Find your creative voice - fly your freak flag!

Bask in your weirdness & follow your creative dreams.


Want to be part of an online community, full of fellow creatives?

Build your illustration career and make your best creative work ever?

Discover how good it feels to truly be yourself and make your best work!

Hooo boy, you're in for a treat.

Katie Tania and Helen on an ACTUAL BOAT

Bask in your weirdness and make work you're proud of

We're here to cheer you on!

 

Tap here to join the waiting list

*plus*

Exclusive Interviews with International Award-Winning Industry Professionals

at the Top of Their Freak-Flag-Flying Game


PRINTED PEANUT
AKA Louise Lockhart, who has pictures printed on all sorts!

AL MARTIN
Writer and co-creator of Tank Girl.

JONNY HANNAH
Commercial designer and illustrator.  His clients include Royal Mail, The Daily Telegraph and The New York Times.

MARION DEUCHARS
Internationally acclaimed illustrator and hand-letterer.

JILL CALDER 
Award-winning illustrator and calligrapher.

LEONIE DAWSON
International best-selling author, self-made multi-millionaire and mentor.

GERRY TURLEY
MA RCA. Gerry is an illustrator, picture book maker and printmaker. 

SHIN KITAGAWA
Japan-based illustrator and urban sketcher

CHRIS HAUGHTON 
Picture book illustrator and designer.

MOLLY FAIRHURST 
Clients include H&M, The New York Times + lots more, Molly's living proof of the power of flying your freak flag.

SARA TASKER
AKA @me_and_orla - creator, author and social media expert.

Here's What You Get

 

Powerful strategies to unleash your creativity, build your creative confidence and avoid the pitfalls of finding your creative voice.

Structure, guidance, encouragement and freedom to finally figure out what work is really yours, and to be proud of it!

This is what we mean when we talk about flying your freak flag.


A safe cocoon-style environment to play, try new things, dig deeper, and then emerge like a CREATIVE BUTTERFLY/MANLY MOTH-LIKE CREATURE in 8 weeks time.

Finding your creative voice will help publishers/clients trust you. You'll attract more work. Work that feels aligned to who you are, and that feels fun to create.

Gain self-confidence and belief in your illustrations! Discover the super power that is BEING YOURSELF!

Bask in your weirdness.

 

You Know it's Time.

Fly Your Freak Flag

The doors are now closed.
And we'd love to have you aboard next time we set sail!

Join the waiting list

An 8 Week Online Course

8 week intensive e-course, with live teaching from Helen Stephens, Tania Willis and Katie Chappell.

The Good Ship Community 

The opportunity to be a member of The Good Ship Illustration's private online community, and be part of a supportive network of friendly creatives.

Videos

Interviews with expert freak-flag-fliers, VIP Sketchbook tours and behind-the-scenes exclusives, as well as our weekly live video calls.

Printables

WE LOVE PRINTABLES. Don't worry if you can't get access to a printer though - you can still do this course without a printer!

Specially Designed Tasks

Carefully crafted to fast-track your creative voice discovery. Save yourself years of self-doubt and struggle.

Live Q&A Sessions

During the course, the crew will answer questions, give feedback and share their 60 years of combined illustration experience.

Permission to Play

Make new work, try out new ideas, figure out what your unique creative voice is, and make your best work ever.

Lifetime Course Access

Go at your own pace, stay in touch with your new creative Good Ship community friends, and enjoy the process.

Future-Proofing

We'll help you make work that stands out in the crowd. A creative career that will stand the test of time.

Creative Confidence

Fly your freak flag and keep your inner critic calm. Crucial skills you'll use for the rest of your creative career. 

Helen, Tania, Katie

 Find my creative voice? In 8 weeks!?

Finding your creative voice is something that can take months, years, even an entire lifetime. 

Our course is specially designed to give you the tools to speed the whole thing up, turbo-charge it. Because you will be giving this your full attention, the results will be amazing.

