The Good Ship Illustration
by The Good Ship Illustration
Welcome to The Good Ship Illustration - the podcast for illustrators who are quietly working away in their sketchbooks thinking… “is it just me?” …it’s not just you! We’re Helen Stephens, Katie Chappell and Tania Willis - three full-time illustrators from three different corners of the industry (and three different age brackets ). We live in the same seaside town in the UK and started having cuppas and chats… and accidentally became illustration agony aunts. Now we record those chats for you! We answer your questions about confidence, tricky clients, pricing your work, creative block, picture books, publishing, and everything in between. ✨ New episodes every Friday. ✨ Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and do send us your questions! P.s. Fancy some freebies? Head to thegoodshipillustration.com for colour workshops
Episodes
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How do I get my work featured? With Creative Boom's Katy Cowan
This week our Katie chats to Katy Cowan, founding editor of Creative Boom, the independent platform that's been cheering on creatives of every background for 17 years. It started as a side project dreamed up on a sun lounger on her honeymoon (true story!) and now reaches over 300,000 readers a...
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How to stay in touch with your illustration clients without being annoying - part 2 of our @MadebyJames interview
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…
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Is there any point becoming an illustrator now that AI is here? An interview with James Martin @madebyjames PART 1!
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…
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Lessons from our 'failures' + Illustration Business Club doors close tonight!
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…
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Help! Posting my illustration work makes me cringe 😬
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...
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"I hadn't drawn for 21 years" an interview with Jo Overend 🐥
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...
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Do I need loads of followers to get illustration work?
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 ///...
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Marketing *without* social media as an illustrator. Is it possible? (Illustration Business Club doors now open!) 🎉🎉🎉
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…
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"Your old sketchbook drawings could be earning you money" - An illustration licensing chat with Margo Tantau
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...
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"You really don't have to go to art school!" An interview with Carly Kuhn
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…
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"Nobody can hire you if they can't see you". An interview with Mollie off of @ShortSupplyMCR
"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…
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RIP Hockney & (Art) school's out for summer 🤘 🌴 🍦🩲
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...
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No, you *don't* have imposter syndrome - an interview with Lauren Currie OBE
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 –...
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Help, I’ve forgotten how to draw 🫠
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...
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"I spent ages on the detailed stuff...but they liked the quick sketch." An interview with the brilliant Alice Bowsher
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...
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And the award for Best Stand at Bologna Children's Book Fair goes to...
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...
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"Help! I love my rough illustrations and panic on the final piece. How do I get out of my own way?"
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…
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⚠️ Illustration scams to watch out for
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...
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'They keep asking me to tone it down.' Flying your freak flag in their faces 🚩
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…
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"I used to cry in the toilets before every job (and then I'd go draw)" - a live illustration chat with Katie
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...
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You don't have to pick just one thing - an interview with illustrator-astrologer Nicola Allan
This week, our Katie is chatting to Nicola Allan, an artist, writer and consulting astrologer based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. After 12 years working as a lawyer, Nicola pivoted to illustration and has since built a brand that weaves together everything she loves: The Wild Way. Nicola's a...
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This illustrator got a book deal lead on DAY ONE of Bologna… 😳 (part 2)
Here's part two of our Bologna interviews. Thank you so much for listening, and if you managed to come and find us at Bologna Children’s Book Fair, thank you. We had so much fun meeting everybody, and we’re hoping to do that again one day because it was cool. Okay, see you soon. Enjoy listening…
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Brave Good Shippers at Bologna - we shoved a microphone in these illustrators faces 😆 (part 1!)
Interview #1 is with Paulina Zawiska and Kate Osmond. Interview #2 is with Lorna Burt (begins at 05:30) Bon apetit! We just announced the winners of our iPad giveaway and art supply shop vouchers - come and celebrate the winners with us over on Instagram!...
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Helen Stephens chats to Prof. Martin Salisbury - Is your illustration style really yours? When influence turns into imitation 👀✏️
Ever worried your work looks a bit too much like somebody else’s? 😬 This one’s for youuuu. In this episode, our Helen chats with the brilliant Martin Salisbury about plagiarism. The temptation to borrow a bit too heavily when you’re surrounded by endless beautiful work online is real. Hopefully...
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Guide to the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2026 - The Good Ship Illustration
Absolutely knackered just thinking about Bologna? Same 😅 Here are our Bologna Children’s Book Fair survival tips. Whether it's your first time or you're a seasoned Bologna Book Fair-er. Exciting news: The Good Ship Illustration is exhibiting this year in Hall 25, and we’d love to see you there!...
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It’s not too late, you’re not behind, and yessss, you should still start - an interview with illustrator Carys Wright
This week, our Katie is chatting to Carys Wright - a London-based writer and illustrator, hardcore Good Shipper, and all-round excellent example of what can happen when you follow the creative thread, even if your path looks a bit wiggly. Carys went from acting and theatre into illustration, and…
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The 7 email rule: Pitching your work to illustration clients - Kira Matthews
Nobody is born knowing how to pitch. (Katie here) I've been known to pitch once, hear nothing, and decide 'Oh well. Never mind.' Then never reach out ever again. 😅 So you can imagine my SHOCK and INCREDULITY (is that a word?) when Kira told me that she will reach out 7 times to a brand before...
