Podcast Summary: PANIIIIC! (or don’t...) — Summer Camp Sketchbook Week 5

The Good Ship Illustration
Hosts: Katie Chappell, Helen Stephens, Peggy (Tania Willis)
Date: August 29, 2025

Overview

This episode wraps up The Good Ship Illustration’s Summer Camp Sketchbook mini-series, focusing on the critical theme of “No Panicking.” The trio addresses the common anxieties illustrators face—job insecurity, creative development, financial pressure, and client demands—and offers practical, compassionate advice on finding calm and confidence in the illustration journey. The tone is supportive, frank, and peppered with warm, funny anecdotes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. No Panicking Allowed: The Core Principle

• Katie kicks off by declaring the episode’s theme: “No panicking ever” [00:25].
• The hosts all stress the folly of putting pressure on oneself to make it "immediately" or expecting success overnight, stressing that developing a creative practice is a gentle process.

Peggy:

“You’ve got to start feeding yourself with creativity and inspiration and all those things take time... It’s not really a panicking situation, is it?” [01:34]

2. The Myth of the Sudden Illustrator Career

• Many aspiring illustrators believe quitting their day jobs and jumping in headfirst is necessary. The hosts counter this:

Peggy:

“You could get lucky and be pulling in a full time salary from the get go but that's not really very usual, is it? And there’s no source of shame to be working in a part time job...” [02:23]

• Both Peggy and Katie share how part-time jobs allowed them to pay the bills, avoid desperation, and maintain creative integrity.

Katie:

“That secret thread of power really helped in those early days because...I’m not desperate.” [03:01]

• They use a cat metaphor to explain why not being desperate is attractive (to both cats and illustration clients!).

3. Avoiding Creative Contamination

• Taking on work just for the money can fill a portfolio with work you don’t love—and ultimately have no desire to show.

Peggy:

“You’re going to bin it. You’re not going to show it. You don’t want to put it on your social media. It's wasting your time and creating bad work..." [03:48]

• Better to work outside illustration to pay the bills than fill your creative life with unwanted projects.

4. Reflection on the Mini-Series Lessons

Katie recaps earlier advice:

• Bask in your weirdness
• Draw, draw, draw
• Find creative confidence
• Play and have community [04:34]

These are all positioned as ways to support a calm, steady growth rather than panic.

5. The Importance of Self-Kindness

• Helen compares learning under a kind teacher versus a harsh one, advocating gentleness with oneself.

Helen:

“If you had a really bossy teacher who was mean, I never learned anything. If I had one of those gorgeous teachers... you suddenly become brilliant at that subject.” [05:11]

• Calm and relaxation, not stress, are the best creative fertilizers.

Katie:

“The more you can calm your nervous system down, the more your creativity can come out.” [05:19]

6. Coping with Client and Deadline Pressure

• Katie discusses the heightened stress of quick-turnaround corporate work but keeps perspective:

Katie:

“I’m an illustrator. Nobody’s going to die... It’s important because it’s my career, but it’s not that important.” [06:02]

• Helen and Peggy contrast the difference between project timeframes, emphasizing that while some deadlines are tight and intense, kindness to oneself is always the answer.

7. Action Steps: Personalized Anti-Panic Tactics

• Two approaches to self-reassurance:
  • Write yourself a reassuring note — works for some personalities.
  • For rebels: Write a note that says "PANIC" and refuse to do it, channeling your inner contrarian as motivation. [08:02-08:16]

Helen:

“If you’re like Helen...you can write a big note that just says panic and then you’ll rebel against that. And you won.” [08:13]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Helen on self-kindness:
  “Be kind to yourself whilst doing. Have a word with yourself.” [00:43]
• Katie:
  “It’s like when you’re trying to talk to a cat—you know, when you’re desperate for the cat to love you... See, cats in this metaphor are illustration jobs.” [03:13]
• Helen:
  “Whenever I get stuck on something... I just grab Peggy’s lead and go for a big long walk on the beach... things solve themselves.” [05:40]
• Katie, summing up:
  “Shouting at yourself is not a fun way to get there.” [05:36]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:25 – Episode theme: No panicking
• 01:02–02:40 – Real talk on making the leap, part-time work, and finances
• 03:13–03:48 – Cats as metaphor; why desperation repels good jobs
• 04:22–04:51 – Dangers of taking any client work vs. working outside illustration
• 05:11–05:19 – Gentle teaching, self-kindness
• 06:02–06:26 – Perspective on deadlines, corporate client pressures
• 08:02–08:16 – Actionable anti-panic exercises

Conclusion

The episode ends by encouraging listeners to find the anti-panic technique that fits their personality, to remember they’re not alone, and to keep their creative journey gentle and sustainable. The hosts reaffirm their community’s non-judgmental support, whether or not listeners join the course.

“No panicking allowed at all!” [08:45]