The Good Ship Illustration

The Good Ship Illustration
  • 5.0 (63)
  • DESIGN
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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. 2D AGO

    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/freakflagThe 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 🎙

    34 min

  2. MAY 1

    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 🎙

    10 min

  3. APR 24

    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 🎙

    16 min

  4. APR 13

    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 🎙

    46 min

  5. APR 10

    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 goThe biggest benefits of visitingWhat to pack, what samples to take, and how to prepare wellHow to manage your expectations / social battery / overwhelmThe best bits beyond the fair itself, including food, bookshops and wandering round BolognaFollowing up afterwards and making the most of the contacts you makeTimestamps: 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 fair06:00 Talks, workshops and folio reviews07:00 Bologna itself, food, sunshine and bookshops08:00 The illustrator’s wall and what to stick on it09:00 Accommodation tips and booking early11:00 Tickets, discounts and Good Ship lanyards12:00 Managing expectations and not turning it into a military operation16:00 What to prepare and what samples to take19:00 Dummy books, sketchbooks and standing out20:00 The Bologna Illustrators Exhibition22:00 Feeling overwhelmed, comparitis and pacing yourself25:00 Practical survival tips, from snacks to spare batteries28:00 Why the last day can be surprisingly good29:00 Rest, museums, gelato and giving yourself permission not to do it all30:00 Following up after the fair31:00 Final tips, meetups and lanyard spottingLinks mentioned in this episode: Download and print your Bologna lanyard here!!Bologna Children’s Book Fair websiteIllustrator Survival CornerInuit bookshop, BolognaByeeee 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 🎙

    32 min

  6. APR 3

    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_penCarys’ 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 🎙

    38 min

  7. MAR 27

    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 inWhy pitching can feel so scaryThe real reason people don’t hear back. (And nooo, it’s not because they hate you)Why one email is basically just saying helloHow 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/m0elc4qip7The 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 🎙

    38 min

  8. MAR 20

    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 🎙

    29 min
See All (110)

Trailer

5
out of 5
63 Ratings

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
    110
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Good Ship Illustration
  • Show Website
    The Good Ship Illustration

You Might Also Like