Feelin' guilty about not drawing as much lately? [A Good Ship Illustration permission slip]

02/28/25 • 13 min

"I'm not drawing as much anymore - Aghhhhh! Is this ok!?"

If you feel like you’re not drawing as much as you “should”, then you’re definitely, absolutely not alone. In this episode, we share our drawing ebbs and flows, why guilt often sneaks in, and how to let yourself off the hook when life gets lifey.

We chat about:

The natural phases of a creative career (and why it’s A-OK not to be drawing all the time).
Why forcing yourself to draw can backfire.
How other creative stuff like sewing or gardening can feed your illustration work.
Finding the balance between illustration, work, and real life.
How to quiet the mean voice in your head.

See you in there!

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 🎙

"I'm not drawing as much anymore - Aghhhhh! Is this ok!?"

We chat about:

The natural phases of a creative career (and why it’s A-OK not to be drawing all the time).
Why forcing yourself to draw can backfire.
How other creative stuff like sewing or gardening can feed your illustration work.
Finding the balance between illustration, work, and real life.
How to quiet the mean voice in your head.

See you in there!

Previous Episode

What size should your picture book be? (And other silly mistakes to avoid.)

🚢 The Picture Book Course closes TONIGHT!

In this episode, we’re tackling three of the biggest picture book questions we hear all the time:

1. What size should my picture book be?
2. Do I need kids to write picture books?
3. How do I get my book in front of a publisher? (So that they actually SEE it.)

If you’ve been agonising over book dimensions, stressing about margins, or wondering whether your book must be a certain size before a publisher will even look at it, this episode's for you!

Plus, we grill our Helen all about how publishers actually work, find out why your picture book does not need to be fully finished before you pitch it, and learn a sneaky way to speed up your storytelling skills (hint: it involves buying lots of books. Oh no, what a shame. Heh.)

p.s. The Picture Book Course closes TONIGHT! If you're listening on Friday 21st Feb 2025, this is your last chance to hop jump and skip aboard before the doors close.

The world has a your-picture-book-shaped hole in it.

Let's fix that.

It's time!

Click here to read all about the Picture Book Course.

Timestamps:

00:25 Question: “What size should my picture book be?”
01:10 The real answer
02:50 What actually matters more than page size?
04:00 Bookshop logistics: Why your book needs to fit on a shelf.
06:15 Do publishers ever tell you the exact dimensions?
07:05 The BIG mistake
09:10 Why publishers love flexible illustrators.
10:30 The magic of working with an art director
12:05 The storytelling trick we might steal from Sydney Smith (Sydney Smith if you're reading this, it's a joke. 👀)
14:00 Should you apply to publishers, or just self-publish?
15:45 How to find the perfect publisher for your book.
17:10 Second question: “Can you write picture books if you don’t have kids?”
18:00 The surprising list of famous picture book authors who never had children.
19:30 The secret to writing picture books with emotion (even if you’re not around kids every day).
21:00 School visits, nannying, and other sneaky ways to absorb children’s interests.
22:00 Final call! The Picture Book Course closes TONIGHT at midnight! 🚀

Join us over on Instagram (@thegoodshipillustration) for Art Club Live TONIGHT at 7pm UK time!

Be lovely to see you there.

Next Episode

Is there enough work for illustrators? The truth about illustration jobs in 2025 - a rising tide floats all boats 🚢🚢🚢

Doors to the Business Course (for illustrators!) are open 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.

🚢

This week, we’re diving into the live illustration industry. How much work is actually out there, how to get it, and whether it’s the right fit for you.

We grilled our Katie and found asked her...

Is there really loads of work for illustrators, or has it been a slow year?
What’s this new Illustrator Jobs Board all about? (Live illustration gigs, client budgets, and real-life illustration job opportunities.)
What actually happens in a live illustration session?
How much do clients pay for live scribing, and how can you charge more?

If you’ve wondered about going into live illustration - or just want to see what clients are paying - this episode's for you!

p.s. If you’re curious about Katie’s Live Illustration Jobs Board, you can find it over on Substack here.

Timestamps:

00:25 The big debate: good year / bad year
01:50 Why 2024 was overwhelming
03:15 The Jobs Board experiment
04:40 What kinds of jobs are coming in?
06:00 UK vs. international jobs (and why some illustrators have upped their rates after seeing the budgets).
07:15 What actually happens at a live illustration gig? Is it really 8 hours of solid drawing?
08:30 What do clients want from a live illustrator?
09:40 The most requested topics: AI, data, and... scrubbing data with a sponge?
11:00 How much do clients pay for live illustration?
12:15 The tech side: Do you need to be a tech whiz to do this work?
13:30 Live illustration vs. fashion illustration gigs
14:45 The Jobs Board results so far
15:30 Should you try live illustration? The skills overlap with mapping, editorial, and even school visits
16:50 Katie’s Live Illustration Course is coming soon! (If this episode got you excited, stay tuned 🤓).

If you like the sound of the live illustration course, you can register your interest here.

See you next time!

Byeee 🚢💨

The Good Ship Illustration - Feelin' guilty about not drawing as much lately? [A Good Ship Illustration permission slip]

Transcript

Not drawing as much anymore - ahghhhhh is this ok?
===
[00:00:00] Helen, you said you'd been having a good chat this morning. I went for a walk with picture book maker Jane Porter this morning, and we started off this chat by talking about whether we'd had gaps where we didn't draw for a while, and we both agreed that we have. We both, and I'm having one right now actually.
When I, when I say drawing, I mean drawing in a sketchbook. I'm still illustrating, but, um, there's been period