Sarah Martinon, the illustrator behind the Hermès campaign Katy mentions: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmartinon/ 🚢 The Good Ship Illustration: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.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 🎙

  3. Oct 23

    How to stay in touch with your illustration clients without being annoying - part 2 of our @MadebyJames interview

    James Martin (aka @MadebyJames) is baaack! Part one was your starter, and this week is the chonky main course. James did promise to come back with something v useful, and he kept his word. Buckle in for a step-by-step formula to help you build relationships with the people you'd love to work with.  There is absolutely NO cold emailing or cheesey self-promotion involved.  Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Welcome back James, and why part two is all about the practical stuff  01:00 – A brand is really just a way of getting more opportunity  02:00 – What James means by "opportunity design"  02:45 – The book Obvious Adams  04:00 – Why you should ask your clients for feedback, not other creatives  06:00 – Why complicated marketing advice makes us feel silly  07:30 – Good business relationships take time (you can't skip straight to "here's my work, give me money")  09:00 – Sandboxes: pressure-free 20-minute conversations  10:45 – Introvert? Start your first sandbox with a friend  11:50 – Everything good in your life started with one conversation  13:30 – Physical mailers and the "effort heuristic"  15:45 – The 5-3-1 framework: five existing clients, three strategic relationships, one aspirational one  19:00 – Focusing on just nine people, and starting a relationship journal  21:30 – The time exchange library  23:30 – What to send when you're following the seven email rule  26:30 – Asking for a sandbox  28:00 – The "second portfolio": gifting a scrappy idea that solves their problem  30:45 – Reciprocity  33:30 – Getting ready for when they look you up: your bio, profile pic and a "how to work with me" PDF  37:00 – Cold emails are gross and they don't even work Links mentioned: • Part one of our chat with James was last week (we'll add the link here when we have it)  • James's Substack: https://madebyjames.substack.com  • James's free Super Duper Mentorship for emerging creatives: https://madebyjames.substack.com/p/join-my-free-mentorship-program  • James on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/made_by_james  • James's new book, No Bullsh*t Branding: https://www.quarto.com/books/9781577159452/no-bullsh-t-branding  • Obvious Adams by Robert R. Updegraff  • Hype Yourself by Lucy Werner: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/hype-yourself-a-no-nonsense-pr-toolkit-for-small-businesses-lucy-werner/b3b30df91155c107?ean=9781788601238&next=t&affiliate=11858&ref=hypeyourself.com  • Our episode with Kira Matthews (the seven email rule): https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-7-email-rule-pitching-your-work-to-illustration/id1526470404?i=1000757654276  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 🎙

  4. Oct 16

    Is there any point becoming an illustrator now that AI is here? An interview with James Martin @madebyjames PART 1!

    Trigger warning: In this episode, James talks openly about his experience of childhood sexual abuse, as well as addiction (drugs and alcohol). It's mentioned briefly in the 06:52 to 11:00 section and discussed again from 45:23. There's also plenty of strong language throughout. Look after yourself and skip this episode/seek support if you need it. This week our Katie is chatting to James Martin, AKA @MadebyJames. He's a designer, author, Canva design advisory board member & creative partner at Lincoln Design Co. James is nice an' honest about the wiggly creative career road that got him to where he is today. We chat about the "gravity of average" and why everyone's starting to look and sound the same, an economist with two ice cream sellers on a beach 🍦, whether there's any point becoming an illustrator now AI is here aaaand why your weirdness is more valuable than ever. 😎 FLY YOUR FREAK FLAG!! ALSO, this is part one of two - next instalment is coming next week. Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Welcome James Martin, aka Made by James, and a quick intro to who he is and what he does  02:43 – The world has never been more distracting  06:29 – James's journey: school, trauma, addiction, and finding his way to an art foundation  11:00 – Falling forward into graphic design  15:03 – Following your gut and doing more of what lights you up  18:09 – Writing No Bullsh*t Branding  21:11 – Ddopamine  25:06 – Is there any point becoming an illustrator now that AI is here?  29:54 – The "gravity of average" and how systems pull everyone towards the middle  32:53 – Hotelling's Law, ice cream sellers on a beach, and why opportunity lives at the edges  38:08 – Time, the long game, and "automate the predictable, humanise the meaningful"  41:44 – Bring back dilly dallying!  42:04 – Your weirdness as your difference: taste, story and point of view  45:23 – Feeling scared to be yourself, and why James chose to share his story  49:29 – Being real online vs oversharing, and sharing from the scar, not the open wound  52:24 – Gary V, 500 pieces of content a week, and the performance trap  53:11 – James's mission, his three-step plan, and eating your own dog food  56:10 – Round two is coming! Links mentioned: James's Substack: https://madebyjames.substack.comJames's free Super Duper Mentorship for emerging creatives: https://madebyjames.substack.com/p/join-my-free-mentorship-programJames on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/made_by_jamesJames's new book, No Bullsh*t Branding: https://www.quarto.com/books/9781577159452/no-bullsh-t-brandingByeeee 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 🎙

  5. Oct 9

    Lessons from our 'failures' + Illustration Business Club doors close tonight!

