The Good Ship Illustration

Ahoy! 🚢 In this episode, we’re answering a brilliant question from listener Cat, who wrote: “Help! I’m shy. Do I really have to go to book fairs to start my illustration career?” The short answer = nope. The longer answer = this 15-minute podcast episode. Grab a cuppa and we'll see you in there! p.s. Freak Flag course doors are now open ! If you join before the end of January 2025 we'll...

Is it time 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 2025 goal-setting in a way that works for your brain/energy-leve...

As 2024 winds down, we’ve been hearing all sorts of things - budget cuts, AI fears, and whispers of a downturn. There’s no denying it’s been a tricky year for many illustrators. But is it all doom and gloom? Not necessarily! Timestamps for you to skip around : 00:20 Special news - The doors are open for Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag! 01:15 What we’ve been hearing from illustrators...

What do tiny bowls of crisps, the world’s fanciest pencils, and a mysterious couple called Ron and Betty Frampton have in common? They’re all in this week's Christmassy podcast! Get ready for festive chaos, creative inspiration, and permission to buy yourself something lovely, courtesy of Ron and Betty. Timestamps: 00:00 – Who on earth are Ron and Betty Frampton? 01:20 – What’s on our Christm...

Here's your early present from Good Ship. Our previously-just-for-paying-students private VIP podcast episode all about building your creative confidence. We're celebrating that Find Your Creative Voice,   Fly Your Freak Flag  is now open for enrollment all year round! Instant access. You asked, we listened. EVERYONE who joins during December 2024 & January 2025 will get one of our m...

When you’re starting your illustration career, there is so much advice out there, so in this episode, we're untangling the nice juicy question of “Where do I even start!?” We share a bit about how we've each learned to hop in and out of our business & creativity cars over the years. Plus, we'll dish out some wisdom nuggets on balancing creative bursts with the less exciting bits...

Show Notes When we meet up, this is always one of the first things we ask each other. We'd ask you too if you were here!  "What are you working on, then?" is the question that made us want to start The Good Ship Illustration all those yeeeeears ago - we realised how mega different our illustration careers are, even though we're all illustrators. Grab a cuppa - in this episode,...

Show Notes Feeling frazzled & running on illustration fumes? You're definitely not alone! In this episode, we wade on in to discuss the murky waters of burnout. Don't worry, we've got your life raft right here! We chat about what burnout actually IS, why it seems to be so common amongst illustrators & creatives, and most importantly, what you can do to nip it in the bud, or...

Are you as nosy as we are? Weyyyy, you're in the right place. In this episode, we talk about our daily routines as illustrators. What do we DO all day? We discuss morning routines, our creative processes (or lack thereof), and the importance of deciding when to eat dinner. When we said we'd love to hear about your day-in-the-life, we mean it! Come over to Instagram and say hello / tag us...

Firstly, if you like this episode, you’ll LOVE The Business Course! Doors are open for enrollment until the 18th of October 2024. Be quick!   You can read all about The Business Course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business   If you do miss the boat 😩 and the doors have already closed by the time you're listening to this, you can jump into our free ‘Get into Your Business Car...

Firstly, if you like this episode, you’ll LOVE The Business Course! Doors are open for enrollment until the 18th of October 2024. Be quick!   You can read all about The Business Course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business   If you do miss the boat 😩 and the doors have already closed by the time you’re listening to this, you can join the waiting list for a future round. You can g...

Firstly, if you like this episode, you’ll LOVE The Business Course! Doors are open for enrollment until the 18th of October 2024. Be quick! You can read all about The Business Course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business If you do miss the boat 😩 and the doors have already closed by the time you’re listening to this, you can join the waiting list for a future round. You can get s...

Welcome aboard the Good Ship Illustration podcast! In this spooky, scary episode, we tackle one of the trickiest areas for illustrators: pricing and negotiations. (Aaaagh!) Firstly, if you like this episode, you’ll LOVE The Business Course! Doors are open for enrollment until the 18th of October 2024. Be quick! You can read all about The Business Course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.co...

If you’d like to boost your illustration work and dig in to finding your creative voice, you’re in luck! Doors are NOW OPEN for our course, Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag. Just so you know, this the last time to join at the current price. We’d love to have you sailing with us! You can learn more here:  https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag   Come and say hello! ✏️ @thego...

This episode is chock full of our very toppest of tips for overcoming creative block. Buckle in 🙂 If you’d like to boost your illustration work and dig in to finding your creative voice, you’re in luck! Doors are NOW OPEN for our course, Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag. Just so you know, this the last time to join at the current price. We’d love to have you sailing with us! You can...

This episode is JUICY. Here’s a checklist of action items if you want to put it on your studio wall and get some more eyeballs on your work. Reach out to publishers directly by sending samples and requesting meetings to show your folio and get feedback Send out batches of samples at a time Follow up with publishers by sending new samples every 3 months Research publisher websites and publications...

In this episode we dig into some juicy questions about describing your own work (aaaargh!) marketing, authenticity, and using your past to find your creative voice. Doors are NOW OPEN for our course, Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag. Just so you know, this the last time to join at the current price. We’d love to have you sailing with us! You can learn more here:  https://www.thegoodsh...

Planning a visit to Bologna Children's Book Fair this year? You're in luck. Our Helen has made you this INCREDIBLE PDF document to accompany this podcast audio guide to the fair. What else is inside the downloadable guide? A Good Ship Illustration lanyard to print out if you'd like to fly your Good Ship Illustration flag and help fellow Good Ship pals spot you while you're wand...

Pssst, if you like this, you'll LOVE our course The Picture Book Course. Climb aboard now while you still can - the doors are closing in a few hours. BE QUICK! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB In this episode we answer a zillion of your brilliant picture book questions. Here's a summary of the key takeaways: Finding stories to illustrate Publishers, and how they pair up writers...

In this episode of the picture book mini series, we're answering some of your MOST JUICY questions all about:  Self-publishing - is it a scam? The correct dimensions for your picture book Invoicing and contracts in the picture book industry. It's all the nitty gritty stuff. We love it! Doors are closing really soon. If you'd like to join The Picture Book Course, now's your time...

Did you know, the doors to our course The Picture Book Course are now open? Come on in! We'd love to have you sailing with us. Read all about it here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB  What are the big secrets behind successful school visits and events? In this episode, Katie and Tania grill Helen on all the insider bits and VOILA. We talked about Setting boundaries when doing schoo...

In this episide of The Good Ship Illustration, we share juggling skills. Whether you're juggling babies, mental health, or just... life stuff, hopefully some of these can help! EXCITING NEWS: The Picture Book Course is open right now! Click here to read all about it ---> https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB  And you can sign up for the Character Workshop here: https://www.thegoodship...

In this episode of The Good Ship Illustration podcast, we talk all about making a living as a children's book illustrator.  EXCITING NEWS: the doors to The Picture Book Course are open right now!! Go go go: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB  We're running a character workshop on Zoom. You can sign up for it here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/cw (it's free!) AND O...

The pressure's off; there are no fancy art materials here, and our golden rule is no panicking. Start where you are, use what you have. Be kind to yourself. Today we're wrapping up our 5-part adventure. Thank you SO MUCH for listening along. If you've joined the course , we'll see you in there!! We can't wait to see you discover your creative voice. Also, Art Club is on th...

How do you get over the fear of starting a new illustration? In this installment of our mini-series we talk all about overcoming procrastination and fear of the blank page. WELCOME to our 5-part mini-series, all about finding your creative voice.  This week we're dropping one episode a day, where we tackle that ol' chestnut: how to find your creative voice. We've answered questions,...