Helen Stephens chats to Prof. Martin Salisbury - Is your illustration style really yours? When influence turns into imitation 👀✏️

Ever worried your work looks a bit too much like somebody else’s? 😬 This one’s for youuuu.

In this episode, our Helen chats with the brilliant Martin Salisbury about plagiarism. The temptation to borrow a bit too heavily when you’re surrounded by endless beautiful work online is real. Hopefully this conversation helps you fly your own freak flag :)

Timestamps:

00:00 Hello Martin Salisbury
01:00 Instagram has changed creative influence
03:00 Art school before the internet
04:00 Drawing from life and finding your voice
06:00 Start with drawing
07:00 Materials, experimentation and “botching it”
09:00 How publishers and agents fuel sameness
10:00 Confidence, privilege and access
12:00 Competitions rewarding over-influenced work
14:00 Imitation and lack of awareness
16:00 Copycat styles
18:00 Learning from artists without copying
19:00 Taste, culture and creative voice
20:00 Everyday life and visual language
21:00 Sketchbooks and what’s behind polished work
23:00 School art and loss of originality
26:00 Finding your voice matters
29:00 Awkward work feels more alive
30:00 Writing and drawing from your own ideas
31:00 Trends and short-lived careers
33:00 What publishers want
35:00 Ambition
38:00 Helen’s journey and taking time out
43:00 Place and lived experience in your work
44:00 Moving on from imitation
45:00 Martin’s upcoming book

Martin Salisbury is Professor of Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art, where he leads the renowned MA Children's Book Illustration Programme. He has previously chaired the International Jury at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, and been a member of the jury at the Global Illustration Awards in China. Mr Salisbury is the author of a number of books on the practice and theory of illustration, which have been published in numerous languages around the world.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Martin Salisbury on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/profmartinsalisbury/ 

Cambridge School of Art MA in Children’s Book Illustration: https://www.aru.ac.uk/arts-humanities-education-and-social-sciences/cambridge-school-of-art

Martin’s book Illustrator Sketchbooks - https://www.thamesandhudson.com/products/illustrators-sketchbooks?srsltid=AfmBOorX15ljDyYAhbjtRgg0jWBuOL5Gpg0GWh2lMPDwQ5WvkvcGsITj

Martin’s books Children’s Picturebooks and Play Pen - https://www.laurenceking.com/products/childrens-picturebooks-second-edition?srsltid=AfmBOopfucbQXUzJtWZA1WTMWxKntifcuVquG8WpR7vk5GmmSECaHtn0

Find Your Creative Voice: Fly Your Freak Flag with The Good Ship Illustration - https://www.thegoodshipillustration.com/freakflag

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

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