We’ve had lots of questions about our upcoming Make Your Mark Bootcamp programme this October and we’re here to help you decide if it’s right for you!

Q: I’m fairly new to illustration – can I still join? 

Absolutely! We encourage emerging creatives, students and recent graduates to get involved – as well as art directors, graphic designers,  teachers and other creatives who are pivoting into illustration. Whether you’re just getting started with your illustration career or you’ve been working as an illustrator for a while and need a boost – the most important thing to know about Make Your Mark Bootcamp is that this is going to stretch you – and that by committing to our six month programme you’ll leave with clarity, focus and renewed confidence, and essential tools to pursue your dream career in illustration.

Q: How are applications assessed?

Make Your Mark Bootcamp is a professional development programme, and as such as expect all artists joining us to evidence a 9/10 committment to their creative practice demonstrated by existing portfolio work, professionalism and industry awareness. We’re not expecting your work to be super polished nor to we expect that you will have worked for any paid clients as yet; however we must stress that this programme is not suitable for complete beginners and you will need to have a certain level of creative skill and working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, Affinity or Procreate to tackle our creative briefs and get the most from the programme.

Q: How will I know if I’ve been accepted onto the programme?

Shortlisting will begin on Tuesday 27th August, and successful applicants will be notified within 2-3 days and invited to enrol via our payment page. Unfortunately due to the volume and standard of applicants we receive it is not possible to respond individually to unsuccessful applicants.

Q: When does Make Your Mark Bootcamp run?

Make Your Mark kicks off on Monday 7th October at 7.00pm with a welcome event, ahead of our first live class on Wednesday 9th October. Make Your Mark runs until Friday 25th April 2025, with an optional add-on to continue the programme on a brand new rolling membership offering in Spring 2025. Further details will be published in February.

Q: When are the live sessions running?

We’ll be updating this section in the coming weeks. Here are preliminary dates for your diary. All timings in UK (BST/GMT).

Key Dates (Zoom + Live Streams)

• Make Your Mark Kick Off Event – Monday 7th October @ 7.00pm
  • Live Sessions each week, alternating between Wednesday’s @ 10.30am & Thursday evenings @ 6pm, commencing Wednesday 9th October.
    
• Industry talks & Creative briefings will be scheduled on Tuesday’s.
• Masterclasses will be hosted on mornings and evenings throughout the programme.
• Group Mentoring Sessions & Weekly Work Check-In’s will run intermittently.

Make Your Mark Bootcamp is delivered live by Inkygoodness founder Lisa Hassell with support from Inkygoodness Collective co-hosts TBA!

Masterclass Sessions (Zoom Webinar)

We’re excited to welcome a brand new panel of speakers & mentors for Make Your Mark Bootcamp this year to inspire your practice, provide valuable insight on core illustration markets, and share their advice for developing your creative practice, crafting passion projects, finding your niche and becoming your most authentic creative self.

Our first confirmed speakers & mentors will be announced in early September.

Our Masterclasses aim to educate, inspire and show you industry level commercial illustration projects; from brief to concept, artwork development and delivery.

In these brand new Masterclasses, our illustrator speakers will discuss their creative practice across key areas of Editorial, Advertising, Branding, Children’s Picture Books, Fashion and Publishing.

Masterclass sessions will also include a Q&A / discussion where you can get all your questions answered by our speakers!

Masterclasses, Panel Talks & module content is exclusive to artists enrolled on Make Your Mark Bootcamp. A selection of Masterclasses with our artist speakers will also be open to members of Inkygoodness Collective. We will not be selling tickets for any sessions.

Q: Who is Make Your Mark Bootcamp not suitable for?

Make Your Mark is not designed for concept artists, photographers, gaming designers or cartoonists. Our courses and challenges are aimed at emerging creatives who want to pursue a professional career as commercial freelance illustrators working for clients across editorial, publishing, advertising and branding.

Q: Do I need to be able to use Adobe Fresco or Adobe Creative Suite?

A basic working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite or Affinity is advisable, however our programme is open to artists and illustrators who work analog too – so please don’t shy away just because you prefer using pencils, gouache or collage.

