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. HACE 2 DÍAS

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

    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. 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 🎙

    34 min

  2. 13 FEB

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

    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 everThe weird, wonky human stuff AI can’t copyCopyright, licensing, and why clients still need real illustratorsHow your life experiences = your creative advantagePrompts to help you find your “brain treasure” ideasWhat you *can* controlTimestamps 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 resourcesCreative Lives in ProgressGood Ship Art Club + freebiesOur full AI workshop replayAaand 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 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 🎙

    37 min

  3. 6 FEB

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

    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 workWant to stand out in a sea of slop Know you're brilliant, but struggle to articulate what makes you differentAre 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) 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 🎙

    31 min

  4. 30 ENE

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

    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) 🚢✨ 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 🎙

    11 min

  5. 23 ENE

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

    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) 🚢✨ 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 🎙

    19 min

  6. 16 ENE

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

    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 originalityThe danger of trend-based work and being easily replaceableWhat actually makes a personal creative voice memorableWhy copying someone’s style can feel successful… until it doesn’tRebecca Green, ethicsBeing inspired vs copying and where that line really isDon't sand off all of your personality!Typos, wonkiness, we luv 'emA human made the workWhat to do if you think you’ve been copied (or fear you have)Authenticity 4evaByeeee 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 🎙

    17 min

  7. 9 ENE

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

    Sign up for the 2026 planning party HERE: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/planningparty  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  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 🎙

    25 min

  8. 12/12/2025

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

    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 diaryWhy starting with your local community can snowball into big opportunitiesHow to survive mixed feedback Competitions, and finding your peopleBeing a self-taught illustratorDiscipline, rest, and cultural expectationsPicture books, packaging, and branching out into multiple income streamsAmber'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 BakeryBologna 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 AgencyLittle Tiger PressBlue 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! 🎁 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 🎙

    24 min
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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) 🚢🚢🚢

Información

  • Creador
    The Good Ship Illustration
  • Años de actividad
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodios
    99
  • Clasificación
    Apto
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Good Ship Illustration
  • Mostrar sitio web
    The Good Ship Illustration

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