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How to stay in touch with your illustration clients without being annoying - part 2 of our @MadebyJames interview
23 Oct 2026
00:39:20
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)
Is there any point becoming an illustrator now that AI is here? An interview with James Martin @madebyjames PART 1!
16 Oct 2026
00:57:56
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!
Lessons from our 'failures' + Illustration Business Club doors close tonight!
09 Oct 2026
00:25:15
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
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
Help! Posting my illustration work makes me cringe 😬
02 Oct 2026
00:22:31
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
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.
"I hadn't drawn for 21 years" an interview with Jo Overend 🐥
30 Sep 2026
00:27:20
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
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
Do I need loads of followers to get illustration work?
26 Sep 2026
00:43:52
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)
Anchoring 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/PB
Marketing *without* social media as an illustrator. Is it possible? (Illustration Business Club doors now open!) 🎉🎉🎉
25 Sep 2026
00:25:37
This week, we're back at the kitchen table after the summer holidays, and the doors to Illustration Business Club are officially OPEN! Wahoooo 🎉
A quick catch-up first: Katie trying to not-work for six whole weeks, and Tania's summer spent changing her work on a big museum project.
Then there's a nice big juicy question from a listener: can you market yourself without social media if you really hate filming yourself?
Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:
00:00 – Doors are open! IBC, the new 10-pay option and the early bird pricing workshop 01:15 – Back for autumn: summer holidays, Berlin playgrounds and trying not to work 02:45 – Tania's summer project and changing her work 04:15 – Keeping an eye on creative funding locally 05:30 – Why the Business Course became Illustration Business Club 06:45 – Key dates: early birds, the introvert-friendly marketing workshop and the 12th October kick-off 08:00 – What's inside: licensing, rights, extra income streams and expert guests 09:15 – "What even is live illustration?" and illustration as a business 11:00 – Listener question: can you market yourself without social media? 11:45 – Life before Instagram 13:30 – Tweeting your work vs trudging round art directors 15:00 – Physical mailers 16:30 – Why niching down makes marketing (and SEO) soooo much easier 17:45 – Social media is not a work-getter 18:45 – Tania's maps: letting the work do the marketing 20:30 – Good work first, then word of mouth 22:30 – Speaking your clients' language 23:30 – SEO for beginners, starring Tania
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)
p.s. The Illustration Business Club doors are open now! Join by midday on Wednesday 30th September and you're an early bird, which means you get a seat at our live pricing workshop with all three of us at 1pm that day (it's recorded too). There's a new option to pay in 10 smaller instalments, and the doors close on Friday 9th October at 10pm UK time.
p.p.s. A few dates for your diary: ✏️ Monday 28th September, 12.30pm UK: Art Club, #walktoseeprepare (more page prep, then drawing over the top) ✏️ Monday 5th October, 12.30pm UK: Art Club, starting a brand new #walktosee challenge for October 💌 Wednesday 7th October, 1pm UK: free introvert-friendly marketing workshop, camera off allowed: [NEEDS SIGNUP LINK] https://www.instagram.com/thegoodshipillustration/
"Your old sketchbook drawings could be earning you money" - An illustration licensing chat with Margo Tantau
18 Sep 2026
00:50:13
This week our Tania is speaking to the one and only Margo Tantau (the licensing whisperer).
Margo is a good ship Pal, founder of Tantau Studio and you might have heard her on her brilliant podcast Windowsill Chats. Here's a link: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/windowsill-chats/id1529045232
In this chat, Tania and Margo talk about all the important stuff liiiike:
What is licensing? How do you get paid? Can you REALLY license work you've already made? Margo even shares her secret weapen for getting art directors to fall in love with your work.
Some very good bits too: AI slop is NOT getting in the way of artists with real human hands. Hoorayyyy. That's good news for all of us, eh?
Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:
00:00 – Intro to Margo Tantau and her 360-degree licensing career 02:30 – Welcome back to the licensing whisperer 04:00 – Artist, shop owner, buyer, product developer, agent: Margo's done it all 06:00 – How Lilla Rogers passed the agency baton to Margo 10:30 – Why relationships are the real gold in licensing 12:00 – What licensing actually is (from spice labels to Nike) 13:00 – How you get paid: advances, royalties and typical percentages 16:00 – Can you licence work you've already made? Yes! 17:00 – Margo's secret weapon: show your art ON the product 20:30 – You don't need perfect mock-ups (a drawn teacup works too) 21:00 – A creative challenge: turn one piece into a mini collection 23:00 – Is AI hurting licensing? Why Margo's clients say no to AI art 25:30 – Tania's shock at the AI souvenir flood in Hong Kong 28:00 – The hand of the artist, texture, and quality signalling 30:30 – The UK licensing landscape, life after Surtex 32:30 – A London licensing expo 36:00 – People buy what they see: Margo's plates, fabrics and jacket stand 38:00 – The Licensing Lab at Spring Fair 39:00 – A sneaky tip for finding which exhibitors licence art 40:30 – Should licensing-curious illustrators go to Spring Fair? 41:30 – What does a stand actually cost? 44:30 – Why walking a trade fair beats a day of LinkedIn research 45:30 – Fancy matchboxes, candles, and buying things just for the art 46:30 – The big takeaway: people still want real art 48:30 – Community, Bologna, and the gold at the bottom of the rainbow
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)
p.s. Want Margo's full licensing class? It's waiting for you inside Illustration Business Club, along with aaall the other money-and-business bits art school forgot to teach you.
"You really don't have to go to art school!" An interview with Carly Kuhn
11 Sep 2026
00:53:26
This week our Katie is chatting to Carly Kuhn, a US-based illustrator, artist and author who ended up in illustration kindofbyaccident. She grew up in New York wanting to do TV comedy, worked at a Hollywood talent agency, took improv classes at The Groundlings, and started drawing on printer paper nicked from the office, just as something creative to do after work. Then Sarah Jessica Parker reposted one of her drawings (!!) and - you'll have to listen to the episode to find out what happens next 🤪
Carly has had NO formal art or illustration training, which is exactly why we wanted to speak to her. We chat about finding your style by making loads of wonky work, why she wasn't ready for an agent for ages, and some pricing stuff about usage/contracts/licensing an' that.
