want to ask me something?

This might help! I’ve jotted down some answers to a few common Q’s. If the answer you’re looking for isn’t here, please don’t hesitate to get in touch directly!

  • Depending on my work schedule, the size of the project, the client timeline and the project itself, I am sometimes able/willing to take on small commissions.

    I can’t make any promises but if you have a project in mind, please feel free to email me with the details.

  • I do not typically take on book projects that aren’t signed with a publishing house. However, if you are already signed with a publishing house and you think I might be a good fit for the project, I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to reach out to me or my agency.

  • I mainly create my illustrations digitally using Procreate on my iPad Air. I try to pick brushes which emulate traditional mediums to some degree.

    I’d love to work more with analogue materials and am hoping to incorporate it down the track.

  • I love doing school visits! Whether it's to run a workshop, visit for Book Week, or do a career talk- I'm open to it.

    Feel free to get in touch if you want to chat about this more :)

  • My path to illustration came unexpectedly and with the help of a fair amount of luck I think.

    I've drawn since I could hold a pencil and fell in love with the idea of picture book illustration as a teenager. But I never thought it was something I could feasibly do as a career.

    I didn't study art. I followed my interest in biology and animal welfare down the traditional university pathway.

    Then, in 2022 I was babysitting a 5-year-old girl. She was a vivacious little thing, strutting around the living room in her bright red leotard and tutu. I saw a story unfold in my head and when I got home I drew her. She became the main character in a picture book manuscript (which shall never see the light of day!!). Then, on a whim, I started an Instagram account and posted a few pictures. I honestly didn't think I would keep it up for more than a week. But I did and there were some very lovely people who liked what I was making.

    Only a month or two in, I was contacted by Claire Thompson. She had signed a contract for her debut picture book "Lily The Inventor" and wanted me to illustrate it! I couldn't believe it!

    I was in over my head and illustrated the spreads while also balancing university. I am forever so very grateful to Claire for believing in me and trusting me with her book. We remain good friends to this day. Honestly, I can't say I'm proud of how the illustrations for "Lily" turned out (Claire knows this so I'm sure she won't mind me saying it!) but I know that I couldn't be where I am now without that book!

    After Lily, I was approached by New Frontier Publishing and Affirm Press for whom I have now illustrated a few books. And then I signed with The Bright Agency who now help me get some wonderful international jobs, enabling me to do this full-time.

    Honestly, it seems to me that getting into this business has as much to do with luck and serendipity as it does with hard work. There are so many incredibly talented artists out there. Being picked by a publisher or an agent says less about the worth of your work and more about right-place-right-time.

  • I can’t possibly pick one! I’m always stumbling across new artists creating stunning work, but there are a few people who’s work I constantly come back to.

    From a nostalgic standpoint, Nick Sharratt. He illustrated all the Jacqueline Wilson books I was obsessed as a kid so his illustrations remind me of simpler times. I was so drawn to his work, I think in part because his style looked a little bit like how I drew and it made me realise that I could embrace that. I think when you’re learning to draw as a kid, it can be very easy to get caught up in realism and measuring how “good” or “bad” your drawings are based on how true to reality they turn out. In art classes I felt like I was forcing that approach, while my personal sketchbooks were filled with little characters with dot eyes and imagined backstories. So I do feel as though Nick Sharratt’s work gave me a new perspective, reassurance that my little dot-eyed characters were ok!

    Rebecca Green is one of my absolute favourite illustrators. I’ve followed her work for years and I credit her as the main inspiration for me wanting to get into picture book illustration in the first place! Our styles are different but I think we love drawing similar themes. Her work embraces all the cosiness, sweetness, whimsy and story I also love.

    I have been lucky enough to spend a week at one of Rebecca's workshops in Spain, and getting to watch her paint in person is like seeing magic happen in front of you!

    Briony May Smith is another illustrator who inspires me a lot. I wish she’d been around when I was kid because I just know I would have absolutely devoured her books. I’m a big sucker for tiny detail and gosh does her work have detail! The way she depicts light and shadow as well is just incredible.

    A few other honourable mentions: Freya Blackwood, Beatrix Potter and Genevieve Godbout.

  • It honestly feels a bit surreal to be asked this because I struggle to comprehend that I am no longer an “aspiring” illustrator myself! 

    I didn’t have any formal art education at all. I studied science at university and although I dreamt of illustrating books, I never ever thought I could actually do it. But apparently I could! I think I’d just want more people to know that, at the end of the day, it seems to me like all this stuff is less about training and more about luck, hard work, willingness to learn, and pushing through self-doubt. So if you want to illustrate, just do it. Dive in. Put yourself out there. Don’t wait until you feel “ready”. I started my instagram account with absolutely no expectations. Only a couple of months later, Claire Thompson reached out to me with an offer to illustrate her debut book “Lily the Inventor”. In some ways, I was woefully unprepared! I look back at my early posts and cringe at how awful I think they are. I knew nothing about the industry and I’m still learning on the spot. I’ve had to improve my skills very very quickly. It’s a steep learning curve but a fun one. And it’s totally possible for anyone who wants it.