    This week, you're stuck with Katie and Helen again, answering more of your businessy questions (Tania's back next week! Don't cry! She's coming back, really!) RIP to our dear friend and editor Deirdre McDermott of Walker Books, who died recently. Dee was a legend. We don't have the words to do her justice here, but we miss her very very much. 💛  And of course, Smelly Peggy too. Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Helen and Katie are back  00:45 – Any consistency hacks? Katie's summer of posting every day  01:45 – Reposting old posts  02:45 – When your illustration work 'flops'  03:30 – Stop when the fun runs out  04:30 – Illustrator's boob  06:15 – 2012 washing powder  08:00 – The rise and pause of Katie's jobs board  10:45 – Being misunderstood online  11:45 – "Get over yourself"  13:00 – Helen's online school visit that didn't quite work  15:45 – Lessons  17:00 – Helen's year out  18:45 – Finding Your Creative Voice  19:30 – Remembering Deirdre McDermott of Walker Books Links mentioned: Illustration Business Club: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businessFind Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag (with Helen's video about her year out): https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freak-flagHelen's free online school visit: https://www.helenstephens.com/virtual-school-visitWalker Books: https://www.walker.co.ukByeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) p.s. It's the last day! The Illustration Business Club doors close TONIGHT, Friday 9th October, at 10pm UK time. There's an option to pay in 10 smaller instalments, and we'd love to see you in there before they shut. 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 🎙

  6. Oct 2

    Help! Posting my illustration work makes me cringe 😬

    This week it's just Helen and Katie here (helloo - Tania was off in Naples eating pizza for us. We were living vicariously through her.) Let's get stuck in and answer your excellent questions about marketing your illustration work.  "I just don't know where to begin!" and overcoming our arch nemesis: cringe.  Plus SLOTH FACTS. You're welcome. Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Time off is good for you, and good for business  01:00 – Helen's short, intense work bursts on the latest Salty book  02:00 – Take the bus  03:00 – "Where do I start with marketing?"  04:00 – Trying on hats (and taking them back off)  04:45 – The creative car and the business car  06:00 – Brilliant work nobody sees vs brilliant marketing that needs more art car time  07:00 – Seven ways to get your work in front of picture book publishers  08:30 – Low-pressure Instagram and the overflowing camera roll  09:30 – If we were starting again: website, portfolio etc.  11:00 – Ditch the "aspiring", "wannabe" and "itty bitty" labels  11:30 – Cringe  12:45 – Caveman brains  15:00 – It's not meant to be easy  16:15 – "How do I get over myself?"  17:15 – Seeking validation vs showing up to share your goodies  18:00 – Illustration Business Club doors are open, plus the new 10-pay option  19:45 – Art Club, sloth ribs and a guinea pig Wild West village Links mentioned: Illustration Business Club: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businessThe Association of Illustrators: https://theaoi.comSCBWI British Isles: https://britishisles.scbwi.orgNorthumberland Zoo: https://www.northumberlandzoo.co.uk/Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) p.s. Get your illustration business ducks in a row. 🐥 🐥 🐥 The Illustration Business Club doors are open now, with a new option to pay in 10 smaller instalments.  We'd love to have you sailing with us! 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 🎙

