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
"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.
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Right. Podcast shownotes.
Yes. Where were we?
Here's a very quick lesson on copyright and licensing before you listen to this episode 🤓
Copyright = you own the work.
Licence = permission your client buys to use the work in specific ways (where, how long, which media, exclusive or not).
Ok, lesson's over. Thanks for coming.
If you'd like to earn more without drawing more, then keep your copyright, license the usage, and price it properly.
It's juicy, not boring. We promise!
Timestamps, if you want to skip ahead to a certain bit
- 00:00 Why giving away copyright is a no-go
- 01:00 Licence basics you can actually use
- 02:30 Picture books: advances, royalties, reversions
- 04:30 Foreign rights & special sales (how the money flows)
- 06:30 Trust, statements, and chasing missing royalties
- 07:30 Licensing agents & exclusivity windows
- 09:00 Advertising uses: above/below the line (cost jumps)
- 10:30 Building a simple “menu” clients can pick from
- 12:00 Case study: the map that earned double via licensing
- 14:00 Live illustration: online use vs print/murals
- 16:30 Excluding branding/merch in your standard licence
- 18:00 Merch options: flat fee vs % royalty
- 20:00 Originals, ownership, and cautionary tales
- 22:00 Why this stuff makes your work pay better
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 🎙