There's also chat about wallpaper, multiple creative income streams, and how becoming a mum did not end her career (woohoo!)
Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:
00:00 – Intro to Carly and her very wiggly path 02:00 – TV comedy, improv, and how the drawing started 06:30 – Improv 08:00 – Sarah Jessica Parker reposts a drawing 10:30 – Going full-time - pricing is completely made up 14:30 – No art school 16:00 – Naivety as a superpower, and posting every day 19:00 – Live illustration, fancy parties, and the first wallpaper job 23:30 – Lockdown portraits, moving cities, becoming a mum 26:00 – Getting an agent 31:00 – Pricing, usage, and being a people-pleaser who has to negotiate 38:00 – Accidentally building lots of income streams 42:00 – How motherhood focused her career 49:00 – Character Study, and how bonkers publishing timelines are 52:00 – You really don't have to go to art school!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)
p.s. If the pricing and usage chat made your ears prick up, we are planning a v exciting early-bird bonus for Illustration Business Club joiners. Doors open on Friday 25th September. Pop it on your calendar! 🥳
"Nobody can hire you if they can't see you". An interview with Mollie off of @ShortSupplyMCR
04 Sep 2026
00:42:49
"Why does promoting my own work feel so cringe?"
HIYA WELCOME BACK! We missed you! Summer holidays are all done here in the UK. Hope you had a good rest too.
This week our Katie's chatting to Mollie Balshaw, one half of Short Supply:
Short Supply is an artist-led creative practice founded by Mollie and Rebekah Balshaw. Since 2019, they have helped artists navigate creative careers through exhibitions, publishing, workshops, mentoring and public conversations. Their work makes the hidden structures of the art world more visible, while encouraging artists to take their ideas seriously without waiting for perfect conditions. Their current projects include 100 Ideas and Step One, a series of conversations taking place at Edinburgh Fringe.
Short Supply posed this cracker of a question over on Instagram: why is visibility treated like ego, when artists need it to survive?
There's chat about snobbery re; wanting to earn money from your work, the bits of being visible online that you're not warned about, aaaand the boundaries Mollie and Rebekah have built to keep themselves safe.
Then there's the can-you-have-a-successful-creative-career-outside-London question, and why "it's local so it must be rubbish" can get into our heads.
Unfortunately, the Edinburgh Fringe is finished now 😭 but Step One was Short Supply's project and you can read all about it here: https://www.shortsupply.org/step-one
Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:
00:00 – Intro to Mollie, Rebekah and Short Supply 01:20 – Why is visibility treated like ego? 02:30 – Being talented is admirable, wanting to be seen is embarrassing. Whyyy? 03:30 – Starting Short Supply out of frustration (and wanting an excuse to collaborate) 04:30 – Who the art world isn't built for 05:30 – Snobbery about "commercial", snobbery about social media 06:20 – "Do I have to show my face?" 07:30 – Algorithms, platform politics, visibility 09:20 – Energy and capacity 10:20 – The flip side of a post going big 11:20 – When visibility isn't safe: queer, disabled and racialised artists 12:30 – Boundaries 14:00 – Would you mind a stranger saving it? 15:20 – You don't *need* to be on social media to promote your creative work 16:00 – Edinburgh Fringe as the best word-of-mouth machine in the country 16:40 – Step One: the Fringe show 17:40 – "I'm not telling you my idea in case you nick it" 18:20 – You can't benefit from an idea that stays in your head 20:20 – Smooth peanut butter vs crunchy 21:00 – Manchester 23:00 – Building a creative career outside London. 24:20 – proximity to London still counts for a lot 25:40 – "Manchester's caught up" or has it? 28:40 – Contradicting yourself out loud is just thinking. Allowed. 30:40 – Who are the David Hockneys of Salford right now? 33:00 – Local snobbery, and galleries that don't invite their neighbours 35:00 – Growing up somewhere small and assuming everything local is rubbish 36:30 – You have more choices than you think (a story about Mollie's nan) 38:00 – The joy of a part-time job/everyone else's secret pile of money 39:20 – AI, and being glad it didn't exist at uni 40:40 – "They may have been rubbish, but they were mine"
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)
p.s. If you'd like more options for being-visible-without-being-sick-in-your-mouth, that's exactly what we get stuck into in Illustration Business Club! Doors are opening in October and you can read up on it here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business
RIP Hockney & (Art) school's out for summer 🤘 🌴 🍦🩲
10 Jul 2026
00:28:59
What're you doing this summer? Are you having a little rest?
This episode is all about taking breaks and we have a wee look at our plans:
Helen is in her illustrator hermit cave for July to get the next Salty Dog book finished before the deadline, with a nice August off as her reward. Tania is working on a museum commission for a 'Gossip Wall' in Berwick Museum, with plans to experiment with texture and line for the first time in ages. (Phwoarrrrr.) And Katie's about to have her first proper 6-week term-time break now that E's in school full time.
Whatever your plans are, have a good one! We'll be back in September.
Rough Timestamps, for you timestamp enthusiasts:
00:00 – Recording remotely, wheee 01:00 – Camping memories in France (TVs in tents) 03:00 – What does everyone's idea of a summer break look like? 04:00 – Helen's July hermit cave 05:00 – Tania's loose-deadline project 06:00 – the Gossip Wall 09:00 – Working four-hour afternoons 10:00 – Berwick Open Studios, and the Pith Sketchbook Studios workshops on 3rd & 4th October 11:00 – Walk to See, Instagram's Add Yours feature 13:00 – Sketchbooking at the Alan Carr castle auction viewing day 14:00 – Katie's first proper term-time summer break now E's in school 15:00 – Freelance guilt, privilege, trying to "do it all" rarely works 17:00 – Trying and failing to switching your email off 20:00 – RIP David Hockney 24:00 – Planning a Hockney-themed summer party 27:00 – Good luck to Helen with the Salty Dog drawings, and a peek ahead Illustration Business Club returning this autumn!
Links mentioned:
Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)
p.s. Illustration Business Club is coming back into the chat this autumn, join the waiting list here and keep an eye out.