Digging in now, while the world slowly re-emerges from lockdown, is the best use of your time.

I'm worried I won't have enough time to dedicate to this course. 

We feel ya. That's why we give you lifetime access! We record all the live calls so you can watch/listen during your best learning time.

Do as much or as little as you like right now, and come back to it all whenever works best for you.

With lifetime access, and the option to spread the cost over 5 months there has never been a better time to join in!

Get in touch with your unique creative voice, fly your freak flag, and start making your best work ever.

Work that resonates with who you really are, and lets your true weirdness shine.

One lovely side effect of flying your freak flag and making work that is really you, is the magnetic effect it has.

  • You might start to notice your dream illustration gigs, clients, art directors, audience all start to pop out of the woodwork.
  • New followers, friends, people who resonate with who you are at the core of your being.
  • Being yourself is magic! It’s like switching on a light and watching people gravitate towards you.
  • Friends and the people you love will say ‘ok something is different. What are you doing?’.

This is the perfect opportunity to carve out time for yourself in what is officially A Weird Time.

Treat it as a gift to yourself, an investment in your creativity over the next 8 weeks and beyond. You'll learn skills and techniques that will keep on serving you for the rest of your creative life.

 

**Lots more Frequently Asked Questions at the bottom of this page.**

 

Here are some testimonials from our founding #goodshipillo members:

Sara

"This course gave me the permission to do my own thing. It sounds obvious, yet it can feel so risky and self-indulgent to do that!!

I also loved the good humoured atmosphere and a whole lot of insight into the illustration industry."

Jacquie O'Neill

"Wow! Prepare yourself for an epic journey! I have been a commercial illustrator for over 20 years, and this course has injected new life into my work!

I've learnt and tried things that I have never done before - I highly recommend this course for new illustrators, established illustrators and everyone in-between! You will be so pleased you jumped on board and hoisted that freak flag!!"

Beatriz Jacob

"Ever since starting this course, I've been seeing things on a totally different perspective. I am relearning to draw for pleasure, something I thought I had lost.

I am very happy that I found The Good Ship. Thank you Helen, Katie and Tania!"

Esther Coombs

"I cannot encourage you wholeheartedly enough to commit to the fly your freak flag course. It has broadened my drawing, opened up my practice, and encouraged me to dig deep to find my inner freak and what i really care about in my work, really its fab, truly encouraging and useful, testing and broad, interesting and exciting.

I might even do it twice!!"

Marty

"The Good Ship Illustration is a safe port in my journey as an artist. My desire to draw and draw and draw now has a soundtrack of three accomplished and accepting voices.

I look forward to module Mondays to see what Helen, Katie, and Tania have in store for me. My fellow participants are supportive and talented artists from numerous time zones who share their art and their process of finding their unique voice."

Julia Woolf

"I am having so much fun on this course. Even though I can't dedicate much time to it at the moment as I have deadlines it's still enabling me to sketch and draw for myself. It's made me realise I don't need to set aside hours to do this, and the results are so interesting. It's great to know the course is there as a resource whenever I need it.

If you're curious, just do it, you won't regret it."

Finding Your Creative Voice

The importance of taking time out to find your creative voice and fly your freak flag.

Helen talks about the turning point in her illustration career, and how going back to her sketchbooks was the best thing she could have done.

Join the waiting list
 

Why Learn From The Good Ship Illustration?

3 eras of illustration industry knowledge. Three is a magic number!

The three bears of illustration

Each of us are from very different parts of this fast-changing illustration world, with individual industry & teaching know-how.

  • Over 70 years of experience, across the illustration industry.

  • We're all full-time illustrators. Our illustration work supports us and our families - it's not a hobby. We are proof it's possible! Illustration can be a lucrative and rewarding career.

  • We've all taught illustration at university level
    (and we're all LOVELY). 


And it's not just us!

