Sonia Leong is a British award-winning artist and illustrator whose artwork in the field of Japanese-inspired manga has cemented her place in the art scene. Her sensational work inspires many, from being featured in Doctor Who books to Netflix show ‘Flowers’ and countless comics.
“I felt like I hadn’t experienced as much pushback or opposition as I would have done had I been working in a different field. That said, there are still fewer women than men in the comics industry as a whole, and there are still some outdated views from fans and colleagues over what women are capable of drawing and writing,” says Sonia.
Sonia, who was born in Malaysia and lived in Thailand before living in the UK, has an extensive portfolio of artwork which epitomises the powerful cultural intricacies of manga art.
“Culturally, misogyny and racism are back on the rise as a backlash to the more inclusive stories coming out. My response to that is to dismiss such nonsense, continue creating work with diverse characters, making art/stories that make me and my fans happy, and calling out bad behaviour from fans or other creators when I see it.
“I have noticed more diverse body types, eye shapes, skin colours, and hair textures. I think as Manga has become more popular around the world, Manga artists have become more skilled at portraying people from different backgrounds too,” says Sonia.
Manga art is far deeper than visual entertainment due to its roots within the fabric of Japanese culture and East Asian storytelling.
Sonia’s influence transcends beyond her work as she also connects with other aspiring artists through teaching manga workshops for over a decade.
“Ultimately, I’ve always wanted to design characters that my readers fall in love with. To do that, they can’t just look pretty, they need great stories and interesting settings.
“ I like having a bit of artistic license to style them in different ways, which was why I fell in love with Manga in the first place – it’s the perfect mix of gorgeousness with just enough realism to make it work, you can really take your time with the layouts to portray those feelings and emotions,” she says.
Her reach has been widespread as she has also spoken at the British Museum, numerous festivals and several comic book conventions globally.
Her vibrant artwork has also been showcased in numerous museums and venues such as London County Hall and the Kyoto International Manga Museum.
Sonia is now the Director of SweatDrop Studios, which is a publisher and comic collaborative consisting of UK Original English-language manga creators. Visit Sonia Leong’s website to see more of Sonia’s art in depth and some of the projects she’s been involved in.