No, you *don't* have imposter syndrome - an interview with Lauren Currie OBE
03 Jul 2026
00:39:46
What's the point in making all this gorgeous work if you don't have the confidence to share it, eh? EH!?
Who better to grill on this subject than Lauren Currie, OBE.
Lets gooo:
Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:
00:00 – Intro 01:00 – Confidence = the elephant in the room for creatives 02:00 – Lauren on why confidence matters so much, especially for women and marginalised people 05:00 – The shite UN statistic 07:00 – "What would a mediocre middle-aged man do?" 09:00 – Confidence is a team sport, not a solo endeavour 11:00 – Carrying responsibility for how everyone else feels 12:00 – 10 people whose opinions actually matter (and why it's not Jeanie from school's mum's dentist) 14:00 – Imposter syndrome 16:00 – The 1970s research that labelled women with a "syndrome" instead of looking at the system 19:00 – Why self-doubt is healthy 21:00 – Confidence is a muscle 22:00 – Lauren's art 25:00 – Old lady faces 27:00 – Should you have a separate art Instagram? 28:00 – The Barcelona art show story 32:00 – Why 'just' 20 people seeing your work is a LOT of people 33:00 – Lauren's advice for illustrators who are scared to share their work 36:00 – On hiding 38:00 – We need your art!!
This week's podcast is a sneaky peek into the live Q&A calls we do for our Find Your Creative Voice; Fly Your Freak Flag students. (They happen monthly at the moment.)
WHADDA CHAT.
In this episode, we talk about:
Pursuing boredom
The Artists' Way
Why finding your style doesn’t always feel fun and easy and natural (Instagram's lying to yooou)
What to do when you have hundreds of project ideas and no clue which one to choose
How to handle agent/client feedback without immediately throwing your laptop into the sea
Galleries are better when you don’t try to “eat all the paintings”
Pens, colour, sketchbooks and abandoning black linework
Quentin Blake, Mr Bingo and free flapjacks. Just a normal day, really.
If you'd like to join us, go for it! Enrolment is open right now, and our next live call is happening on Thursday the 16th of July at 7pm UK time.
Timestamps
00:00 Art block 00:55 Morning pages 02:00 Wide margins 04:30 Boredom 06:00 Creative sparks 08:15 Creative identity 10:20 Comparison 11:30 Constraints 13:30 Page layouts 15:15 Deadlines 17:15 Oblique Strategies 18:30 Slow looking 21:00 Drawing from home 22:30 Quentin Blake Centre 26:45 Too many ideas 31:10 Feedback 37:30 Coloured linework 39:45 Closing thoughts
Stuff we mentioned & links (so many this week, woah)
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Make Every Day Creative by Marion Deuchars
David Hockney (RIP)
Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies
Quentin Blake Centre - Thank you for inviting us to the preview day, team QB!
Derwent Pencil Museum
Picture Hooks https://www.picturehooks.org.uk/
The Catchpole Agency http://www.thecatchpoleagency.co.uk/
Muji fine liners
Emma Carlisle / Sarah Dyer https://www.emmacarlisle.com/ https://www.sarahdyer.com/
The Good Ship Illustration Art Club https://www.instagram.com/thegoodshipillustration/?hl=en
Fly Your Freak Flag https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag
The Good Ship Illustration colour workshop https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/colour
"I spent ages on the detailed stuff...but they liked the quick sketch." An interview with the brilliant Alice Bowsher
19 Jun 2026
00:28:08
This week our Katie is chatting to Alice Bowsher, who's work she would like to bite (In a good way. The same way you want to bite very cute babies. Is it called cuteness aggression?)
Anyways, there's chat about creative career paths, Glastonbury bags, cardboard bedrooms, Walker Books, baby board books, and the very very important role of biscuits. Mmmm.
Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:
00:00 – Intro to Alice 02:00 – From fine art to graphics to illustration 04:00 – The YCN internship, signing with an agent, and learning how the industry works 06:00 – Grand Matter, how commissions work "I'm definitely an agent person" 09:00 – Pricing and getting over the guilt of making it look easy 11:00 – Social media, Instagram vs Substack - Substack feels like old school Tumblr 14:00 – What happens when a brief comes in? 17:00 – Alice's cardboard bedroom 19:00 – Sketchbooking 21:00 – The Glastonbury Guardian bags and seeing your work out in the world 22:30 – Hobbies, exercise, biscuits, and the new-parent juggle 24:30 – Baby board books for Walker
Links mentioned:
Alice's website: https://www.alicebowsher.co.uk/
Alice on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicebowsher
Grand Matter, Alice's illustration agency: https://grandmatter.com/
Fold out guinea pig birthday cards for Wrap: https://wrapmagazine.com/products/guinea-pig-surprise-fold-out-card
We briefly mentioned Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag so here's the link to that too in case you want to bask in your weirdness and make your best work ever: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag
And the award for Best Stand at Bologna Children's Book Fair goes to...
12 Jun 2026
00:35:19
This week, we're STIIIIIILL talking about Bologna Children's Book Fair (for the last time, we promise 😅) - this episode was supposed to come out as soon as we got home, but the technology gremlins have been fighting with us every step of the way. BACK OFF, GREMLINS.
You'll hear at the very end that we went on talking for three whole blimmin' episodes before we realised the microphones had conked out.
We chat about having a stand and exhibiting for the very first time, our Best-Stand award, given to us by the one and only Chloe Savage (sponsored by ham™️), meeting the most brilliant people, and...Mega Duck!
Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:
00:00 – Back from Bologna! The brain dump begins 01:00 – What it was like having a stand for the first time 02:30 – The Best Stand Award wot we won 04:00 – 1,500 stripy bags, tattoos, and the ham situation 06:30 – Meeting podcast listeners in real life 07:00 – A lovely chat with Steve Anthony (Mr. Panda!) and his route into illustration 09:00 – The Cambridge School of Art stand and Good Ship grads 10:00 – Katie interviewing people on the stand with mega microphones 11:30 – Holly's observation about illustrators 13:00 – Why picture book people are the best 15:00 – The Illustrators' Survival Corner 16:30 – Meeting new people and being mistaken for a publisher 18:00 – Jo Overend and the Mega Duck story / Walker Books 22:00 – Lisa Loffredo, the Nami Concours shortlist, and a very good group photo 24:00 – The Good Ship Illustration as a showcase for talent (a big idea brewing...) 26:00 – Our Bolognese Palace 28:00 – Tania on nonfiction illustration 31:00 – How to research publishers from home 33:30 – Whoops, the microphones weren't recording. Goodbye Bologna!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)
p.s. Heard Jo's story and feelin' a bit inspired? Good! If you want to find your own creative voice and start putting yourself out there, come and fly your freak flag with us. https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag
"Help! I love my rough illustrations and panic on the final piece. How do I get out of my own way?"
05 Jun 2026
00:33:57
It's all fun and games until someone mentions FINAL ARTWORK. (Arghhhh)
Sound familiar? Thought so.
So we get stuck into Inky's question: how do you get out of your own way and switch off the overthinking brains?
All three of us wrestle with this in different ways.
Also mentioned: expensive paper + a shared fantasy about buying a tiny round Father Ted caravan to draw in. Pour yourself a decaf tea and get comfy. 🫖
Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:
00:00 – The question from "Inky" 02:00 – Why your best work happens when you're distracted 03:00 – Helen's voice coach revelation 05:00 – The "kiss of death" of the final piece 06:00 – First violin nerves and propranolol 07:00 – Why Katie does live illustration 08:00 – ADHD, body doubling and visual timers 09:00 – Tania's surprise panic attack 10:00 – The fear of expensive paper 11:00 – Cheap sketchbooks, and never stretching paper 12:00 – Working on five versions at once 13:00 – Pia Bramley's drawings in the New York Times 14:00 – The dim light box trick 15:00 – Gluing over mistakes 16:00 – Why scaling up kills a drawing 17:00 – The blobby technique, and INCUP 19:00 – Tania loses her portfolio on the bus 20:00 – Katie's secret competitive streak 22:00 – Are illustration competitions worth it? 24:00 – Getting into the zone 25:00 – Rain, gas fires and working audios 27:00 – The dream caravan studio 29:00 – Dressing gowns, woolly hats and working caves 31:00 – Working around kids, and burnout 33:00 – Larks vs owls
Ooft, this is a good one. This week we're discussing illustration scams
We've all had them land in our inboxes, we see 'em in the Good Ship community (too) regularly, and TBH you need to know what to look out for. 👀
Plus: Salty Dog is in actual bookshops and the Waterstones staff read it and couldn't stop laughing. Weyyy! 🎉
Timestamps, if you like that sort of thing:
00:00 – Why we're talking about scams (community posts, industry warnings, and everyone's inbox) 01:30 – The Mr. Takeshi email - the famous one doing the rounds right now 03:00 – Copy and paste a paragraph into Google. Reddit will know. 04:00 – The overpayment scam 04:30 – "I'm deaf, so please only email me" 05:00 – Katie's hacked email story 06:00 – Tania's mysterious hotel chain job 08:30 – Vanity publishers 10:30 – Real publishers don't advertise for illustrators on their homepage 12:00 – Rebecca Green and legitimate self-publishing (not the same thing!) 14:00 – "Dear Helen, I've written a book, please illustrate it" ...not a scam, but still a no 16:00 – AI emails from Francis. Every single daaaay. Still can't unsubscribe. 18:00 – "I'd like to buy three pieces of your artwork". 20:00 – 🎉 Salty Dog is in Waterstones! And the staff loved it! 21:30 – The terrible/brilliant fake Photoshop of Helen and Katie in the bookshop 23:00 – Could Salty Dog become a Yoto card? (We think yes, and yes we are biased)
'They keep asking me to tone it down.' Flying your freak flag in their faces 🚩
22 May 2026
00:20:16
This week we're answering a brilliant voice message from @shanaramadesigns.
Shana asks about Russian illustrator Victoria Semikina: how does someone learn to draw in that gloriously exaggerated, expressive way? And why, when she does it, does everyone love it, but when Shana tries it, art directors ask her to tone it down?
NO FAIR.
Happy listening :) And hellooo to Victoria - we've been chatting this week and there *might* be a special video coming to the Freak Flag course from her. EEEE!
00:00 – Crying over Christian Robinson's new book 'Dad' (it needs a warning label) 01:30 – Shana Rama's question: how do you learn to draw in an exaggerated, expressive way? 03:30 – Victoria Semikina: fine art, printmaking, jazz parties, and accidentally becoming an illustrator 05:30 – Why drawing from life filters through your personality, and why that matters 07:30 – "Just be yourself even harder" 09:00 – Finding publishers who love you as you are 10:00 – British art education, the A-level folio problem, and Frieda's story 15:30 – The exam board vs actual creativity, and feeling for students without artist parents 17:00 – Victoria's sketchbooks the gap between rough and final is tiny (mmmm) 18:00 – Embodying a pose while you draw: Tania channeling Tudor barmaid energy
"I used to cry in the toilets before every job (and then I'd go draw)" - a live illustration chat with Katie
15 May 2026
00:33:51
This week, our Katie's chatting with Helen and Tania about her favouritest thing and specialism/niche: live illustration.
What's it like to arrive at a fancy corporate event with an iPad (or a board and some paint), when someone says "ok, draw everything"?
It's a proper deep-dive into the live illustration world, from the adrenalinny (new word) thrill of drawing in real time, including the crying-in-toilets. Is AI a threat to graphic recorders? Spoiler: being a human is, somehow, now a USP. 😂
There's also a crackin' question from Joanna about being asked to work for free for a live illustration agency, and we have Thoughts.
Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:
00:00 – Intro and is live illustration under threat from AI? Katie's honest take 02:00 – Being a human = a selling point 04:00 – Hand-drawn work is more exciting to clients 05:00 – Infographics, AI, and the kinds of work that aren't worth worrying about 08:00 – Why Katie loves working live 09:00 – Helen on the same feeling during school visits and drawing on stage 11:00 – The different flavours of live illustration: corporate, fashion, wedding, events... 12:00 – Joanna's question: should I work for free for a live illustration agency? 14:00 – How to build your portfolio without getting trapped in the free-work loop 15:00 – SEO for live illustrators 17:00 – Helen's local museum project: well-paid, rooted in place, in the collection for 20 years 21:00 – What Katie teaches in her course: synthesising information, calming your brain, and knowing what to leave out 23:00 – How to turn corporate speak into images without just drawing a lightbulb 💡 25:00 – Katie's favourite technique: using the page as a visual timer 27:00 – The early fear vs the hard-won confidence (and yes, the toilet crying 😅) 31:00 – You'll never feel ready, so just start charging anyway 32:00 – The live illustration course opens on 15th May!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)
p.s. Curious about live illustration but not 100% sure if it's for you? Come and join Katie for a free Live Illustration Masterclass, it's a good place to start! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/LIM
You don't have to pick just one thing - an interview with illustrator-astrologer Nicola Allan
08 May 2026
00:34:21
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
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.
This illustrator got a book deal lead on DAY ONE of Bologna… 😳 (part 2)
01 May 2026
00:10:22
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”
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
Helen Stephens chats to Prof. Martin Salisbury - Is your illustration style really yours? When influence turns into imitation 👀✏️
13 Apr 2026
00:46:21
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
It’s not too late, you’re not behind, and yessss, you should still start - an interview with illustrator Carys Wright
03 Apr 2026
00:37:57
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
The 7 email rule: Pitching your work to illustration clients - Kira Matthews
27 Mar 2026
00:38:21
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 in
Why pitching can feel so scary
The real reason people don’t hear back. (And nooo, it’s not because they hate you)
Why one email is basically just saying hello
How 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
How Salty (our Picture Book mascot) became a 2-book deal
20 Mar 2026
00:29:18
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.
Identity + rejection: when your illustration work *is* you 🥲
13 Mar 2026
00:26:03
This week we're dragging ourselves away from our hypothetical gardens and custom urn businesses (lol) to have a proper sofa-chat about the big question: what would you do if you weren't an illustrator?
Specifically: Is your identity too wrapped up in your work? What happens when things go quiet on the work front?
COMMUNITY IS MAGIC.
That is all.
Happy listening.
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.
This week we’re wrapped up in some blankets havin' a proper sofa-chat about Instagram.
Specificallyyyy: Should your Instagram be your portfolio?
What's the difference between a snazzy website folio and the mad addictive world of social media?
We also get into showing your human face, illustrators following illustrators, AI-era credibility, and why you absolutely do not owe the algorithm/tech bros your nervous system.
Rough timestamps for our timestamp-fans:
00:00 – Blankets 01:00 – Instagram as a folio: should it be? 03:00 – The golden algorithm years (remember those?) 05:00 – You don’t own Instagram 06:30 – Portfolio pressure vs social sharing 08:00 – The 360° artist: personality, process + presence 10:00 – AI, visibility + being human 12:00 – Showing your face. Do it! 14:00 – Content creator burnout (no fanks) 16:00 – “Held hostage by consistency” rebellion 18:00 – Who is Instagram actually for? 20:00 – Community vs clients 22:00 – Annuals, competitions + the old-school ways 24:00 – Bologna Book Fair chat 26:00 – Books as permanent portfolios 28:00 – Sales pages vs old-school static folios 30:00 – Final takeaway: use Instagram, don’t let it use you
🍎 Elephantasia (aphantasia) - can you see an apple in your mind?
27 Feb 2026
00:29:47
This week we roll headfirst into the interestin' world of aphantasia.
It all started with conversations inside Find Your Creative Voice and The Picture Book Course - when Good Shippers were telling us, “I can’t see ANYTHING in my head.” Which sent us down a rabbit hole of aphantasia, imagination. And does everyone experience it the same way?
Nope.
In this episode, we chat about:
What aphantasia is
The “apple test” 🍎
Emotional memory vs visual memory
Why some creatives need reference and others work 100% from imagination
Whether Google has made our “mind palace” lazy
Not being able to picture things can be a creative advantage. We promise.
Smells, textures, music and sensory imagination
Synesthesia (colours for days of the week?)
Why your wobbly memory-bike drawing might be better than a perfect diagram
How imagination changes from childhood to adulthood
Blind drawing experiments we neeeeed to try at Art Club
Timestamps for our timestamp fans
00:00 – Elephantasia? Aphantasia? However you say it… 02:00 – The apple spectrum and vivid vs blank imagery 03:00 – Reading fiction without mental pictures 05:00 – Emotional memory and creepy seaside steps 07:00 – Mental collage vs drawing from scratch 10:00 – Drawing bikes from memory 11:00 – Why aphantasia might make you a better designer 14:00 – Idioms, haystacks and giant bears 16:00 – Smells, lemons and sensory imagination 17:30 – Synesthesia and coloured weekdays 20:00 – Wolves, dreams and Google as reference 23:00 – Teenage bedrooms and peak memory moments 25:00 – Is creativity in your head or your hands? 28:00 – Blind Art Club challenge incoming 👀
What about you?
Can you see the shiny apple? Or is it more of a murky apple-shaped idea?
We’d genuinely love to know. Come over to Instagram and tell us how your brain works. We're nosy.
Anna Mac on finding her creative voice (after years designing for retail)
20 Feb 2026
00:33:59
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
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.
Are illustrators doomed… or is this our time to shiiiiiine? [AI workshop replay]
13 Feb 2026
00:36:40
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!
Why brands are craving human-made work more than ever
The weird, wonky human stuff AI can’t copy
Copyright, licensing, and why clients still need real illustrators
How your life experiences = your creative advantage
Prompts to help you find your “brain treasure” ideas
What you *can* control
Timestamps
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
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.
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 work
Want to stand out in a sea of slop
Know you're brilliant, but struggle to articulate what makes you different
Are 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 😌
Come fly your freak flag with us! We're MEGA EXCITED to get started on a shiny new live round and shower you in brand new bonuses, including co-working every 2 weeks, and monthly live Q&A calls:
Want to know what February’s #WalkToSee prompt is?
