An Ipswich university student is motivating people and spreading positive messages throughout the world with her hand-drawn illustrations of a giraffe.

Penny Redshaw draws Motivating Giraffe, a yellow and red giraffe, which started as a way to work through her own depression.

The social science student put the illustrations on social media platform Reddit and immediately gained a strong online following.

Each of the drawings includes the giraffe, and occasionally a pig, in different situations along with a motivational quote.

"When people ask me what I do I say 'you know those really lame motivating posters that tell you all your dreams will come true? I do those but with a giraffe'," Ms Redshaw said.

"I was dealing with a bit of depression last year, which I started to get help with, and I approached my GP and went into therapy.

"I actually started it around the same time that this all happened, and it was a way to get myself through with what I was dealing with."

Penny Redshaw is using her illustrations to also discuss mental health. ( Supplied: Penny Redshaw )

The young Queenslander said she chose to draw giraffes when she realised she couldn't draw cats very well.

"I've always liked giraffes as they look really dorky and it was actually going to be a motivating cat at first," Ms Redshaw said.

"The giraffe is probably the worst representation of what a giraffe actually looks like — it's more like a cartoon person with a really long neck.

"People ask me why I don't draw digitally — I prefer to use paper, pencils and markers and then scan them onto the computer."

Each picture is accompanied by a motivational quote or positive message. ( Supplied: Penny Redshaw )

Helping herself while helping others

Ms Redshaw said the drawings had changed her life.

"When I'm having a bad day or a good day I can put something on paper and it's a giraffe, which is actually me," she said.

"This giraffe will tell me 'you're doing a really good job and that you're doing ok and that you're strong and tough'.

"It really does help me and you can tell my mood when I haven't done one in a little while, as it drops a little bit — I draw a new picture and it's like 'I'm glad I got that out'."

With an increase of trolls and negativity on the internet, Ms Redshaw believes the giraffe's positivity is what makes him so popular.

"Then when something nice and sweet pops up people think it's really cool," she said.

'Graf' and his friend the pig spread positive messages to readers and followers on Penny Redshaw's Facebook page. ( Supplied: Penny Redshaw )

The power of positivity

Ms Redshaw said social media users had contacted her from throughout the world telling her that the drawings helped them get through dark times.

"After starting with Reddit, I'm now on Facebook and Instagram too, and it's blown up from just me at home drawing giraffes for myself," she said.

"I get messages from people in countries I've never heard of before thanking me for the giraffes.

"I sent my first parcel to Israel the other day."

A recent successful crowdfunding campaign has enabled the Motivating Giraffe to become a book.

"I didn't have the funds on my own so with Kickstarter in 30 days I raised $7,000 from people online. This enabled me to get 1,200 books printed," Ms Redshaw said.

"It's bizarrely successful — I didn't think of myself as an entrepreneur, but I've had to tell my boss at my part-time job that I can't do any more hours because I'm drawing giraffes.

"I graduate from university at the end of this year, so I'll take the next year off and focus on this; I've set myself a one-year goal."