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, picture book templates, and other treats.
Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)
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The Good Ship Illustration
Your website might be missing this one thing – and nooo, it’s not more portfolio pieces
Ahoy! Doors to the Business Course (for illustrators!) are closing TONIGHT! We're going to be having a chat over on Instagram and you're more than welcome to bring your business of illustration questions along. Be lovely to see you there. We're @thegoodshipillustration over on Insta.
p.s. Once the course doors close, they close. We're strict! You've got until 10pm UK time tonight (Friday 14th March 2025)
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This week, we’re talking about one of the best things you can do for your illustration career (but it also just so happens to be something that most illustrators dread and avoid like the plague):
📸 Updating your website bio and getting proper photos!
We cover:
✔️ Why a great photo makes clients trust you
✔️ The biggest mistakes we see illustrators make on their 'About' page
✔️ How to write a bio that actually sounds like you without overthinking it
✔️ And why drawing a wee smiley face instead of uploading a headshot just won’t cut it anymore
If you’ve been putting this off, consider this as your sign to finally get some proper photos and sort yer website oot.
p.s. We’ve got an About Page Bingo guide inside the Illustration Business Course, so if you’re in there, go find it!
Timestamps:
01:00 Why updating your bio & website photos is the best thing you can do
02:15 Katie just had a photoshoot - here’s why it was worth it
03:40 How to find a great branding photographer (and what to ask them)
05:00 Feeling awkward about getting your photo taken? Some tricks to make it easier
06:15 Props, pets & sketchbooks
07:40 The price of a good photographer and why it’s worth the investment
09:10 Writing your bio: The easiest method
10:20 Why your bio should match your audience (formal vs. friendly)
12:00 “Clients don’t actually care about your personal life…” (or do they?)
14:15 How illustrators, live scribers & picture book makers should approach bios differently
16:30 Why illustrators should think like plumbers
17:45 Final push: Just get something on your website today (half arse it now, you can always tweak it later)
Done is better than perfect.
Byeee for now! And merry photoshoot-booking.
If you get some nice new headshots for your about page, do tag us on Instagram so we can admire them. We're nosy!
x Good Ship
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 🎙