We have guest appearances from expert freak-flag-flyers at the top of their game; Printed Peanut, Jonny Hannah, Al Martin (of Tank Girl) and lots more.

Read below for a more in-depth introduction to The Good Ship crew...

Katie Chappell

Meet Katie! Our most recent graduate (2012). She is a live illustrator and founder of Illustrated Live, drawing all over the UK and Europe. Her clients include Facebook, Google, Netflix and more. 

Her live illustration work covers everything from graphic recording in corporate meetings, to painting giant murals on shop windows in Regent Street, London.

Katie has an MA in illustration from Edinburgh College of Art, as well as a foundation degree in animation and a BA in illustration and graphic design. She has lectured in illustration, from foundation to MA level.  

Career highlights: Live-Illustrating in the boardroom for management at Google HQ in London. Painting giant boards for the Royal Society of Biology’s gala dinner, where David Attenborough received a lifetime achievement award.

A couple of extra fun facts: Katie is an accidental TedX speaker, and is really good at backwards mirror writing and napping.

Helen Stephens

Helen is an award-winning author, illustrator, best known, amongst other things for her 'How  to Hide A Lion' series.  She taught on the highly respected Cambridge School of Art MA in Illustrating for Children and has mentored graduate illustrators on the Picture Hooks Scheme. She started the popular #walktosee sketch-booking hashtag on Instagram.

As seen in: NY Times. Wall Street Journal. Uppercase. Guardian Book of the Year. Times Book of the Year. ‘How to Hide a Lion’ was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal, and her books have won lots of other fancy pants awards. Her books have been published in about 30 languages, and clients include: Random House, Scholastic, Penguin, Alison Green Books, David Fickling Books, Campbell Books, Nickelodeon Junior, Egmont, Simon and Schuster, Bayard Presse and Orchard Publishing.

Career highlights: How to Hide a Lion was adapted for the stage by The Polka Theatre and toured the UK, Helen won a BLUE PETER BADGE as a grownup by being on Blue Peter!

A couple of extra fun facts: She likes to draw in the rain and wears her dressing gown over her clothes to work.

Tania Willis

Tania is an award-winning designer/ illustrator with 30 years of experience, and an MA in Illustration from the Royal College of Art.

She has taught illustration at BA & BFA level in the UK and Hong Kong and has more than 20 years of perspective on the industry in Asia. Her illustration clients include English Heritage, Conde Nast Traveller, Cartier, Time, Waitrose Magazine and Swire Group.

Her illustration experience covers advertising, murals, editorial, design, surface design, licensing, publishing, branding, event, editorial and corporate - but her biggest passion is illustrated maps.

Plus we are so lucky, she designed our gorgeous ship-in-a-bottle Good Ship branding.

Career highlights: Designing a livery for an A330 Airbus and a Hong Kong tram.

A couple of extra fun facts: Tania taught Helen at Glasgow School of Art. She swears too much (unrelated to teaching Helen), loves Hong Kong trams and wanted to be in The Slits.

Meet the crew at our free pop-up art club over on Instagram

Once upon a time Art Club happened every Friday night at 7pm without fail. Nowadays its more of a special pop-up thing. Everyone is welcome, just bring something to draw on, and something to draw with.

Sign up to emails to hear when we are going live again, see you there!

Discover art club

But don't just take our word for it...

Watch these videos and see what previous students on our Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag course thought about it.

 
 
 
 
 

 

“The one thing you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.”

Neil Gaiman

Here's your last chance to join at the current price...

Next time we run Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag, it will be £575. You've waited long enough 🥰 it's your time.

Pay in Full

£575

Our most popular option

  • An intensive 8 week Find Your Creative Voice course
  • Weekly tasks and course content - bonus interviews, VIP sketchbook tours and more.
  • 3 x live Q&A calls
  • Lots of incredible printables
  • Lifetime access to the course!
  • A community of like-minded creatives. Studio vibes.
  • Adobe educational discount (60% off!)
  • Fly your freak flag!

