“Help! I found my illustration style… and I don’t like it” 😩
Have you ever looked at your own work and thought… egh? When you work so hard to find your style* it can feel rubbish to realise you don't even LIKE IT 😅.
*We're not big fans of the word style...but we have to use it so you know what we're on about. We have a WHOLE ENTIRE COURSE about finding your creative voice & flying your freak flag.
This episode is allll about not-holding-the-bar-of-soap-too-tight.
It's also about:
What to do when your style feels a bit too safe or mainstreamWhy being too “good at drawing” can trap youHow to bring more you into your workWhether you need to know colour theory to be a proper illustrator⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 – Lisa's brilliant question: “What if I don’t like my style?”
01:00 – Mainstream, safe, and not-quite-right: spotting the signs
03:00 – Flying your freak flag vs. pleasing the market
05:00 – Chris Haughton’s unusual route into publishing
07:00 – Why being “good at drawing” isn’t always helpful
09:00 – Getting stuck in the gun-for-hire trap
11:00 – Why clients want you, not your many styles
12:00 – Freya asks: do you need to know the colour wheel?
14:00 – Digital colour vs. painty messes
17:00 – How limitations can make your colour sing
20:00 – Create a family of colours (and avoid shouty guests)
21:00 – Final thoughts: soap metaphors & colour play🔗 Links mentioned:
🎨 Our free genius colour workshop – grab it here!🐘 Emma Tripolone’s fab work (Emma was one of our 1:1 mentoring winners from... 🚢 The Freak Flag course!📚 Chris Haughton – Good Ship pal, designer and children’s book author-illustrator. We love 'im.Plus, coming soon we have a Chris-Haughton-treat for your ears. Stay tuned for that.
Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)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 🎙
The Good Ship Illustration
We’re here to offer no-nonsense advice for illustrators and image-makers navigating a creative career.
At The Good Ship Illustration, we are all about finding your creative voice, standing out from the crowd, building career-longevity, and being yourself.
We're Helen Stephens, Katie Chappell and Tania Willis - 3 full-time bread-winning (mmm, bread) illustrators working in 3 separate niches of the illustration industry. Between us, we've clocked up over 70 years of experience and illustration wisdom, and we're here to share it!
You’d love your creative work if only you could find more time to do it, make more money, and 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 community.
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