Claim OwnershipThe Good Ship Illustration
Subscribed: 165Played: 2,975
Subscribe
© 2025 The Good Ship Illustration
Description
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)
🚢🚢🚢
78 Episodes
Reverse
Which course should I do? 🎨📚 We get asked this aaall the time: “Do I start with the Picture Book Course, Fly Your Freak Flag, or the Business Course?” There is no wrong order. Right now the Business Course isn’t open, but… ✨ The Illustration Business Club (our shiny new name for it) opens for enrolment on the 19th of September! We almost dropped the word “business” because we thought it might put illustrators off. When we asked our students though, the answer was a big NO. That wor...
Pssst, this episode was originally published in 2023 and we’re sharing it again as part of our Good Ship Summer Camp series. It’s one of five episodes to help you fly your freak flag this summer. If you’d like to join in properly, there’s a free workbook an' everything! You can download the workbook here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook Riiiight, pack up your art supplies. It’s the final week of our pretend Good Ship Summer Camp. This week's topic is panic. Mmmm...
Pssst, this episode was originally published in 2023 and we’re sharing it again as part of our Good Ship Summer Camp series. It’s one of five episodes to help you fly your freak flag this summer. If you’d like to join in properly, there’s a free workbook an' everything! You can download the workbook here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook Feeling stuck? Procrastinating wildly? Hiyaaa this week's episode is for you. PLAY!! It’s not optional. It can trick you into making ...
Pssst, this episode was originally published in 2023 and we’re sharing it again as part of our Good Ship Summer Camp series. It’s one of five episodes to help you fly your freak flag this summer. If you’d like to join in properly, there’s a free workbook an' everything! You can download the workbook here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook Feeling a bit wobbly about your work? You’re not alone. In fact, you’re very much in the club. In today’s episode, we’re talking abou...
Pssst, this episode was originally published in 2023 and we’re sharing it again as part of our Good Ship Summer Camp series. It’s one of five episodes to help you fly your freak flag this summer. If you’d like to join in properly, there’s a free workbook an' everything! You can download the workbook here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook Got limited time to draw? Children hanging off your leg? Perfect. You’re in exactly the right place. 😆 This week's episode is all abo...
Pssst, this episode was originally published in 2023 and we’re sharing it again as part of our Good Ship Summer Camp series. It’s one of 5 episodes to help you fly your freak flag this summer. If you’d like to join in properly, there’s a free workbook an' everything! You can download the workbook here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/workbook 🚢🚢🚢 What if your creative voice isn't one you actually like? 😬 In today’s episode, we’re chatting about that awkward bit of figuring out y...
This week, we’re back with part 2 of our conversation with the brilliant Chris Haughton – illustrator, author, and passionate copyright advocate. Here's a link to part 1 in case you need to catch up! In this half of our Chris Haughton special, Chris shares how his first picture book came about, and we also chat about confidence, creative doubt, and why showing up again and again matters. And then… we go deep on AI. Copyright, ethics, government policy, and what we illustrators can actua...
How do you make picture books if you secretly hate writing? Can you REALLY just punch holes in a bit of paper and call it a finished illustration?! 👀 This week we’ve got a proper treat for you. This is part 1 of our chat with illustrator and picture book maker Chris Haughton! (Katie wasn’t there, but Helen and Tania held the fort and asked him all the juicy questions.) Chris shares his brilliantly wonky career path from graphic design to editorial, picture books and his latest deep dive...
Emily asked us why backgrounds can be so overwhelming. So in this episode, we share lots of low-pressure ideas to make them doable (maybeee even fun). Please enjoy Tania nearly falling asleep under a weighted blanket 🤣 Podcast Episode Highlights: How to stop overthinking itColour tips and some good stuff Chris Haughton taught us NO ZOOMING IN ALLOWED 😠 John BurninghamOld Lady Baby (rough) Timestamps: 00:00 – Emily’s question: “Backgrounds scare me – help!” 01:00 – The Chris Haugh...
“Can you just do it for free?” NO. In this week’s episode, we’re talking about working for free, how to say no without guilt, and why having nice strong boundaries won't ruin your career (we promise). Tania shares a BRILLIANT script for saying no to unpaid work. Thank you Taniasan, we luv ya. Other good bits of note: How to stop feeling bad about saying no to cheeky requestsHow charity auctions can be a smarter way to give backFree pitching: where to draw the lineThat time Katie back...
