Sonia Leong 

I'm a comic book artist specialising in Anime/Manga. My first graphic novel was Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (SelfMadeHero). My awards include Young Adult Library Services Association "2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers" and "Best Books for Young Adults 2008" for Romeo and Juliet ; Winner in Tokyopop's first UK Rising Stars of Manga competition (2005/06) and Winner in NEO Magazine's 2005 Manga Competition. I contributed Siren to the Eisner Award-winning Comic Book Tattoo: Tales inspired by Tori Amos (Image Comics) as well as adaptations of Reginald by Saki for the New York Times bestselling Graphic Canon vol.3 and Justice Bao for the Graphic Canon of Crime and Mystery vol.2 (both with Seven Stories Press). I illustrated Marie Curie: A Graphic History of the World's Most Famous Female Scientist (B.E.S. Publishing) and the Manga Life series of self-help comic books (Infinite Ideas), Find True Love and Be Creative. My work appears in Domo: The Manga (Tokyopop/Big Tent), Bravest Warriors: The Search for Catbug (VIZ Media), Doctor Who: The Women Who Lived (BBC Books) and Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown (BBC Books). I illustrate covers for Titan Comics, most notably for Assassin's Creed and Norman. I also work in children's publishing, illustrating the I, Hero series (Hachettes) by Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore, Girls FC series (Walker) by Helena Pielichaty and the Ninja Trilogy (Barrington Stoke) by Chris Bradford (Young Samurai). 

I sometimes work in other fields such as design, film/tv, fashion and advertising, featuring in Wacom-Europe's Manga campaign, the British movie Popcorn (2007), CNN International, BBC News, BBC Sport, BBC Bitesize, CBBC's Britain's Best Young Artist, Channel 4's The IT Crowd and Flowers, various promotional campaigns for Toyota Aygo, GT86 and Toyota Racing, the fashion label Preen by Thornton Bregazzi SS20 collection and Marie Claire Runway. 

I am the Director of Sweatdrop Studios, a UK comic collaborative and independent publisher. My works with Sweatdrop include Once Upon a Time, Love Stuffing, Aya Takeo, A Brush With Magic, and A Spell Of Scarlet as well as chapters in the anthologies Sugardrops, Pink Is For Girls, Drop Dead Monstrous, Talking To Strangers, Telling Tales, Shimmering Drop and Swords, Ships and Suplexes! 
I've authored numerous instructional art books such as Illustration Studio: Drawing Manga Heroes and Heroines, Illustration Studio: Beginning Manga (both with Walter Foster), Manga Your World, Draw Manga: Complete Skills (both with Search Press) and 101 Top Tips from Professional Manga Artists (Barrons). 

 I've been teaching Manga workshops since 2004, beginning with lectures at the Artist 　and Illustrators Magazine Exhibition. Since then, I've spoken at the Hay Festival, Latitude Festival, the British Museum, the British Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Oxford Story Museum and London County Hall, along with many comic convention appearances and school visits around the world. I was a mentor on the Graphic Anthology Programme by Self Made Hero to nurture diverse voices, culminating in the Catalyst anthology. I've exhibited artwork in the Kyoto International Manga Museum, London County Hall, London Cartoon Museum, Japanese Embassy, Manchester URBIS Centre and provided product demonstrations on behalf of Chameleon, Copic, Letraset, Wacom and Promethean.