Episode cover
đź’° How to protect your time, energy and income as an illustrator
June 27, 2025 · 17 min

“Can you just do it for free?” NO. In this week’s episode, we’re talking about working for free, how to say no without guilt, and why having nice strong boundaries won't ruin your career (we promise). 

Tania shares a BRILLIANT script for saying no to unpaid work. Thank you Taniasan, we luv ya.

Other good bits of note:

How to stop feeling bad about saying no to cheeky requestsHow charity auctions can be a smarter way to give backFree pitching: where to draw the lineThat time Katie backtracked on a call (and the world didn't end)What to say when a client demands an answer right nowwwwThe biggest myth of all: “If you say no, they’ll never ask again”

Timestamps: 00:00 – Biscuits first. We have our priorities in order 🤣 01:00 – “How do I say no to free work… nicely?” 02:30 – Quotas, boundaries, and rude assumptions 04:00 – Saying no to friends and students 06:00 – Turning FAQs into blog content 07:00 – A better way to support charities (without giving away your time) 08:00 – “I used to worry people wouldn’t like me if I said no…” 10:00 – Paid development work in picture books: what’s normal? 12:00 – The pitch trap and how to avoid it 13:00 – Katie’s mural pricing wobble (and recovery!) 14:00 – The power of taking your time to decide 15:00 – You’re not being too picky. You’re just not people-pleasing anymore! 16:00 – On "playing": why your language matters

Oh! While you're here...

You can join the Picture Book course here: https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/PB

Taraaa,

 x Good Ship

Come and say hello! ✏️ @thegoodshipillustration🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.comp.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