Bootcamp 8-Month Creative Residency – Applications Open for 2027
An 8-Month Creative Residency for Illustrators Ready to Make Their Next Big Creative Leap.
The Inkygoodness Bootcamp Residency is an immersive creative experience designed for illustrators who want more than tutorials and short courses.
Over 8 months, you’ll develop your creative voice, work on commercial briefs inspired by real-world commissions, and create a signature project that showcases who you are as an illustrator, culminating in an industry-ready portfolio ready to pitch.
This is a studio experience built around mentorship, accountability, community and professional practice — giving you the time and support to develop both your craft and your career.
Eight months. Four phases. One major creative leap.
Across the residency, you’ll:
- Strengthen your creative voice and develop a more distinctive illustration practice.
- Build an industry-ready portfolio through commercial briefs and a signature passion project.
- Develop the confidence and career strategy to position your work and pursue new opportunities.
You’ll learn alongside an ambitious community of illustrators, supported by internationally recognised artists, mentors and creative industry professionals through live workshops, critiques, industry Q&As and honest conversations about building a creative career today.
Ready for your next creative leap? Apply for 2027
Bootcamp Alumni: Luke McConkey – Represented by Handsome Frank
An 8-Month Creative Residency to Push Your Practice & Career Further
Phase 1 – Creative Direction | February
Strengthen your creative direction, push beyond familiar ways of working and build the confidence, habits and momentum to take your practice further.
Creative Voice / Values / Mindset
Phase 2 – Commercial Illustration Lab | March – May
Create ambitious, commercially relevant work through industry-inspired briefs spanning editorial, branding, advertising, fashion, motion and culture.
Industry-Led Briefs / Ambitious Portfolio Work / Commercial Insight
Phase 3 – Passion Project Residency | June – July
Develop an ambitious signature project that pushes your practice into new territory — supported by expert mentoring, studio critiques and personalised feedback.
Signature Project / Creative Direction / Portfolio Impact
Phase 4 – Portfolio & Industry Launch | September
Refine your portfolio, sharpen your positioning and build a clear strategy to take your work — and career — into its next chapter.
Portfolio Positioning / Professional Practice / Career Strategy
Bootcamp Alumni: Craig Boylan – Represented by Making Pictures
Designed For Real Creative Growth
This isn’t about rushing through projects.
It’s about developing sustainable creative habits, producing your strongest work, and building the confidence to create consistently long after Bootcamp finishes.
We’ve introduced a dedicated Summer Studio Break, giving you time to refine projects, reflect on feedback, recharge creatively and continue developing your portfolio without the pressure of new lessons or deadlines.
Because lasting growth needs space.
Learn from internationally recognised illustrators and leading creative industry professionals
Each year, we bring together leading illustrators, Art Directors, agents and creative industry experts to share their process, expertise and honest industry insight. Alongside Inkygoodness Founder Lisa Hassell, our guest faculty will lead masterclasses, industry briefs, Q&As and critiques — helping you push your work and portfolio further..
Our full 2027 line-up will be announced throughout September & October.
Previous guest speakers and partners include: The New York Times • The Atlantic • New York Magazine • HOW&HOW • Oat Agency • Creative Review • Frankie Magazine • Vault49 • Animade • The Drawing Arm • and many more!
Meet Your 2027 Mentors
First announced: Supermundane (Rob Lowe) — internationally acclaimed artist and illustrator, joining us for our Culture, Public Art & Experiences phase.
More guest mentors + industry experts to be revealed soon!
Who It’s For
This Residency Is For You If…
- You’re ready to refine your creative voice and make more distinctive work.
- You want to elevate your portfolio and attract more ambitious opportunities.
- You’re looking for structure, challenge and expert mentorship to push your practice further.
- You want to strengthen the creative and commercial skills behind a sustainable illustration career.
- You want to grow alongside an ambitious community of illustrators who are serious about their next step.
Whether you’re refining your creative direction, repositioning your portfolio or ready to push your practice into new territory — Bootcamp will help you strengthen your creative voice, create ambitious new work and build a portfolio that reflects where you want your career to go next.
8 Months to Push Your Practice Further
Across eight months, you’ll refine your creative voice, create ambitious new work and elevate your portfolio — while developing the industry insight and career strategy to take your practice further.
Here’s where we’ll take your practice next:
- Advance Your Career – Pursue bigger, better-fit opportunities.
- Learn from Industry Leaders – Gain insight from leading creatives and commissioners
- Elevate Your Portfolio – Build a distinctive body of commercially relevant work.
- Expand Your Practice – Tackle ambitious briefs across multiple sectors.
- Refine Your Creative Voice – Strengthen what makes your work unmistakably yours.
Where Bootcamp Will Take You
You’ll Leave the Residency With:
- A more distinctive creative voice and greater confidence in your work.
- An ambitious signature project that showcases what you want to be known for.
- An elevated portfolio built for where you want to go next.
- Sharper professional skills for clients, teams and bigger commissions
- Greater commercial insight to grow a sustainable illustration career.
You’ll finish with a stronger, more distinctive portfolio, greater clarity on your creative direction and the tools to position your work for bigger, better-fit opportunities.
Inside the Residency
Duration: 8 months + summer break | Format: Live sessions + guided projects
Inside the course you’ll get:
Live Workshops & Mentoring – Learn directly from leading illustrators and mentors.
Industry-Inspired Briefs – Create ambitious work across multiple creative sectors.
Expert Creative Feedback – Push your ideas and elevate your work..
Industry Access – Gain insight from Art Directors, agents and commissioners.
Creative Community – Connect, share and grow alongside a global cohort.
Portfolio Critiques – Get professional feedback directly from industry experts.
Built for the Future of Illustration
The illustration industry is constantly evolving — and building a sustainable creative career means being ready to evolve with it.
Throughout Bootcamp, we’ll help you develop the creative thinking, adaptability and commercial awareness to navigate a changing industry, while strengthening what makes your work distinctive: your ideas, storytelling, visual voice and personal perspective.
We’ll explore the shifts shaping illustration today — from changing ways of working and emerging opportunities to AI, copyright and authorship — while keeping the focus firmly on your creative development and where you want your career to go next.
This isn’t simply about becoming a better illustrator.
It’s about becoming a more confident, resilient and commercially aware creative — with stronger work, clearer direction and the tools to create opportunities for yourself.
Meet Your Creative Coach
I’m Lisa Hassell, founder of Inkygoodness and your creative coach throughout Bootcamp.
I created Bootcamp to give illustrators the structure, mentorship, industry insight and creative direction to push their practice and career further.
Across eight months, I’ll help you refine your creative voice, create more ambitious work, elevate your portfolio and get clearer on what you want to be known for — while developing the commercial insight to position your work and pursue new opportunities.
This is about more than becoming a better illustrator. It’s about building a distinctive, resilient and commercially relevant creative practice that can grow with you.
Invest in Your Creative Growth
Bootcamp is an 8-month investment in your creative practice, portfolio and career, with mentorship, feedback and industry access throughout.
Full Residency: £999
Early applicants can access preferential pricing, with flexible ways to pay — pay in full, spread the cost in monthly instalments, or secure your place with a £199 deposit and pause payments until January.
Apply to join our 2027 residency now
Inkygoodness Bootcamp begins Monday 25th January 2027.
Applications are now open for illustrators, artists and creatives worldwide. Shortlisting commences in late July and runs throughout Autumn. Early Bird packages available to those who enrol before 30th September.
Our first guest speakers and mentors will be announced in early October.
We can’t wait to welcome the next cohort!