The former St Joseph's Regional College student who graduated in 2013 returned to lead workshops at the school on November 26 and coach keen artists on how to follow their dreams.

In September this year she published her debut book, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ugly Animals. The book contains water colour paintings, drawings and facts of 60 international species of animals known for their 'ugliness'.

READ MORE: Sami Bayly's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ugly Animals hits book stores

"I'm still learning and sharing advice. All I can suggest is that if you have a passion and it's something you want to achieve in life you will find a way to make it happen," said Ms Bayly.

"Email the business you would like to work for, apply for the scholarship you think you might not get and apply for the university degree that you want to do.

"Apply for something that you want to do because you will be doing it for three or four years and it's really important.

"Everyone starts somewhere and you don't have to be amazing to start off.

"For me I can't wait to see in another five or 10 years what my artworks look like again compared to my current ones."

The 23 year-old completed a Natural History Illustration degree and Masters in Fine Art at the University of Newcastle before producing the book with Hachette Children's Books.

During her studies she accumulated around $15,000 in scholarships including as a joint-winner of the 2018 Australian Museum inaugural Australian Scientific Illustration Scholarship.

St Joseph's teacher librarian Karen Bale said students learnt about not just illustration and art but also managing life after school.

"Sami was great in that she covered a whole range of issues such as publishing a book, dealing with publishers, financial management, studying your passion and following your dreams," she said.

"She talked about chasing opportunities and grasping scholarships by taking extra steps.

"I think the students will gain insight from her talks about diversifying her passion into retail and working to design in textiles.

"We do like former students to come back and share what they've achieved but this is probably the most prolific published author we have had."

From the King Vulture to the Whitemargin Unicornfish each scientific entry in Ms Bayly's book contains descriptions, the diet, location or habitat, fun facts and conservation status of the animal.

"During my honours year I decided to explore the correlation between ugly animals and conservation status," said Ms Bayly.

"Early on I always knew that certain animals were favored in the beauty department for fundraising. For example animals like the tiger or the panda receive preferential funding.

"That doesn't correlate to something like the purple pig-nose frog which is really struggling in India. It's very unheard of and does that come down to the fact that it looks hideous?

"Realistically it comes down to the fact that humans are almost scared of things that are ugly or different. We really have to change that or we will beautify the environment, which would be a disaster.

"We need to make the change because all animals offer something to the ecosystem."

Ms Bayly said 'ugly' animals were often characterised by a dark or dreary colour, scaled or slimy skin, disproportionate features, baldness and big noses.

She has been in talks with Fremantle Media regarding a possible television show from the book and is in the process of writing a second untitled book of 'bizarre and intriguing creatures'.

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