30 Jan 2026
00:11:26
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) 🚢✨
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) 🚢✨
Is copying ever OK in illustration? When does inspiration turn into plagiarism? 👀✏️
16 Jan 2026
00:17:09
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 originality
The danger of trend-based work and being easily replaceable
What actually makes a personal creative voice memorable
Why copying someone’s style can feel successful… until it doesn’t
Rebecca Green, ethics
Being inspired vs copying and where that line really is
Don't sand off all of your personality!
Typos, wonkiness, we luv 'em
A human made the work
What to do if you think you’ve been copied (or fear you have)
Authenticity 4eva
Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 🚢✨
You’ll Never Feel Ready. Do It Anyway. An interview with Good Shipper Amber Au.
12 Dec 2025
00:23:56
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 diary
Why starting with your local community can snowball into big opportunities
How to survive mixed feedback
Competitions, and finding your people
Being a self-taught illustrator
Discipline, rest, and cultural expectations
Picture books, packaging, and branching out into multiple income streams
Amber'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.”
An interview with Lisa Congdon - consistency and finding your creative voice
05 Dec 2025
00:28:15
If you're an illustrator with access to the internet and you have eyeballs, you might've seen Lisa Congdon's work. Lisa started blogging her collections and illustrations back in the good ol' days, and even remembers Instagram back when it was good. (Remember that? It was nice, wasn't it?)
In this episode, Katie asks Lisa about consistency and how to keep on keepin' on when the world is the way it is. We also meander through topics like ADHD, collections, comparison, agents - whether or not she has one - and last but not least, daily projects that change everythinggg.
In this episode we cover:
Ceramic mushroom collection 👀
The “messy middle” bit of being an illustrator
How consistency has served her well
Surviving financially in the early years
Why not being a perfectionist was her secret super power
Instagram in 2025
How to know when to work with an agent
The magical domino effect of following excitement
Squishing comparison and staying in your own lane
Very rough timestamps in case you want to skip to a certain bit
00:00 – Welcoming Lisa! How a decade of calendars sparked the consistency conversation 01:00 – Hyperfocus, collecting tigers, cycling five times a week, and going “all in” 02:30 – Early days: Etsy, commissions, pet portraits, and figuring out a style 04:00 – Most illustrators quit 05:30 – ADHD, Capricorn energy, and learning to be organised 07:00 – Posting imperfect work online and why it mattered 08:30 – Sharing finances, getting an agent, and diversifying income streams 10:00 – “A Collection A Day” and the power of daily projects 11:00 – Agents: when they help, when they don’t, and how pricing works 13:00 – The hardest job she’s ever done and how her agent stepped in 14:00 – Instagram then vs. Instagram now 16:00 – Why video doesn’t light her up 18:00 – The comparison trap (yes, even Lisa feels it!) 20:00 – Following your gut over the algorithm 21:00 – The daily project that led to a bestselling book 24:00 – Chronicle Books, chance encounters, and the magic of just...showing up!? 26:00 – The domino effect of doing what excites you 27:00 – Human Design chat 👀 28:00 – Byeee Lisa
How illustrator Jill Calder built a long-lasting creative career (without losing her voice)
28 Nov 2025
00:38:07
In this episode, our Tania chats with multi award-winning illustrator Jill Calder about 30+ years of illustration, and how she’s explored pretty much the entire “illustration atlas” without losing herself along the way.
Stuff we cover:
Staying recognisably Jill across 30+ years of illustration
Moving from editorial to corporate to heritage work
Building a career with both illustration and hand lettering
Big, bonkers corporate jobs (including handwriting as other people!)
Making the leap into children’s books later in her career
The reality of nonfiction vs fiction picture books (time, fees, and headspace)
Colour palettes, maps and Google Earth “walks” for picture atlases
Working with Jackie Kay on Coorie Doon and handling deeply emotional text
Bringing wild, playful colour to I Love You Every Color
Keeping energy and looseness in final artwork
What Jill’s working on now – including a brand new picture book with Gecko Press
Rough Timestamps
00:00 – Tania introduces Jill and why she’s a Good Ship favourite 02:30 – Early days: art school, editorial work and the 90s newspaper scene 05:00 – “By chance, someone took a risk on me…” – moving into design & corporate jobs 07:30 – Becoming “the handwriting person” 11:30 – The wildest job ever 15:00 – Champagne, iPads and the very fancy side of ad agency work 16:30 – Exhibition days, analogue work and why looseness matters 18:00 – Stumbling into children’s nonfiction with Robert the Bruce 21:00 – Picture atlases, strict colour palettes and Google Earth walks 22:30 – Nonfiction vs fiction picture books – fees, length and workload 26:00 – Collaborating with Jackie Kay on Coorie Doon and illustrating big feelings 29:30 – I Love You Every Colour – an illustrator’s dream text 31:30 – Two very different books in one year: soft dreamland vs riot of colour 33:30 – Handling emotion, light and character across spreads 34:30 – New project: Cass and the Beast for Gecko Press 35:30 – Keeping rough energy in final artwork (and managing the stress of it!) 37:00 – Where Jill pops up inside Good Ship courses and Facebook groups
How to stop your illustration style looking generic & blah
21 Nov 2025
00:21:44
Y'know when you feel like your work is neeearly there… but it's missing a lil something-something? This podcast episode is all about that. Overcoming that.
How the heck do you put more humanness into your work?
