Sam was born in Aberdeen to a Scottish father and Malaysian-Chinese mother. She moved to Kuala Lumpur in her teens, studied communication, and began her first career as a copywriter, where she very quickly became interested in creativity as a means of social commentary.
In 2013 she started working on her first comic strip, *Welcome to Agency X*, inspired by her experiences in the ad world. It was picked up by Malaysia’s national daily, The Star, and ran six days a week for a year before being published in a collection by Keropok Comics.
Sam is also the creator of the satirical quote of the day cartoon, *Questionable Quotebook*, published by GoComics every Sunday since 2017.
Before she became a full-time cartoonist, Sam led a team of writers developing case studies for one of the world’s biggest tech companies. She wasn’t allowed to use the word ‘robot’. Today, she is working on her debut graphic novel — about robots.
*SCHOOLBOT 9000* *will be published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin USA.*
Sam is based in England, where she is a member of the British Professional Cartoonists Organisation and represented by Writers House New York. If you need to, you can reach Sam here.

People sometimes ask me…

Questions from university students in the Netherlands, Japan, and England.

What made you get into designing art for graphic novels/comics?

I was working as a copywriter in an advertising agency but I didn’t feel fulfilled creatively. I started making little doodles about my experiences, slowly they turned into cartoons and comics, and then I realised I had more stories that I wanted to tell through comics.

What are, in your opinion, the most important steps to follow when creating a new character?

I don’t think there are chronological steps, but there are key things to keep in mind: expressiveness, originality, personality. That’s how you turn something from a pretty drawing to a relatable character.

What is your design process? (for example: do you first sketch on paper or do you immediately start online? In which programme do you create your illustrations?)

I always start with a script - maybe because I started as a writer! The idea and the writing is the most important part of the process, I need to get the message and the timing right. Then I sketch it out, ink by hand, and scan into Photoshop to colour digitally.

How do you decide in which style you’re going to make your illustration?

I only have one style :-) I don’t want to change myself too much, so the challenge is making sure I never sway from my own style when I draw. I try not to look at other artists’ work too much as I want to stay in my own head.

How do you come up with so many different ideas for your illustrations to showcase a story?

Coming up with ideas can be hard! I need to read a lot and keep up with what is happening in the world, in my community, things that I’m passionate about, like culture and tech. Then I set aside a block of time to write down all my thoughts. Some turn into ideas, some don’t.

Do you have any tips for someone that wants to make illustrations for graphic novels/comics?

Read, watch, and look at all kinds of material you’re interested in, not just art and comics-related stuff. Find artists that to look up to, and keep a book, quote, or poster of theirs on your desk to inspire you while you work. Think beyond just crafting the technical or visual side of it, instead find a way to tell a story through your illustration.