The Good Ship Illustration

"You really don't have to go to art school!" An interview with Carly Kuhn

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

"Nobody can hire you if they can't see you". An interview with Mollie off of @ShortSupplyMCR

"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

RIP Hockney & (Art) school's out for summer 🤘 🌴 🍦🩲

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 illustrat

No, you *don't* have imposter syndrome - an interview with Lauren Currie OBE

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

Help, I’ve forgotten how to draw 🫠

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

"I spent ages on the detailed stuff...but they liked the quick sketch." An interview with the brilliant Alice Bowsher

This week our Katie is chatting to Alice Bowsher, who's work she would like to bite (In a good way. The same way you want to bite very cute babies. Is it called cute

And the award for Best Stand at Bologna Children's Book Fair goes to...

This week, we're STIIIIIILL talking about Bologna Children's Book Fair (for the last time, we promise 😅)  - this episode was supposed to come out as soon as we

"Help! I love my rough illustrations and panic on the final piece. How do I get out of my own way?"

It's all fun and games until someone mentions FINAL ARTWORK. (Arghhhh) Sound familiar? Thought so. So we get stuck into Inky's question: how do you get out of

⚠️ Illustration scams to watch out for

Ooft, this is a good one. This week we're discussing illustration scams We've all had them land in our inboxes, we see 'em in the Good Ship community (too

'They keep asking me to tone it down.' Flying your freak flag in their faces 🚩

This week we're answering a brilliant voice message from @shanaramadesigns. Shana asks about Russian illustrator Victoria Semikina: how does someone learn to draw i

"I used to cry in the toilets before every job (and then I'd go draw)" - a live illustration chat with Katie

This week, our Katie's chatting with Helen and Tania about her favouritest thing and specialism/niche: live illustration.  What's it like to arrive at a fancy

You don't have to pick just one thing - an interview with illustrator-astrologer Nicola Allan

This week, our Katie is chatting to Nicola Allan, an artist, writer and consulting astrologer based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. After 12 years working as a lawyer, Nicola

This illustrator got a book deal lead on DAY ONE of Bologna… 😳 (part 2)

Here's part two of our Bologna interviews. Thank you so much for listening, and if you managed to come and find us at Bologna Children’s Book Fair, thank you. We had

Brave Good Shippers at Bologna - we shoved a microphone in these illustrators faces 😆 (part 1!)

Interview #1 is with Paulina Zawiska and Kate Osmond. Interview #2 is with Lorna Burt (begins at 05:30) Bon apetit!  We just announced the winners of our iPad giveaway

Helen Stephens chats to Prof. Martin Salisbury - Is your illustration style really yours? When influence turns into imitation 👀✏️

Ever worried your work looks a bit too much like somebody else’s? 😬 This one’s for youuuu. In this episode, our Helen chats with the brilliant Martin Salisbury about pla

Guide to the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2026 - The Good Ship Illustration

Absolutely knackered just thinking about Bologna? Same 😅 Here are our Bologna Children’s Book Fair survival tips. Whether it's your first time or you're a seas

It’s not too late, you’re not behind, and yessss, you should still start - an interview with illustrator Carys Wright

This week, our Katie is chatting to Carys Wright - a London-based writer and illustrator, hardcore Good Shipper, and all-round excellent example of what can happen when y

The 7 email rule: Pitching your work to illustration clients - Kira Matthews

Nobody is born knowing how to pitch. (Katie here) I've been known to pitch once, hear nothing, and decide 'Oh well. Never mind.' Then never reach out ever

How Salty (our Picture Book mascot) became a 2-book deal

This week we're pulling up a chair at Helen's kitchen table to finally spill the beans on Salty. Salty Dog and Pals is the book that started as The Picture Book

Identity + rejection: when your illustration work *is* you 🥲

This week we're dragging ourselves away from our hypothetical gardens and custom urn businesses (lol) to have a proper sofa-chat about the big question: what would y