Born and raised in England, Vanessa (or Ness as she is known to family and friends) spent much of her childhood reading books and watching animated TV shows on repeat. Inspired, she spent many years teaching herself how to draw cartoon characters, using her wild imagination and healthy sense of humour to create colourful worlds for them to live in. 

In 1994, despite never having attended art school, Vanessa got her first taste of success after she originally illustrated and co-created the preschool TV show William's Wish Wellingtons. 2 x 13 episode series of the little boy's adventures with his dog and magical wish wellingtons were commissioned by BBC TV and aired across the globe.

Throughout the subsequent years, Vanessa has worked solely or collaborated with like-minded individuals on many TV show concepts for all age demographics - brainstorming ideas, designing the characters, writing or honing presentations and pitching them to the top animation studios in Hollywood or at International animation festivals. One of her preschool creations won a top-10 semi-finalist placement at Ottawa International Animation Festival’s 'Pitch This!' global competition.

As a sideline Vanessa has loaned her imaginative storytelling and design skills to local and online businesses - creating characters or logos to help promote their Early Learning methodologies via various digital media platforms. Past and present character designs for collectible toys, books, games or TV shows in various stages of development, plus examples of previously commissioned work, can be viewed via the gallery. 

If you'd like to have a face-to-face meeting or a Zoom chat with Vanessa about her work, don't be shy, come and say hi!