I'm a professional comic artist and 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 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 Catgirl mascot for Wacom-Europe's Manga campaign. My artwork features prominently in the British movie, Popcorn (2007)and also on the set of Channel 4’s popular sitcom The IT Crowd. I contributed to Comic Book Tattoo (Image Comics), Tales inspired by the musician Tori Amos. I illustrate the Manga Life series of self-help comic books (Infinite Ideas), the first two titles being Find True Love and Be Creative. My work also appears in the Domo: The Manga (Tokyopop/Big Tent).

I have been involved in many instructional art books - I was the Lead Artist for the book Draw Manga (New Holland) by Sweatdrop Studios, a leading UK comic collaborative and independent publisher. My most recent works with Sweatdrop include Once Upon a Time..., Love Stuffing vol.1 and AyaTakeo vol.1, a full-colour comic originally published online.

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 venues such as the Kyoto International Manga Museum, London County Hall, London Cartoon Museum, Japanese Embassy, Manchester URBIS Centre and provided product demonstrations on behalf of Copic, Letraset and Wacom.

My formal biography contains a good summary of my publications, at http://fyredrake.net/Bio-Sonia.pdf