The Good Ship Illustration
Episode: Instagram Is Not Your Portfolio (PHEW!)
Release Date: March 6, 2026
Hosts: Helen Stephens, Katie Chappell, Tania Willis
Special Guest: Sam
Overview
In this episode, the crew of The Good Ship Illustration explore the critical distinction between Instagram and a professional artist’s portfolio. With warmth, wisdom, and plenty of industry anecdotes, Helen, Tanya, and Sam chat about the temptation—and pitfalls—of treating Instagram as a portfolio, the evolving role of social media for illustrators, and strategies for using digital platforms without burning out. Key themes include the importance of owning your online presence, balancing personality and professionalism, and redefining success beyond follower counts.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Instagram vs. Portfolio: Core Differences
[00:28–01:56]
- Tanya highlights how many illustrators have built entire careers via Instagram, sometimes without a website.
- The hosts reminisce about when it was easier to “grow a career” on the platform, but note that the landscape and algorithm have since changed significantly.
- Tanya: “There are a lot of illustrators without a website folio” [00:46]
- Helen points out the risk of relying on a platform you don’t own: “If you’re relying on that as your portfolio, it’s probably good to start with…but you’ve got to move to something you actually own.” [01:56]
2. The Value of a Curated Website Portfolio
[01:56–03:16]
- The group agrees: Instagram is great for showing process, personality, and community, but the website portfolio remains the “curated” professional showcase.
- “Imagine trying to make a folio on Instagram, but Instagram at the same time want you to post almost every day and you’re—well, you couldn’t keep the work quality up.” —Helen [01:56]
3. 360° View: Capital Virtue and Artist Identity
[02:34–03:37]
- Sam introduces Capital Virtue (by Jackie Winters Agency) as an example of a site that gives a whole picture of artists (videos, interviews, work, follower counts).
- The hosts discuss how showing “the 360 of the artist” humanizes illustrators and builds trust.
- “There’s so much power in showing your human face, isn’t there?” —Sam [04:58]
4. Balance: What to Share on Instagram?
[03:16–04:58]
- Tanya emphasizes that if artists treat Instagram as a folio, it becomes immense pressure. Instead, it works best as an “all-round picture of you as a person.”
- Helen: “It’s finding that balance, isn’t it?...publishers or art directors don’t want to plow through loads of pictures of your dog or the food that you’re eating.”
5. Face and Personality—Why It Matters
[04:58–05:52]
- Putting a face to your name on Instagram builds trust and connection—“If you have a totally faceless account, you can do it, but it’s so much harder for people to get to know you and like you and trust you.” —Sam [04:58]
- The hosts stress that being a “content creator” is a separate job from being an illustrator; not everyone wants to do both.
6. Social Media Burnout & Consistency Myths
[05:52–06:52]
- Helen rebels against the perceived need for constant posting:
“I think I’m the test pilot for doing nothing for eight months and then posting a flurry of ten posts in a week…It seems to be okay.” [05:52] - Tanya: “And you don’t need to be held hostage to it because you’ve got a portfolio on your website that looks incredible.” [06:25]
7. Who’s Your Audience? Clients vs. Peers
[06:52–10:09]
-
Sam confesses to running a secret “folio account” that rarely gets used, highlighting confusion about audience targeting.
-
Discussion on how most Instagram followers are other illustrators—not clients. Tanya reframes this as an opportunity:
“If you can get those people from your Instagram account onto a mailing list and then you have your online shop—brilliant. Illustrators love other illustrators’ work. It’s really good.” [09:26] -
Helen: “Other illustrators are effectively your champions…they boost your visibility.” [10:09]
8. Generational Shifts & The Changing Industry
[10:09–12:57]
- The hosts reflect on how illustrators’ routes to an audience have changed—once gatekept by galleries, now accessible via online shops and competitions.
- “You had to pay to be in [the annuals] and all the colors would look wrong and you were beside another illustrator whose work you hated and make yours look bad.” —Tanya [14:35]
9. Do You Need Social Media at All?
[13:47–14:35]
- The panel speculates about building a career without social media:
“You can certainly have a good portfolio, [00:38] whether anyone wants to find it.” —Helen - Social media is seen as a “way in”—not the whole journey.
10. Portfolio Alternatives: Substack, Books, and Beyond
[14:49–16:17]
- Tanya explains that once established, published books can act as a living portfolio, while for others, a curated online folio is vital to attract new clients.
- Substack and email lists offer more control and a slower, more curated way to present your work.
- “The idea of having your work out in the world as books, like permanent portfolios, mini portfolio scouts scattered around bookshops…” —Helen [16:09]
11. Competitions and Other Opportunities
[17:08–18:13]
- Annual competitions like World Illustration Awards and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair provide different, often more controlled, ways to get your work in front of publishers and art directors.
12. Final Thoughts: Instagram’s Role & Advice for Artists
[19:19–20:34]
-
Tanya advises: curate your portfolio, post on Instagram only as much as is healthy, and don’t sacrifice quality or energy for quantity.
-
“Don’t put in anything that you don’t like because the publishers will definitely look at that and say, ‘Can we have more of that?’” —Tanya [19:33]
-
Helen shares newfound excitement over learning to do “edits” (short video clips), showing how digital skills and tools keep evolving for artists.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Instagram’s Transience:
“I just don’t want to be held hostage to that stupid rule of the only way this is going to work is if you commit to me. I don’t want [that].”
—Helen [05:52] -
On Audience Value:
“If you can get those people from your Instagram onto a mailing list and then you have an online shop—brilliant. Illustrators love other illustrators’ work.”
—Tanya [09:26] -
On Social Media Burnout:
“So many illustrators who’ve done what they’ve been told to do in order to get the profile, to get themselves work, and then just collapsed and then disappeared off Instagram for six months... I’ll try again. But it’s been really tough on illustrators.”
—Helen [13:08] -
On Gatekeepers and Change:
“If you wanted to sell your work, you had the gatekeeper of a gallery to say yay or nay. And there were very few pickings for illustrators because the big fine art illustration divide still existed. And it was really clear cut.”
—Helen [11:57] -
On Presenting Yourself:
“There’s so much power in showing your human face, isn’t there? Because if you have a totally faceless account... it’s so much harder for people to get to know you and like you and trust you.”
—Sam [04:58]
Key Timestamps
- 00:28 — Opening chat: cozy winter vibes; introducing Instagram as the discussion topic
- 01:11 — Remembering when Instagram was "good"; algorithm shifts
- 01:56 — “You don’t own Instagram”: risks of relying on platforms
- 02:34 — Introducing Capital Virtue as a 360° showcase example
- 04:58 — The importance of showing your face and personality
- 05:52 — Instagram posting pressure & Helen’s “flurry” method
- 06:52 — Who’s your audience on Instagram?
- 09:26 — Value of industry peers as followers
- 10:09 — Social media as a new, organic way to build your profile
- 11:57 — The old gallery gatekeeper model
- 14:35 — The frustrations of being in printed annuals
- 16:09 — Books as a living, distributed portfolio
- 19:25 — Final takeaway: “Don’t rely on [Instagram] completely—know what you want to achieve.”
- 20:04 — Helen gets excited about learning digital editing
- 20:30 — How to address the world on Instagram (as if FaceTiming your mum)
Tone & Style
Lighthearted, supportive, and full of real talk from established practitioners; the hosts balance practical advice with encouragement for illustrators to chart their own course—without succumbing to the pressures of social media perfectionism.
Takeaway:
Instagram is a great community and visibility tool, not a sustainable substitute for a curated portfolio or owned platform. Know your goals, set healthy boundaries, and remember: “You’re not alone!”