Artists and illustrators enrolled in Make Your Mark Bootcamp will have inclusive access to Inkygoodness Collective on our Community Membership Plan for 12 months (worth £299!), which includes access to our Creative Resources Hub; a growing library of workshops, industry talks and masterclasses, cheat sheets, digital downloads and mockup guides to support your development.

Q: How much time do I need to set aside?

Our weekly live zoom classes are split between live teaching and online discussion and will run throughout October – April. We’re also hosting six artist masterclasses, four industry talks with art directors, mentoring sessions and daily check-ins. Our full schedule will be published in mid September.

As a rough guide, we recommend allowing for 3-4 hours each week for modules 1-4 which run from 7th October – 12th December and 4-6 hours per week for modules 5-8 which run throughout January – March to tackle our creative briefs and crafting your passion project. Then maybe an extra 1-2 hours for weekly exercises and to apply the learning we’re covering in our weekly classes.

Each zoom session will last for apx 1 hour – 1.5 hours max, and everything is recorded so you don’t need to attend every thing in real time (although we encourage live attendance as much as possible!).

Our live zoom classes will take you through 12 modules and are designed to support your personal and professional development with group discussion and live feedback in a group setting. Each week we will provide you with tools, advice and critique to help you navigate the programme and produce your best work!

Q: Which Mentors are we going to be working with?

We are designing Make Your Mark Bootcamp with emerging creatives in mind, and we are delighted to be joined by a new panel of speakers & mentors for our brand new programme, including illustrators working across editorial, branding, publishing and more!

Our first speakers & mentors will be announced very soon!

Q: What if I can’t make the live sessions? Will they be recorded?

Yes! All zoom classes and masterclasses recorded every week – so no matter if you can attend every session, just a few – or prefer to watch them later – we’ve got you covered!

Videos will stay live even after the programme ends – so you can access the recordings forever.

If you want to join Make Your Mark Bootcamp and know in advance that you can’t attend every live sessions you can let us know before we begin.

Please do still apply for a spot even if the timings of the sessions don’t suit your schedule. With generous hand-in deadlines and feedback available along the way we have designed this programme to ensure you can commit to the programme alongside your full time job, family commitments and hectic schedules. With weekly check-ins , smaller group sessions and lifetime access to the course content you can rest assured there will be time to catch-up if you need to take a slower / self paced approach.

We especially welcome applications from emerging creatives and individuals over the age of 35 who may be pivoting into illustration from other creative careers. We pride ourselves on being as inclusive as possible whilst ensuring artists who are invited to enrol are joining the programme for the right reasons.

Previous cohorts come from a wide range of backgrounds, skill and experience levels and age ranges. Inkygoodness Collective members come from all corners of the globe – united by their shared passion for pursuing a career in illustration.

Everyone enrolled will get access to our private Bootcamp group, hosted inside Inkygoodness Collective where you can join our community and access extra support, workshop recordings, panel talks and articles inside our new Creative Resources Hub.

We can guarantee you will get so much out of the experience!

Q: I’ve only just found out about Make Your Mark Bootcamp! Can I still apply?

Applications for Make Your Mark Bootcamp are open until Wednesday 25th September, and whilst we may extend this, please note spaces are allocated on a first come, first served basis. If you’re keen to get involved we recommend getting your application in as soon as possible to ensure you don’t miss anything 🙂

Q: How many spaces are available on the programme?

We are not capping numbers for enrolment – however not everyone who applies will be offered a space. Make Your Mark Bootcamp will be delivered inside Inkygoodness Collective with artists divided into smaller buddy groups of 8-10 for the duration of the programme for extra support and accountability. We will group artists based on their local timezone with current members mixing with new members.

On enrolment you will be invited to complete our onboarding form to share more details on your current practice, local timezone, and the mentor you’d like to work with.

Q: How much does it cost?

Make Your Mark costs £699. You can pay in full, split the cost or opt for our payment plan option priced at £749 when you are invited to enrol. We accept card payments processed on Stripe, Link and Paypal in US dollars, GBP or Euros. Inkygoodness Collective members qualify for exclusive discounts. Find out more about joining our community here.