When he was about ten or eleven, Elsey met Chris Tucker, a talented Make-up Artist who contributed significant work to films like Star Wars Episode IV, Quest For Fire, Phantom of the Opera, and Elephant Man.

In 1983, at the age of sixteen, Elsey met Baker on the set of the film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes.

After repeated requests for a job, Conway gave Elsey his first break in the industry, putting him to work creating animatronics for the movie Little Shop of Horrors.

In 1999, Elsey was asked to supervise the Australian branch of the Jim Henson's Creature Shop about two months before the series Farscape was launched.

Elsey used the opportunity to create characters puppets and makeups using every technique he could think of, resulting in many intricate and visually stunning alien creatures cult fans came to love.