🧠 What we talk about in this one
“Accomplished” isn’t the same as “alive”
How generic styles can creep in without us noticing
The danger of trying to look like “a picture book illustrator”
Why you need to make work that freaks you out a tiny bit 🤪
The power of real memories and emotions
Ideas that stick: why some stories stay with us
How character, tension, and contradiction shape good storytelling
Letting your real obsessions lead the way 🐌
Yessss, research in bookshops is absolutely definitely part of the job
🕰️ Timestamps
00:00 – Aaccomplished work with no heart 01:00 – “Picture book style” stereotypes and why they’re dangerous 02:00 – Generic vs personal: how to tell the difference 03:00 – Making work that stops an art director mid-scroll 04:00 – Emotion in drawings (and penguins) 05:00 – True stories - using your real life 06:00 – The Nissen Hut 07:30 – Sticky ideas 09:00 – Plots built on tiny universal moments 10:00 – A “Smile in the Mind” 11:00 – Writing craft: thesis / antithesis / synthesis 13:00 – Character dynamics and why Bernard is… Bernard 🦆 14:00 – Films to study (hello, Groundhog Day) 15:00 – How Helen learned to write 16:00 – Why sitting in a bookshop absolutely counts as work 17:00 – Picture books now vs the 90s 18:00 – Jill Calder, Libby VanderPloeg, and holding onto your voice 20:00 – Don’t perform 21:00 – Honesty wins
🔗 Stuff & People Wot We Mentioned
A Smile in the Mind - Tania's design book recommendation by Beryl McAlhone & David Stuart
Made to Stick (the kidney-harvesting myth book Katie mentioned!) - Chip & Dan Heath
We’re good at failing (and you can be too) 🤣 the power of experiments
14 Nov 2025
00:21:43
This week on The Good Ship Illustration Podcast, we’re chatting all things experiments - we get particularly excited about FAILED experiments. In the words of that there Bob Ross, "we don't make mistakes, we just have happy accidents". 😆
Behind the scenes, Helen gave Tania a haircut just before we recorded this episode. Can you hear Tania's new hair?
Timestamps for our timestamp fans: 00:00 – Mmmm new ideas 01:00 – Katie’s “scaling the business” experiment that didn’t work 02:00 – Undoing things that aren’t fun anymore 03:00 – Helen’s new plan 05:00 – Tania’s in the boot of the car 06:00 – Helen’s failed online school visits experiment 08:00 – Moving from digital art back to paper 09:00 – Helen’s Substack paywall experiment (inspired by Blindboy) 12:00 – The birth of The Good Ship Illustration 🚢 13:00 – Haircuts 14:00 – Art Club’s accidental success 15:00 – Why experiments matter (and how to run one properly) 18:00 – Creative defiance and why being told what to do ruins everything 😂 20:00 – From accidental experiments to a whole career
How do illustrators actually get their picture books published? And what really goes on at Bologna Children’s Book Fair?
This episode is all about pitching, portfolios, publishers, and… how we each pronounce the word plaster? 😅
Here’s what we cover:
Bologna Book Fair! ✈️
How to submit to the Bologna Illustrator Exhibition (deadline alert! They extended it to the 6th November! Sorry, we said the wrong date in this episode, but do let us know if you managed to submit something so we can high-five you.)
The Picture Book Pitching Masterclass with Helen and Jane Porter 🎓 https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/pbpm
How to pitch your book ideas
Overcoming the terror of sharing your work 😬
Building resilience to rejection
The “myth of being discovered”
Our excitin' Bologna Book Fair plans...
🕑 Timestamps 00:00 – Bologna excitement (and confusion) 01:00 – What really happens at the fair 02:00 – Snail mail sticker packs & upcoming Picture Book Masterclass 03:00 – Helen’s no-rules pitching philosophy 06:00 – Regional accent chaos: “masterclass” vs “plaster” 07:00 – Getting seen by publishers (and why Instagram still matters) 08:00 – Facing the fear of rejection 10:00 – Mindset hacks: why what others think is none of your business 12:00 – Myths about being “discovered” 13:00 – Good Ship’s Bologna stand & plans for 2026 15:00 – Why every illustrator should go at least once 16:00 – Global publishing inspiration 🌍 17:00 – Dreaming up a “Gone Fishing” Good Ship stall
'If it looks awful, keep going. It’ll work out' - an interview with illustrator Catherine Rayner
31 Oct 2025
00:38:34
This week we’re interviewing another creative for the podcast. Hooray!
Catherine Rayner is an award-winning author and illustrator based in Edinburgh, whose books have sold over two million copies and been translated into 35 languages. She’s written and illustrated 25 picture books and collaborated with legends like Julia Donaldson, Michael Morpurgo, and Michael Bond.
Winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal (and shortlisted six more times!), Catherine also paints, runs a greetings card and babywear range, and can usually be found in her studio surrounded by ink, animals, and Post-it notes.
Phew.
In this chat, Katie asks Catherine about:
What an average week in the studio looks like
Planning everything using a wall calendar and Post-it notes
Working with Julia Donaldson
Short deadlines and thriving on a wee bit of panic
Being a mum and illustrator at the same time
Instagram, rejection, keeping your creative confidence alive
A pep talk for newer illustrators
Rough timestamps for our timestamp fans: 00:00 – Meet Catherine! 03:00 – Post-it notes, assistants, and studio life in Edinburgh 10:00 – Julia Donaldson, ear-cleaning(!?) + friendship 17:00 – Jason Donovan and creative boldness 20:00 – 100 rejections, persistence, and finding your people 23:00 – Instagram tips and why numbers don’t matter 29:00 – Motherhood, burnout, and how it really gets easier 36:00 – Catherine’s parting words
'If you keep showing up, you can't NOT get better' - an interview with Sandi Hester
24 Oct 2025
00:36:09
We've decided to play around a bit and do some INTERVIEWS. Ooooh.
First up is artist and YouTuber Sandi Hester, who recently moved from the US into a 100-year-old fixer-upper house in the UK.
Katie (gently) grills Sandi about what it’s been like moving country and keeping her creative practice alive through chaos, health challenges, and renovation dust.
Sandi shares how painting has become her lifeline, why perfectionism is joy’s worst enemy, and how she’s learned to quiet the “blobbity blob” of negative self-talk that plagues so many creatives.
Nice.
💬 In this episode, we talk about:
The big move from America to England
How painting became Sandi’s release and restful place during years of illness
Building the “muscles of creativity” to keep making art no matter what’s going on
The “blobbity blob” of self-talk and why you can’t judge your art in the moment
Going back to her older, more figurative painting style after moving to the UK
Running a YouTube channel as a full-time job and how it replaced the gallery route
Why being messy and human built more trust with her audience than a polished version ever could
The unseen workload behind one 20-minute YouTube video (and why she can’t start a Patreon!)