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How Salty (our Picture Book mascot) became a 2-book deal
This week we're pulling up a chair at Helen's kitchen table to finally spill the beans on Salty. Salty Dog and Pals is the book that started as The Picture Book Course branding and somehow ended up as a 2-book deal with Walker Books. The big question: How do you write a zillion short stories with...
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Identity + rejection: when your illustration work *is* you 🥲
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…
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Instagram Is Not Your Portfolio (PHEW!)
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...
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🍎 Elephantasia (aphantasia) - can you see an apple in your mind?
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....
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Anna Mac on finding her creative voice (after years designing for retail)
Permission to play can change EVERYTHING! This week we’re chatting to Anna Mac - artist, printmaker, illustrator, product designer, sleep counsellor, mum of twins, and hardcore Good Shipper who's been sailing with us since 2020. In this episode, we talk about scenic creative routes, why…
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Are illustrators doomed… or is this our time to shiiiiiine? [AI workshop replay]
Here's the audio replay from our AI workshop last week. There are slides too - the full replay with slides is available to watch HERE (but it goes away today. We're putting the workshop inside Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag.) There's a PDF handout to download there too. Go grab it...
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Tara Tayyebi Fard on finding her creative voice (and illustration career) after 10 years of being an architect
Pssst, while you're here... On Tuesday 10th February 2026 we're running a live workshop! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/aiworkshop Standing out in a sea of robots: being an illustrator when AI is everywhere This workshop's perfect for you if you: Call yourself an illustrator, image-maker...
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Want to know what February’s #WalkToSee prompt is?
Are you joining in with #WalktoSee? In this episode, we chat about how our Helen's hashtag Walk to See started, how it works, (there are basically no rules 😆), and why monthly prompts are muuch gentler on the brain/energy levels than daily prompts. In this episode: 00:00 What Walk to See is…
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When you want to work but can’t seem to start
Ahhh this ol' chestnut. You know it. We've aaall been there. You sit down...you need to work. But you get absolutely nowt done. Instead, you do absolutely everything else... then panic-work at the last minute, or just never get round to it. You're not alone! Most illustrators we speak to will…
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Is copying ever OK in illustration? When does inspiration turn into plagiarism? 👀✏️
Let’s talk about the big hairy thing that no one really wants to talk about… copying. In this episode, we discuss inspiration, and how social media has changed things so much for illustrators. Trying on someone else’s illustration hat for too long can derail your creative career. This one’s...
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You're invited! Plan your creative year with The Good Ship Illustration
Sign up for the 2026 planning party HERE: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/planningparty This is a wee replay from last year (with a new intro to tell you the new dates for our planning party) ------------------- Are you raring to set goals, or are you feeling more “no plans, just let me…
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You’ll Never Feel Ready. Do It Anyway. An interview with Good Shipper Amber Au.
What a treat of an episode! Today we’re chatting with Good Shipper and picture book author–illustrator Amber Au. Amber talks about how drawing became part of her recovery from an eating disorder and how her therapist encouraged her to send her illustration work to her first ever client. Aaand how…
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An interview with Lisa Congdon - consistency and finding your creative voice
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…
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How illustrator Jill Calder built a long-lasting creative career (without losing her voice)
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...
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How to stop your illustration style looking generic & blah
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...
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We’re good at failing (and you can be too) 🤣 the power of experiments
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…
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What publishers reeeeally want to see in your picture book pitch
First, before we jump into the show notes, here's the link to sign up to the Picture Book Pitching Masterclass we've got happening soon! 🗓️ When: 17th of November at 1 pm UK time 💰 Cost: Freeeee 🚢 RSVP here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/pbpm How do illustrators actually get their...
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'If it looks awful, keep going. It’ll work out' - an interview with illustrator Catherine Rayner
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…
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'If you keep showing up, you can't NOT get better' - an interview with Sandi Hester
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...
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A Bologna Book Fair special: 6 Good Shippers were finalists in the Illustrators Exhibition!
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...
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#WalkToSee is baaack! The hashtag responsible for over 120,000 drawings (join in!)
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...
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Remember drawing for...fun? 😅 what is that?
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…
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"Double your fee without drawing more" say whaaat!?
First things first, DOORS CLOSE TONIGHT! We start on Monday. https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business Be lovely to see you in there. Psssst, this is the lowest the price will ever be, and we're not opening the doors again until September 2026. 🚢🚢🚢 Right. Podcast shownotes. Yes. Where...
About this show
Welcome to The Good Ship Illustration - the podcast for illustrators who are quietly working away in their sketchbooks thinking… “is it just me?”
…it’s not just you!
We’re Helen Stephens, Katie Chappell and Tania Willis - three full-time illustrators from three different corners of the industry (and three different age brackets ). We live in the same seaside town in the UK and started having cuppas and chats… and accidentally became illustration agony aunts.
Now we record those chats for you! We answer your questions about confidence, tricky clients, pricing your work, creative block, picture books, publishing, and everything in between.
✨ New episodes every Friday. ✨
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and do send us your questions!
P.s. Fancy some freebies? Head to thegoodshipillustration.com for colour workshops
Hosted by
The Good Ship Illustration