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It's Tania Willis is in the hot seat this week (have you heard of her? That name rings a bell...) and our Katie is grilling her about maps!  We dug out our dusty listener question spreadsheet and the first one out was a good 'un: how long does a map take?  HOW LONG IS A PIECE OF STRING?  Tania is going to tell you. Just hit play and snuggle in, ok? Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – How long?  02:30 – Map scales  04:30 – Off-plan fantasy  05:30 – Blue and green  07:30 – Problem-solving  09:00 – That dog  11:30 – Mouse mats?!  13:30 – Accidental cartography  15:00 – Morning pages  19:00 – Resistance  20:30 – Play first  21:30 – Black outlines  22:00 – Peer pressure Links mentioned: 🎨 Free colour workshop (in the freebies section): https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com 📖 The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: https://juliacameronlive.com 🌱 Creative Wellbeing by Studio Emie: https://www.emmi.co.uk/the-creative-wellbeing-handbook 🚩 Freak Flag: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) P.S. Are you feelin' a bit stuck? May we recommend the genius (and free!) colour workshop? It's v low pressure paint-along vibes. Aaand it’s what got Helen to ditch her black outlines for her book Smelly Peggy! TADAAA: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/colour 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 🎙

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 month. If you've ever wondered how illustrators get picked up by Creative Boom, Katy tells us everythiiiiing: keep sharing your work, keep your Instagram active, and make your website a nice 'n' friendly place for journalists/art directors to land.  Grab a notebook, this one's full of amazin' tips 💛 Timestamps, for the timestamp fans: 00:00 – Meet Katy 01:00 – Gatekeeping 03:00 – Goody gatekeepers 04:00 – "You're not in trouble" 05:00 – Marketing when you're shy 06:30 – Hiding behind the brand 07:00 – 2024 10:30 – A new brainstorming buddy 11:30 – AI, the nuanced bit 14:30 – Where the work is 15:30 – The perfect storm 16:30 – The tightrope 17:30 – The future is human 19:30 – The courage to be disliked 20:30 – Getting featured 23:30 – Press-ready websites 25:00 – GEO 25:30 – Honeymoon ideas 26:30 – Slipped Disc 27:00 – Being enough Links mentioned: 🌟 Creative Boom: https://www.creativeboom.com 🎧 The Creative Boom Podcast: https://www.creativeboom.com/podcast/ 📸 Creative Boom on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativeboom/ 🎶 Katy's personal Instagram (for the Slipped Disc DJ videos): https://www.instagram.com/katylcowan/ 🎨 Sarah Martinon, the illustrator behind the Hermès campaign Katy mentions: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmartinon/ 🚢 The Good Ship Illustration: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com Byeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 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 🎙

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) 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 🎙

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! Links mentioned: James's Substack: https://madebyjames.substack.comJames's free Super Duper Mentorship for emerging creatives: https://madebyjames.substack.com/p/join-my-free-mentorship-programJames on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/made_by_jamesJames's new book, No Bullsh*t Branding: https://www.quarto.com/books/9781577159452/no-bullsh-t-brandingByeeee for now! x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 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 🎙

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 Links mentioned: Illustration Business Club: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businessFind Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag (with Helen's video about her year out): https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freak-flagHelen's free online school visit: https://www.helenstephens.com/virtual-school-visitWalker Books: https://www.walker.co.ukByeeee for now! 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 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 🎙

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 Links mentioned: Illustration Business Club: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businessThe Association of Illustrators: https://theaoi.comSCBWI British Isles: https://britishisles.scbwi.orgNorthumberland Zoo: https://www.northumberlandzoo.co.uk/Byeeee for now! 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.  We'd love to have you sailing with us! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business 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 🎙

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 Links mentioned: • Jo's website: https://www.jooverendillustration.com/ • Jo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joverendillustration/ • Jo's Substack: https://jooverendillustration.substack.com/ • Megaduck (US edition): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/835922/megaduck-by-jo-overend-illustrated-by-jo-overend/ • Picture Hooks: https://www.picturehooks.org.uk/ 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 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 🎙

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) Links mentioned: Illustration Business Club: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businessTania's Good Ship Illustration podcast episode with Margo Tantau on licensing from 2 weeks ago: https://pod.link/1526470404/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xOTgxNTM1NwAnchoring 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/PBGood Ship freebies for picture book makers and illustrators: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freebiesLouise Lockhart, The Printed Peanut: https://theprintedpeanut.co.uk/Jonny Hannah: https://www.instagram.com/darktownresident/Catherine Rayner: https://www.catherinerayner.co.uk/Jessica Hische's "Should I Work For Free?" flowchart: https://www.creativebloq.com/news/should-you-work-for-free-jessica-hischeByeeee for now!  x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania) 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 🎙

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 Links mentioned: Illustration Business Club: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/businessThe Good Ship on Instagram (for Art Club): https://www.instagram.com/thegoodshipillustration/Introvert-friendly marketing workshop: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/shyByeeee for now! 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.  We'd love to see you in there!  https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business 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/ 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 🎙

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 Links mentioned: Margo's website: https://margotantau.com/Tantau Studio: https://www.tantaustudio.com/Windowsill Chats podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/windowsill-chats/id1529045232Windowsill Chats on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/windowsillchatsSpring Fair (NEC Birmingham, 7th to 10th February 2027): https://www.springfair.com Byeeee for now! 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.  Doors open on 25th of September 2026! https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business 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 🎙

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! Links mentioned: • Carly's website: https://www.carlykuhn.com/ • Carly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlykuhn/ • Carly's Substack, The Cartelier: https://carlykuhn.substack.com/ • Carly's new book, Character Study: Observations from a Very Curious Artist: https://www.carlykuhn.com/books Byeeee for now! 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! 🥳 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 🎙

"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" Links mentioned: Short Supply's website: https://www.shortsupply.orgShort Supply on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shortsupplymcrThe Scottish Storytelling Centre, home of Step One: https://www.scottishstorytellingcentre.comByeeee for now! 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 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 🎙

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. https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/business  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 🎙

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!! Links and books etc. mentioned: Lauren's website: https://www.laurencurrie.co/artUpfront: https://www.weareupfront.comBe Upfront by Lauren CurrieWe Need Your Art by Amy McNee https://www.amiemcnee.com/order-we-need-your-art-book-amie-mcneeThe Good Ship Illustration: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.comFind Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag course: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflagCome 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 🎙

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' WayWhy 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 StrategiesQuentin Blake Centre - Thank you for inviting us to the preview day, team QB!Derwent Pencil MuseumPicture Hooks https://www.picturehooks.org.uk/The Catchpole Agency http://www.thecatchpoleagency.co.uk/Muji fine linersEmma Carlisle / Sarah Dyer https://www.emmacarlisle.com/  https://www.sarahdyer.com/The Good Ship Illustration Art Club https://www.instagram.com/thegoodshipillustration/?hl=enFly Your Freak Flag https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflagThe Good Ship Illustration colour workshop https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/colourCome 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 🎙