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The Good Ship IllustrationAuthor: 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?its not just you!Were 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) Language: en-gb Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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How to stop your illustration style looking generic & blah
Episode 9
Thursday, 20 November, 2025
Y'know when you feel like your work is neeearly there… but it's missing a lil something-something? This podcast episode is all about that. Overcoming that.How the heck do you put more humanness into your work?🧠 What we talk about in this one“Accomplished” isn’t the same as “alive”How generic styles can creep in without us noticingThe danger of trying to look like “a picture book illustrator”Why you need to make work that freaks you out a tiny bit 🤪The power of real memories and emotionsIdeas that stick: why some stories stay with usHow character, tension, and contradiction shape good storytellingLetting your real obsessions lead the way 🐌Yessss, research in bookshops is absolutely definitely part of the job🕰️ Timestamps00:00 – Aaccomplished work with no heart 01:00 – “Picture book style” stereotypes and why they’re dangerous 02:00 – Generic vs personal: how to tell the difference 03:00 – Making work that stops an art director mid-scroll 04:00 – Emotion in drawings (and penguins) 05:00 – True stories - using your real life 06:00 – The Nissen Hut 07:30 – Sticky ideas 09:00 – Plots built on tiny universal moments 10:00 – A “Smile in the Mind” 11:00 – Writing craft: thesis / antithesis / synthesis 13:00 – Character dynamics and why Bernard is… Bernard 🦆 14:00 – Films to study (hello, Groundhog Day) 15:00 – How Helen learned to write 16:00 – Why sitting in a bookshop absolutely counts as work 17:00 – Picture books now vs the 90s 18:00 – Jill Calder, Libby VanderPloeg, and holding onto your voice 20:00 – Don’t perform 21:00 – Honesty wins🔗 Stuff & People Wot We MentionedA Smile in the Mind - Tania's design book recommendation by Beryl McAlhone & David StuartMade to Stick (the kidney-harvesting myth book Katie mentioned!) - Chip & Dan HeathGroundhog Day - filmJill Calder: https://jillcalder.comLibby VanderPloeg: https://libbyvanderploeg.comEmily Howorth-Booth’s writing workshops that Helen lovesGood Ship Illustration courses: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.comCome and say hello! ✏️ @thegoodshipillustration🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.comp.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙
