I first knew I wanted to draw pictures for the rest of my life when I was around 6, though admittedly this included several years of wanting to draw princesses at Disney, and several more of wanting to draw anything at Disney. However, I don't think my 6-year-old self would be very unhappy at the way things have worked out so far.

I like to think I'm still somewhere at the beginning of my career, and have a lot to learn. Starting at Weta Workshop when I was 18 was the best training I could have received in the industry, and enabled me to experiment and develop skills in many areas of illustration and conceptual art. But more than that, I was able to be part of a group of creatives that never failed to inspire and include me, and from whom I learned how to be a working artist, albeit a quirky one.

If the people in my life didn't stop me, I'd put almost anything on hold for a painting I'm in the middle of. It is an all-consuming focus that is hard to break; from getting the idea, to trying to make it come out of my head in all its imagined glory. I still haven't got the latter bit right, but I'm working on it. I am disappointed if I don't make some kind of improvement with each new drawing, and I'm driven to keep going until I have. Even though I use mostly digital methods, with programs capable of dozens of interesting techniques, I like to keep it simple, and use minimal amounts of layers and tools. Or, I may just be lazy.

I do enjoy building layers of opaque colours though, as well as adding richness with various texture and pattern stamps. I've always been interested in costume and character, and how ordinary things can be spectacular when the lighting is right. Then again, I don't like thinking about ordinary things too much if I can help it - and maybe my paintings reflect the fact that I live in an impractical, cloudy, fairytale world most of the time.