We’re here to offer no-nonsense advice for illustrators and image-makers navigating a creative career

Here are 3 things you need to know:

1. At The Good Ship, our big mission is to help illustrators and image-makers navigate a creative career.
2. There are 3 of us - Tania, Helen and Katie - and we are the Goldilocks (3 bears!) of illustration, covering 3 areas and eras of the industry.
3. We believe your creative work should feel good, make you money, and leave you feeling confident to fly your freak flag!

• Style is like the zodiac
• How to find out who you are
• Finding your uniqueness
• Hiding away from social media.
• Creating a stronger identity and finding your creative voice.

p.s. if you like this episode, you might love our course "Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag".

You can read all about it here.

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙

Wahooo, another picture book podcast!

The Picture Book Course
If you're listening to this and you're interested in making picture books, you've listened at a brilliant time...

The Picture Book Course doors are now open!! 

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!

It's an eight week course and the cover creating your own picture book. Making your best picture book work ever.

We'd love to have you on board :) Read all about the course here.

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For this episode we've got three brilliant questions sent for our Message in a Bottle series.

This episode's messages in bottles:

• Is it a good idea to use your own children as inspiration for a picture book?
  -from Katherine Steel
• Development work: how do you tackle it?
  -from Adam Ming
• Which way should your picture book character face?
  -from Sandy

Thanks for listening!

Lots o' love
-Good Ship

p.s. If you're listening to this later, when the doors are closed, you can join the waiting list and we'd love to have your sailing with us.

p.p.s We are doing some extra special pop up Art Clubs this week on Friday! Come along and join in on Instagram. We're @thegoodshipillustration.

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙

We had a brilliant chat with Good Ship pal, Emma Carlisle on aaall of the things:

• The importance of bad drawings
• Tackling social media as an illustrator
• Studying an MA in illustration
• Finding out what you're interested in
• PICTURE BOOKS! 
• Mental health and creativity
• Drawing from life and filling sketchbooks
• Getting discovered
• ...aaand lots more 

Meet Emma and learn more about her work here https://www.emmacarlisle.com/

p.s.
DOORS ARE OPEN RIGHT NOW to our big juicy Picture Book Course! 

If you are ready to get your picture book made and out into the world, now's your time! But be quick - doors close on Friday 7th October 2022.

Read all about it and join here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB

We'd love to have you sailing with us!

x Helen Stephens, Tania Willis & Katie Chappell

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙

In this episode we answer the questions:

• How do I know if I'm an illustrator or not?
• How to navigate "The Gap" (see quote below!)
• How to keep the magic and energy in your finished work

The Gap

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
― Ira Glass

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Right now we have two courses, and the doors open again very soon...

The Picture Book Course
Find out more about The Picture Book Course here!

Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag
Find out more about Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag here! 


p.s. Got a question for the podcast? You can send your questions to [email protected] and title it 'message in a bottle' so we know what it's about.

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙

In this episode we answer the questions:

• How do I get started as an illustrator (even if you're not a young thing fresh outta art school.)
• How to get your first big break as an illustrator.
• Do I need an illustration agent to be successful?

🚢🚢🚢

Right now we have two courses, and the doors open again very soon...

The Picture Book Course
Find out more about The Picture Book Course here!

Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag
Find out more about Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag here! 


p.s. Got a question for the podcast? You can send your questions to [email protected] and title it 'message in a bottle' so we know what it's about.

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙

In this episode we answer all of your portfolio questions:

• Do I need one!?
• What to put in your illustration portfolio.
• How to reach out to potential illustration clients.
• Should I follow the current illustration trends in my portfolio?

🚢🚢🚢

Right now we have two courses, and the doors open again very soon...

The Picture Book Course
Find out more about The Picture Book Course here!

Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag
Find out more about Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag here! 


p.s. Got a question for the podcast? You can send your questions to [email protected] and title it 'message in a bottle' so we know what it's about.

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙

In this quick fire interview-style episode we answer the questions:

• What was your most horrific client experience?
• What's your favourite subject to draw?
• Favourite snack + subject combo...
• Most unusual client request?
• Life drawing: the good, the bad and the ugly.
• Have you ever gone against some advice and it worked out well?
• What outfit makes you feel most illustrator-y?

PLUS
Tania talks about 

• pitching work to clients
• map work and living in Hong Kong

Katie talks about

• Introvert working / knowing yourself and designing a career you love
• The joys of SEO (search engine optimisation)

Helen talks about

• Whether there's room for you in the picture book world
• How to draw out and about #walktosee without being interrupted by well-meaning people

🚢🚢🚢

Right now we have two courses, and the doors open again very soon...

The Picture Book Course
Find out more about The Picture Book Course here!

Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag
Find out more about Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag here! 


p.s. Got a question for the podcast? You can send your questions to [email protected] and title it 'message in a bottle' so we know what it's about.

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙

In this episode we answer the questions:

• Analogue vs digital drawing - how to deal with feeling torn between the two
• How to store your artwork (ahhh that old chestnut)
• Do I HAVE to work digitally to be a picture book illustrator nowadays?

🚢🚢🚢

Right now we have two courses, and the doors open again very soon...

The Picture Book Course
Find out more about The Picture Book Course here!

Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag
Find out more about Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag here! 


p.s. Got a question for the podcast? You can send your questions to [email protected] and title it 'message in a bottle' so we know what it's about.

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙

In this episode we answer the questions:

• How do I set goals as an illustrator?
• Am I allowed to illustrate existing book covers?
• What makes a "good" illustration?
• Contracts!? The business side of illustration and design.

🚢🚢🚢

Right now we have two courses, and the doors open again very soon...

The Picture Book Course
Find out more about The Picture Book Course here! 

Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag
Find out more about Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag here! 


p.s. Got a question for the podcast? You can send your questions to [email protected] and title it 'message in a bottle' so we know what it's about.

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙

Avoiding the comparison trap

In this episode we answer the questions:

• Is there room for me in the illustration industry?
• How can I find time to create my work!?

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Want to be part of an online community, full of fellow creatives?

Build your illustration career and make your best creative work ever?

It's time to discover how good it feels to truly be yourself in your work!

Bask in your weirdness and follow your creative dreams - our course doors open on 30th October for FIND YOUR CREATIVE VOICE: FLY YOUR FREAK FLAG.

Find out more and join the waiting list: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag 

Doors open on Friday 30th, and close on the 6th of November, OR when we reach capacity!

🚢🚢🚢

p.s. See you at The Good Ship Art club. Friday 8pm UK time on Instagram. We'll open the doors to the course live.
We’re @thegoodshipillustration. 

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