5 x £115

£115

Spread the cost

  • An intensive 8 week Find Your Creative Voice course
  • Weekly tasks and course content - bonus interviews, VIP sketchbook tours and more.
  • 3 x live Q&A calls
  • Lots of incredible printables
  • Lifetime access to the course!
  • A community of like-minded creatives. Studio vibes.
  • Adobe educational discount (60% off!)
  • Spread the cost over 5 months. Our most affordable payment plan ever.

Sarah Naybour

"This is like the most wonderful creative support group. It's all about you and finding your own individual style and way of working. There is energy and laughs, but most of all there is really good solid advice and experience shared."

Lylet Soliven

"Come for the drawing classes and leave with important lessons (in life and illustrations) and an amazing community! Katie, Helen, and Tania are such gracious teachers who will hold your hand but also let you run free, no matter if you have ever tried drawing or not.

As an illustrator, I still learned many important things and all I’ve experienced ever since signing up to the class was growth. Highly recommended!"

Justine Picchereddu

"Tania, Helen and Katie are amazing teachers, full of good tips and exercises to push our drawing practices further. I learnt loads of new things and met really nice like-minded artists on the course as well :) "

How is the course structured?

It's 8 weekly modules (released every Monday 10am UK time), 3 live Zoom calls on the first, fourth and eighth week of the course at 7pm UK time PLUS our generous and supportive online community which is open 24/7. The Good Ship crew are excited to meet you! You're in for a treat.

Live calls are all recorded so you can listen any time - it really doesn't matter what timezone you are in!

1:1 individual coaching/mentoring is not included.

BUT we do love it when you submit questions for us to answer during the weekly live Zoom calls! Then everybody can benefit from the answers.

This is a group programme, and we encourage you to find your creative independence.

p.s. Once the 8 weeks is up, you can revisit everything. Lifetime access, wahoooo! THERE REALLY IS NO SUCH THING AS BEHIND.

 

It's Your Time!

You’d love your creative work if only...

  • you could find more time to do it,
  • make more money,
  • feel confident with what you make.

We believe you DO have what it takes!

Illustration needn’t be scary, and we’re with you all the way,
along with the rest of the crew in our online Good Ship community.

Take the guesswork out of finding your creative voice

We'll take you behind the scenes and tell you everything we know about finding your creative voice.

8 weeks is just the beginning.

You'll have lifetime access so you can keep working on this stuff for as long as you like.

Take it at your own pace.

We'd love to have you sailing with us!

Boost your creative career. Turbo-charge the process of finding your creative voice. Be part of our lovely supportive online creative community.

It's time for a creative revival. 

We'd love to have you aboard!

Be the first to hear next time we run the course

Sarah Lacey

"The Good Ship has brought out some actual growth and a path to follow in my work which I'd not found yet, even after years of art school and all the years since graduating. This has really helped me find my feet.  

I'm excited for the next steps I'm going to take, really truly, with butterflies in my tummy. The Good Ship Illo has been the proper tonic (or maybe a Rum Ration?) that this old Sea Dog needed."

Emily McKenzie

"Thanks so much to the Good Ship Illustration courseI’ve been doing, I’m really excited about exploring different combinations of materials and colours I haven't really explored before. The Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag!

Course starts again in July, I’d really recommend it, I’ve found it super inspiring!"

Zoe Blair

"This is a fantastic course. I have enjoyed every week. Full of new ways for me to approach working and help figure out what I want to do.

For me it has been a big reset button. Informative, supportive teachers, excellent interviews and assignments to gently push you further. Thank you so much, I am planning on holding off on the last task, keeping it in the back of my mind whilst I redo the course again starting next week."

 

Got questions about the course?

Watch this replay of The Captains answering questions over on Instagram and see if yours is answered. If not check the FAQs further down this page. We'd love to have you sail with us - yiss! 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Find your creative voice - fly your freak flag!