Sonia Leong

I'm Sonia Leong and I'm a professional comic artist/illustrator specialising in the Anime/Manga style. My first graphic novel was Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (SelfMadeHero). My awards include Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Reader and Best Books for Young Adults 2008 for Romeo and Juliet ; Winner in Tokyopop's UK Rising Stars of Manga competition (2005/06) and Winner in NEO Magazine's 2005 Manga Competition. I designed the official Catgirl mascot for Wacom-Europe's Manga campaign. My artwork features prominently in the British movie, Popcorn (2007). I contributed to Comic Book Tattoo (Image Comics), Tales inspired by the musician Tori Amos. I've been involved in various art books - I was Lead Artist for the book Draw Manga by Sweatdrop Studios, the leading UK comic collaborative. I'm a core member of the group and my works with Sweatdrop include Once Upon a Time..., Cyborg Butterfly and Satan's Amazon; and in the anthologies Sugardrops, Pink is for Girls and Drop Dead Monstrous.

Currently I'm working with Infinite Ideas on the Manga Life series of self-help comic books, the first two titles being Find True Love and Be Creative. I'm the artist for Aya.Takeo, a full-colour comic published weekly online from April 2007-2010.

I work in a variety of mediums including watercolour, pen and ink, screentone, alcohol colour markers, pencils and computer software. I've exhibited artwork in the Kyoto International Manga Museum, London County Hall, London Cartoon Museum, Japanese Embassy and the Manchester URBIS Centre and provided product demonstrations (on behalf of Copic, Letraset and Wacom).