We’re here to offer no-nonsense advice for illustrators and image-makers navigating a creative career. At The Good Ship Illustration, we are all about finding y...
Big goals, no pressure: Planning your creative year with The Good Ship Illustration
Is it time to set goals, or are you feeling more “no plans, just let me lie down” this year? We chat about:Why some years are for sprinting, and others are for walking.The power of visual goal-setting.How to make goals human-sized, doable, and fun, without freaking yourself out.Here's a Good Ship permission slip to do your 2025 goal-setting in a way that works for your brain/energy-levels/life.Timestamps:00:00 – Happy New Year! Goal-setting: exciting, overwhelming, or somewhere in between?01:00 – Join our Planning Party on 16th January (details inside!)02:30 – Sprinting vs walking: knowing when to slow down and when to push forward03:45 – Loose goals, intentions, and the value of taking things slowly04:50 – Why “no plans” can still count as a brilliant plan07:00 – Visual goal-setting: drawing the year ahead and keeping it in sight08:15 – Human-sized goals: how to make planning feel manageable and fun10:00 – Intentions beyond work: making space for life, joy, and connection16:00 – Ideas for tackling the overwhelm of “too many things to draw”Links Mentioned:You're invited to our Planning Party on 16th January!Sign up for our emails here to get your invite: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/ Come and say hello! ✏️ @thegoodshipillustration🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.comp.s. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙
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Hardest Year Ever? An Honest Look at the Illustration Industry in 2024
As 2024 winds down, we’ve been hearing all sorts of things - budget cuts, AI fears, and whispers of a downturn. There’s no denying it’s been a tricky year for many illustrators. But is it all doom and gloom? Not necessarily!Timestamps for you to skip around: 00:20 Special news - The doors are open for Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag! 01:15 What we’ve been hearing from illustrators about the industry. 03:00 Why illustrators are feeling the pinch of budget cuts. 06:30 The world is craving handmade, delightfully wonky work. 09:45 What’s going on with picture books, then? 13:30 Fly your freak flag - this is your moment to shine. 16:00 Licensing, animation, and new media - growing areas to keep an eye on. 18:15 Inclusivity in illustration and what agents are looking for in 2025. 19:50 Why you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.🎉 Exciting AnnouncementThe doors to our Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag course are open! ✨ Enrol whenever you like - no more waiting for us to open the doors.✨ Join by the end of January 2025 and you'll get:A Good Ship Illustration sticker pack.The chance to win a 1:1 mentoring session with us - the 3 captains.Learn more and join here: Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak FlagCome and say hello! ✏️ @thegoodshipillustration🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.comp.s. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙
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20:51
Ho ho ho 🎄 pressies for illustrators (love from Ron & Betty Frampton x)
What do tiny bowls of crisps, the world’s fanciest pencils, and a mysterious couple called Ron and Betty Frampton have in common? They’re all in this week's Christmassy podcast!Get ready for festive chaos, creative inspiration, and permission to buy yourself something lovely, courtesy of Ron and Betty.Timestamps:00:00 – Who on earth are Ron and Betty Frampton?01:20 – What’s on our Christmas wishlists? Pencils, paint, and tech setups04:30 – Christmas bingo, tiny bowls of crisps, and the unwritten rules of bingo culture08:15 – Why quick, unplanned drawings can sometimes be your best work10:50 – Helen’s 30-second cut-out reindeer and a carpet fitter11:50 – Permission to treat yourself this Christmas. Ron and Betty would approveLinks Mentioned:Find Your Creative Voice Course – Treat yourself to a creative boost Find out more here (and if you join before the end of January 2025, we'll send you some gorgeous stickers in the post. SNAIL MAIL!)🎄 Merry Christmas and a happy new year from all of us at The Good Ship Illustration 🎄Come and say hello! ✏️ @thegoodshipillustration🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.comp.s. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙
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12:52
The Confidence to Fly Your Freak Flag: A guide for illustrators and creatives
Here's your early present from Good Ship. Our previously-just-for-paying-students private VIP podcast episode all about building your creative confidence.We're celebrating that Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag is now open for enrollment all year round! Instant access. You asked, we listened.EVERYONE who joins during December 2024 & January 2025 will get one of our much-coveted Good Ship sticker badges. Mmmmm.We're also opening up a rare chance to win 1:1 mentoring with The Good Ship Illustration captains. There are 3 spots up for grabs! When you join, we'll email you all of the details. Click HERE for all of the course info and to climb aboard. We'd love to have you sailing with us.Anyways, what's this podcast episode about?From early career wobbles to trusting your creative voice, tackling imposter syndrome, and the confidence to charge what you're worth. Plus, loadsa tips to help you separate your self-worth from your creative work (they're not the same thing!)Got a question for us to tackle in a future podcast episode? Send it in - we’d love to hear from you!👉 Submit your questions hereTimestamps:00:21 Celebrating that Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag is now open for enrollment all year round! 03:00 Why you’re not a “wannabe” illustrator 05:15 Navigating client relationships 07:55 The power of asking clients what they love about your portfolio 10:38 Silencing negative self-talk and spotting unhelpful stories you tell yourself 12:12 Why it’s better to be an indie band than Top of the Pops (for illustrators) 13:13 The magic of “imperfections” and human marks in your work 15:17 Pricing confidence: why your value isn’t tied to your hours 16:18 Gamifying rejection and making it work for you 18:37 Forget the rules: how naivety can be your creative superpower 21:46 Avoiding comparison traps with a creative quarantine 22:35 Why having multiple versions of your work can unlock playfulness 25:34 Tips for breaking big, scary projects into manageable chunks 28:26 Time tricks for staying fresh and playful under pressure 30:00 Why getting older makes everything easierLinks & Resources:🎓 Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag Course 🎁 Enrol by January 2025 to grab your free badge and the opportunity for 1:1 mentoring. 📅 Join our Planning Party: 16th January 2025, 1:30 PM (UK time).Come and say hello! ✏️ @thegoodshipillustration🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.comp.s. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙
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What should you tackle first!? Starting out as an illustrator.
When you’re starting your illustration career, there is so much advice out there, so in this episode, we're untangling the nice juicy question of “Where do I even start!?”We share a bit about how we've each learned to hop in and out of our business & creativity cars over the years. Plus, we'll dish out some wisdom nuggets on balancing creative bursts with the less exciting bits of building your freelance illustration career.Come and say hello, we're friendly! Have you got a question you'd like us to tackle on a future podcast episode? Please send it in!Click here to send in your podcast questions!Timestamps:00:31 Taming the overwhelm gremlin (aka Your To-Do List)03:25 Website? Social media? LinkedIn? 🤯04:48 Building a portfolio (without stressing yourself out)14:08 The juggle is real: business vs. creativity16:18 Sharing your work and being picky about itCome and say hello! ✏️ @thegoodshipillustration🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.comp.s. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙
We’re here to offer no-nonsense advice for illustrators and image-makers navigating a creative career. At The Good Ship Illustration, we are all about finding your creative voice, standing out from the crowd, building career-longevity, and being yourself. We're Helen Stephens, Katie Chappell and Tania Willis - 3 full-time bread-winning (mmm, bread) illustrators working in 3 separate niches of the illustration industry. Between us, we've clocked up over 70 years of experience and illustration wisdom, and we're here to share it!You’d love your creative work if only you could find more time to do it, make more money, and feel confident with what you make. We believe you DO have what it takes, illustration needn’t be scary, and we’re with you all the way, along with the rest of the crew in our online community.
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