    I’d also say the biggest thing I’ve learnt along my wiggly path to illustration is to listen to the little voice inside me telling me what she wants. For too long I ignored her in favour of the external voices telling me what I “should” do, which really just led me further and further from the fulfillment and happiness I was so desperately seeking. Follow the path that feels right to you, not the one you think you should follow.

    Plus, if you hate it, you can always change direction!

  • Ahh style. It’s a BIG one. It can feel like the all-encompassing dilemma for artists.

    Honestly, I'm still trying to work it out myself. I think we all are all the time. Restricting yourself to one static style isn't very creative is it? I'm only now learning to give myself the permission to just let my style evolve.

    In saying that though, I think there is a stage when you're trying to escape the realism trap and want to bring personality to your work. That's when it can feel very overwhelming. As children we learn to measure the quality of our drawings by how true to reality they appear. I definitely obsessed over copying photographs and ensuring "perfect" realism for a while. But illustration isn't concerned with reality- it's storytelling. So we must learn to bend the rules we want to bend and find our own unique way of depicting the world.

    I think the key things I've learnt are to keep experimenting to work out what feels comfy, to trust your instincts and the subject matter you love. Don't force styles that don't come naturally (I spent years trying to draw like other artists I saw but then I ended up coming full circle and now my style is actually quite reminiscent of how I used to draw as a kid!).

    It really is just practice, experimentation and patience- as frustrating as that is.

    An exercise that really helped me was to pick illustrations I loved by other artists and then draw them in a different way, experiment with a different style or materials. I think using the work of other artists as references or inspiration is totally ok (so long as you don't share them publicly, especially without sufficiently crediting the inspiration). This way you don't have to spend time deciding what you will draw, giving you all the brain space to decide how you will draw it.

    And again, don't be afraid to let your style evolve- you don't need to land on one look and stick to that forever. Take the pressure off and let yourself play.

  • It really tends to vary depending on the specific publisher.

    So far I have only illustrated books written by other authors, so typically the process starts for me when I am approached by a publishing house or my agent with a project offer. Sometimes (ideally) I receive the manuscript upfront, but other times I will only know a synopsis until after I sign the contract.

    Some clients will be specific with their requirements, providing detailed notes on each spread. In these cases, less creative decisions need to be made on my end and I proceed straight to the sketching phase.

    Other clients provide a loose creative brief and suggested pagination, then let me go wild. I love these jobs where I am allowed so much free rein and creativity. I find this can make for a wonderful collaborative relationship with the editor.

    I will read over the manuscript, play around with pagination and brainstorm illustration notes. Sometimes I can see the characters and their worlds so clearly in my head from the get go- this is always a slightly magical experience. Other times it might take me a bit more time to flesh everything out.

    After a vague plan is in place, I will work on potential colour palettes, character design and visual world building. This might look like creating a vision board, taking myself on research trips out of the house, or sketching various options to run by the editor for an objective opinion.

    This is where storyboarding/thumbnails should probably come in, but in all honestly I will rarely do this unless a client specifically asks for it. I'm quite impatient by this point and just can't wait to see the spreads start to come to life!

    So generally I will jump straight to roughs. It is usually the case that publishers will want to see rough sketches of each spread so they can request any amends or raise any issues before I proceed to colour art.

    Once the roughs are approved, that's when I can start the final spreads.

    Cover design tends to come in towards the second half of the timeline, once we have a solid idea of how the internals will look. In some cases, I double as the book designer which means I will be responsible for typography and graphic design as well as the imagery.

    After everything is in, it's out of my hands and the book goes off to print!

  • I'm afraid I can't really provide much helpful guidance here as my agent actually found me!

    When The Bright Agency approached me on Instagram, I had recently started floating the idea of finding an agent. I had begun emailing a bunch of Australian agencies but never heard anything back. Then, out of the blue, I received a DM from my lovely agent Nicky, met with her over Zoom and signed a contract quite soon after.

    • My iPad and laptop

    • A sketchbook and drawing supplies

    • My glasses- cannot see a thing without them!

    • A to-do list & daily schedule is an absolute must. I won't get a thing done without them!

    • A cup of tea, preferably T2 chai

    • An ever-growing collection of picture books for inspiration

    • A candle or essential oil diffuser

    • My cat Quincy

    • A podcast, youtube video or music going in the background

    • Lots of indoor plants. Most of mine are just dried eucalyptus but it still makes me feel a bit like I'm not just staring at a wall all day!

  • I would LOVE to. I do really enjoy getting to be a part of someone else's story and don't plan on stopping that, but authoring my own book has always been a goal.

    I've written a few drafts here and there but am yet to stumble across an idea that really makes my heart sing.