How perfectionism stops us from creating and why “the best you can do today” is always enough
Why creatives should enjoy the journey instead of chasing the destination
Learning to separate your self-worth from likes, follows, and algorithm robots 🤖
Her advice to artists: stop stressing, stop comparing, and just enjoy the paint sliding across the page
🕰️ Episode Timestamps
00:00 – Introducing Sandi Hester and her big move 02:00 – Creating through renovation chaos and hard seasons 05:00 – The “blobbity blob” of mental chatter 07:00 – Letting go of perfection and learning to just play 09:00 – Returning to figurative painting (and why everyone thinks England “transformed” her work) 10:00 – Choosing YouTube over galleries and showing real life online 12:00 – Filming through health struggles and letting people see the messy truth 15:00 – The hidden full-time workload behind one short video 17:00 – Lowering the bar so you can actually make things 19:00 – Teaching thought process over technique 21:00 – How the YouTube algorithm punishes missed uploads (“Feed the beast!”) 24:00 – Doing good work without being salesy 27:00 – Staying the course even when you feel like bubblegum under a chair 29:00 – Why the journey is the fun part 33:00 – Re-training your inner critic 35:00 – Final encouragements and gratitude
A Bologna Book Fair special: 6 Good Shippers were finalists in the Illustrators Exhibition!
17 Oct 2025
00:41:30
Hi there, Helen here.
This is a special episode of the podcast because we had six of our Good Shippers - that’s people who’ve done our courses - selected as finalists in the Bologna Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition!
Which is pretty amazing news. It’s really difficult to be a finalist because the competition is so high. Last year there were 4,374 people who entered, and only 324 were selected to be finalists. So for six of them to be Good Shippers is SO exciting.
A special mention to Charlotte Durrance, who was also a finalist but couldn’t make it to the recording.
Congratulations to all of you!
V Rough timestamps in case you like that sort of thing:
[00:00] Helen introduces the six Good Shippers who made it to Bologna 🎉 [00:02] Emma Simpson [00:11] Lisa Loffredo [00:18] Amber Au [00:25] Sam Jones [00:37] Kate Leiper
#WalkToSee is baaack! The hashtag responsible for over 120,000 drawings (join in!)
10 Oct 2025
00:22:23
Our Helen’s #WalkToSee hashtag on Instagram is baaaack with a new monthly prompt. After seven years of #walktosee there are now over 120,000 drawings on there and counting!
In this episode, we chat about Helen’s relaunch of #WalkToSee (with new monthly prompts), drawing from life vs. photos, why small sketchbooks are weirdly hard, aaand rediscovering messy materials and carbon paper.
Special guest: an enormous chunk of charcoal.
If you'd like a gentle kick up the butt to do some drawing from life, then join in!
In this episode:
The story behind #WalkToSee and why Helen's relaunched it
How to join this month’s prompt: #WalkToSeeWeather ☁️🌧️
Why drawing from life feels more “alive”
Sketching in public = good panic
Small sketchbooks or massive sketchbooks... which camp are you in?
Materials that make drawing fun again (paint sticks! Sharpies! toilet roll!)
The autumn urge to make something just for fun
Apple presses, lino cuts, carbon paper and whisky samples
Timestamps: 00:00 – Helen on starting #WalkToSee back in 2018 02:00 – Why hashtags stopped working and how she brought it back 04:00 – October’s prompt: #WalkToSeeWeather 06:00 – Drawing tiny and feeling rusty 08:00 – Sharpies, paint sticks and rediscovering fun materials 10:00 – Drawing in public (and how to avoid chatty strangers) 12:00 – The “panic” energy in real-life drawing 15:00 – Autumn creative urges and sneaky side projects 17:00 – The joy of carbon paper and slow stationery 19:00 – Studio updates, new neighbours and collaboration 20:00 – Katie’s apple obsession 🍎 21:00 – Tiny whisky bottles
Deadlines... yeah yeah yeahhh, but what about doing illustration stuff just for YOU!? This week we chat about squishing in personal projects when client work always feels much more urgent.
We are gathering ourselves after a very exciting Illustration Business Club launch.
Phew! Definitely time for fun non-worky projects around here.
(Rough) Timestamps if you want to skip to a certain bit
00:00 Question: “How do you make time for personal artwork?”
01:00 Why deadlines are easier than self-led projects
02:00 Fine art drive vs. illustration mindset
03:00 Projects we have managed to finish (and why)
05:00 Creativity that doesn’t look like ‘work’
07:00 You’re probably doing more than you realise
08:00 The power of art clubs + sketching friends
09:00 Big projects that turn into ‘scratch records’
10:00 Permission to make things simple (or stop entirely)
12:00 Sorting hat trick for choosing ideas
14:00 Productivity
16:00 Parking ideas and bullet journaling
18:00 Craft supplies, hoarding, and deferring projects
20:00 New paints, new studios, more art clubs
21:00 Psssst...you’re probably already doing more than you think
Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)
🌎✏️ The Illustrator’s Income Atlas - exciting free workshop announcement! 🗓️ 24th Sept | ⏰ 1pm UK | 📍 Online Let's sit down together and map out your illustration income. You'll leave with a plan (a map, woohooo) you can stick on your wall and use. Save your spot and SIGN UP HERE!
We’ve taken our Business Course, given it a fresh lick of paint, and made it eeeeven more fun.
It's now called Illustration Business Club...
And the doors open tonight! (19th September 2025).
You don't need your shoulderpads. Just bring yourself and a bit of an open mind to learn how the money-and-business side of illustration works.
In this episode, we talk a bit about why we’re saying goodbye to the word “course” and what this shiny new Illustration Business Club is gonna look like. You're in for a treat - it’s eeeven better.
By the way, if you're already in the Business Course, you don't need to do anything. You'll be inside Illustration Business Club automagically.
Phew!
Lifetime access
Community perks: private Facebook group + co-working every 2 weeks
Nice open chats about pricing, clients, and fees
It'd be lovely to see you in there!
Timestamps, for our timestamp fans.
00:00 Big news: the Business Course has changed
01:00 Why “club” feels right (and way more fun)
02:00 All modules unlocked: learn at your pace
03:00 Community: private group + live calls
04:00 What art school didn’t teach you
05:00 Honest conversations about money + fees
06:00 Adding new income streams
07:00 Pricing insights: Katie & Helen’s two perspectives