  7. Sep 30

    "I hadn't drawn for 21 years" an interview with Jo Overend 🐥

    Jo Overend is in da house (ship?) But first, Illustration Business Club is finally OPEN! It's been over a year since we last flung the doors open and we'd love to have you sailing with us! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business Jo is an author-illustrator, an OG Good Shipper, and the author and illustrator of Megaduck (her debut picture book with Walker Books) 🐥 When Jo started out, she hadn't drawn for 21 years. She posted her drawings anyway, eeeeven the ones she didn't like, and sometimes three to five Instagram posts a day (!!!) Timestamps: 00:00 – Hello Jo (and Megaduck, in giant cardboard cutout form)  00:23 – Megaduck's final artwork is done and handed over to Walker Books  01:03 – Getting final artwork finished alongside full-on childcare  01:56 – Setting the goal of a full colour dummy for Bologna  02:57 – Walking into shops with your prints (terrifying!) and taking the wholesale leap  03:37 – Why rejection is almost never about you  05:46 – Katie's human design corner: give people something to say yes or no to  06:10 – Sending Walker seven more book ideas without waiting for a meeting  07:01 – Posting real things to agents and publishers, and the "is it worth the stamp?" wobble  09:13 – Why genuine, thoughtful post gets remembered  10:10 – Agents and publishers actually WANT your follow-up email  11:42 – Jo's Illustration Business Club experience  12:23 – Getting stocked in her favourite shop, and growing into wholesale  13:12 – Community, competitions, and winning the Picture Hooks mentorship (plus a book deal the same week!)  14:34 – Tania's "friendly stalking" method for finding art directors  15:50 – "Have we met?" How Jo's postcards got there before she did  16:57 – Helen's broccoli theory of being seen  17:25 – The anonymous egg problem, and why a face (or a logo) builds trust  18:29 – Jo's advice for scared, shy, overwhelmed illustrators  19:04 – Not drawing for 21 years, then posting 3 to 5 doodles a day  22:02 – Megaduck news: US in February, UK in March, and Megaduck 2 on the way  23:07 – Trying all the little things: kids' workshops, wholesale and more  24:40 – Keep your radar open  25:16 – Where to find Jo, plus her Substack and Patreon plans Links mentioned: • Jo's website: https://www.jooverendillustration.com/ • Jo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joverendillustration/ • Jo's Substack: https://jooverendillustration.substack.com/ • Megaduck (US edition): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/835922/megaduck-by-jo-overend-illustrated-by-jo-overend/ • Picture Hooks: https://www.picturehooks.org.uk/ Byeeee for now!  x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)  p.s. Soooo much of what Jo talks about here ties in v well with what's inside Illustration Business Club. The doors are open right now and we'd love to have you in there with us! 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 🎙

  8. Sep 26

    Do I need loads of followers to get illustration work?

    Fancy getting into your business car for a bit? Illustration Business Club doors are open until 9th October 2026, and you get lifetime access, so you can go at your own pace (pudding first, broccoli later). We'd love to have you sailing with us https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business /// We recorded this podcast LIVE on Instagram on Friday! (So please excuse the audio if it doesn't sound 100%) Anyways, here's the replay. Katie and Helen had a nice 'n' friendly illustration business Q&A, answering your questions as they came flying in. If we missed your question, it's nothing personal! We're doing another live Q&A next Friday too over on our Instagram @thegoodshipillustration so do come along and ask your question again :)  https://www.instagram.com/thegoodshipillustration/ Half-arse is better than no-arse. Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Welcome to our live Q&A podcast  01:50 – Should you keep your children's and grown-up work on separate Instagram accounts?  03:15 – Illustration Business Club doors, early birds and payment plans  04:30 – Organising your website when you've got lots of income streams  05:30 – SEO, long-tail keywords and lying down in the middle of the road  08:45 – What are publishers looking for in a portfolio?  12:00 – Do you need a big social media following to get started?  14:00 – Where to start with licensing  17:30 – How to say no when friends want you to illustrate their book  21:45 – Should you approach an agent or go straight to publishers?  23:30 – Instagram is not your portfolio (and half-arse is better than no arse)  25:30 – Does business stuff apply to fine art too?  27:15 – Your creative car and your business car  30:00 – Working for free, "exposure" and being paid in lobsters  30:45 – How do you stay invested in a picture book idea all the way through?  34:00 – Pricey website hosting vs the cheaper option  35:45 – Dealing with the newbie beginner scaries  38:00 – When getting paid makes you tighten up  40:00 – Structuring your days, Helen's birthday card trick and not doing a Father Ted  43:15 – Do the fun thing first (an idiot with momentum always wins) Links mentioned: Illustration Business Club: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businessTania's Good Ship Illustration podcast episode with Margo Tantau on licensing from 2 weeks ago: https://pod.link/1526470404/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xOTgxNTM1NwAnchoring Your Ideas So They Don't Fizzle Out (We looked into this and it's inside the Picture Book Course, not a freebie sorry!) https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PBGood Ship freebies for picture book makers and illustrators: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freebiesLouise Lockhart, The Printed Peanut: https://theprintedpeanut.co.uk/Jonny Hannah: https://www.instagram.com/darktownresident/Catherine Rayner: https://www.catherinerayner.co.uk/Jessica Hische's "Should I Work For Free?" flowchart: https://www.creativebloq.com/news/should-you-work-for-free-jessica-hischeByeeee 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 🎙

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About

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) 🚢🚢🚢

Information

  • Creator
    The Good Ship Illustration
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    131
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Good Ship Illustration
  • Show Website
    The Good Ship Illustration

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