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 your own way and switch off the overthinking brains?

All three of us wrestle with this in different ways.

Also mentioned: expensive paper + a shared fantasy about buying a tiny round Father Ted caravan to draw in. Pour yourself a decaf tea and get comfy. 🫖

Timestamps, for the timestamp fans:

00:00 – The question from "Inky"
02:00 – Why your best work happens when you're distracted
03:00 – Helen's voice coach revelation
05:00 – The "kiss of death" of the final piece
06:00 – First violin nerves and propranolol
07:00 – Why Katie does live illustration
08:00 – ADHD, body doubling and visual timers
09:00 – Tania's surprise panic attack
10:00 – The fear of expensive paper
11:00 – Cheap sketchbooks, and never stretching paper
12:00 – Working on five versions at once
13:00 – Pia Bramley's drawings in the New York Times
14:00 – The dim light box trick
15:00 – Gluing over mistakes
16:00 – Why scaling up kills a drawing
17:00 – The blobby technique, and INCUP
19:00 – Tania loses her portfolio on the bus
20:00 – Katie's secret competitive streak
22:00 – Are illustration competitions worth it?
24:00 – Getting into the zone
25:00 – Rain, gas fires and working audios
27:00 – The dream caravan studio
29:00 – Dressing gowns, woolly hats and working caves
31:00 – Working around kids, and burnout
33:00 – Larks vs owls

Links mentioned:

• Pia Bramley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piabramley/
• Picture Hooks (mentoring and competitions for picture book makers): https://www.picturehooks.org.uk/
• The Blindboy Podcast: https://theblindboypodcast.ie/

Byeeee for now!

x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

p.s. You're v welcome to make your best work ever and come and bask in your weirdness with us here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

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 🎙