When your project goes a bit pear-shaped you might wonder if that’s just how the illustration industry is. Well, this week we’re talking all about what's good, bad, and normal... and whether there are red flags you should look out for in your illustrator-publisher relationship. Highlights: Why it's never okay to get feedback on a Friday and be asked for a full redraw by Monday 🙃What’s typical in the picture book process (roughs, colour roughs, final art, etc)When changes are fine… and when ...
Have you ever looked at your own work and thought… egh? When you work so hard to find your style* it can feel rubbish to realise you don't even LIKE IT 😅. *We're not big fans of the word style...but we have to use it so you know what we're on about. We have a WHOLE ENTIRE COURSE about finding your creative voice & flying your freak flag. This episode is allll about not-holding-the-bar-of-soap-too-tight. It's also about: What to do when your style feels a bit too safe or mainstreamWhy bein...
Quick note before we start: In this episode we use the words "women" and "creative women" but we know these things don’t just affect women, and not everyone relates to binary gender labels. This chat is based on our lived experience and isn’t meant to exclude anyone. You’re always welcome aboard, however you identify. WE LUV YA. xx Good Ship How many unfinished online courses have you signed up for and then abandoned or forgotten about them? 👀 Yep, us too. Oh well. ...
BE MORE WONKY In this episode: Why quick sketches usually have more life in 'em than polished piecesHow perfectionism kills creativityBeware of the pause button (when you're doing graphic recording / live illustration)What to do when you're scared your work isn’t “worth the money”Tips for keeping final artwork fresh and looseHuman vs AI: what if the secret is just… being wonky?Timestamps, if you're into that kind of thing 00:00 – Can sketches be “the” illustration?01:00 – The gap betwee...
Where does she go? What happens in there? Come and have a wee peek inside Helen’s hermit cave with us. BUT FIRST - is it true? Do you prefer a podcast when there's a video too? Katie's just been to Australia and chatted to some creatives and they all said that they *ONLY* listen to a podcast if there's a video to go with it. Whaaat!? Let us know on Instagram if these rumours are true. You're allowed to slide into our DMs 😆 ❤️ We're @thegoodshipillustration. Right, podcast stuff. T...
Errrr, how do you find illustration work in 2025? Pitching? Instagram? Postcards? SEO? In this nice an' juicy episode we’re answering the 'Heeelp, how do I find clients as an illustrator?' question. What worksWhy we don’t “hunt” clients 😅SEO tips to help the right people trip over youHow to be pals with art directorsPitching can feel YUCK (but it doesn't have to)Old-skool stuff that still worksSHOW YOUR WORK, PLEASETimestamps, for people who like that sort of thing: 00:00 – Listen...
Hiya. This week’s episode of The Good Ship Illustration podcast is all about artist residencies... illustrators are allowed to go on them too! Our Tania’s just returned from her first ever residency (in a chateau, of course. Ooh la laaa) and we wanted to hear about the muscly trees, the chickens, and whether she got the entire chateau to herself. What a residency actually looks likeHow to pick the right oneDrawing for the sake of it. Mmmmm.Going analogue, trying Procreate, and brush chatSubst...
Today’s a biiiig day... the doors to our Live Illustration Course are closing tonight! AGH! In this special live illustration-y episode, we grill Katie with loads of the brilliant live illustration questions you submitted. Katie also shares some behind-the-scenes stories about v early gigs, navigating some more unusual client requirements (hiya, Apple lawyers!), and why your own values matter just as much as your skills. Timestamps 00:36 – Is it risky to live illustrate...
This week’s podcast question is from Annabelle: “I’m not sure how to price my work. I think I panic and undercharge because I’m worried they’ll change their mind if it’s too much.” Ooft. This is a juicy episode. Money, mindset, value, VAT nightmares, and charging what you’re worth. Bon apetit from your Good Ship pals. Tuck in. Timestamps 00:00 – The question: “How do I stop undercharging?” 01:30 – People can feel when you don’t believe in your prices 03:00 – What affects y...
Thanks for sending in yer juicy questions. Here are the ones we tackle in this week's podcast episode: “How do I build an illustration portfolio if I only have fine art work?”“What’s the difference between an illustrator and an artist?”Ahh yes that ol' chestnut. How to pivot from fine art to illustration without losing your mind. We dig into the figuring out what kind of work suits your actual personality. No more trying on other people's uncomfy too-small style jumpers. The illustrator vs ar...
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States