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HELLO SMA22 AWARD WINNER, LT!

SMA Editorial Dept. SMA Editorial Dept. 18/08/2025 11 min read


PROFILE
Pen Name / Name: LT
Country: Thailand
Age: 32
Social media: Instagram: @lt.draws  X: @DrawsLT
Favorite manga: Umimachi Diary, Silver Spoon, Assassination Classroom
Favorite movie: Lady Bird
Favorite quote: “Are you willing to risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive?”

Entry title: “Suppressed Feelings”
Round: SMA22: “Seized With Rage”
Award: Honorable Mention

“There is no avoiding failing sometimes if you want to succeed. It is just part of the process of growing.”

About SMA

How does it feel to receive a SILENT MANGA AUDITION® award?
I felt very joyous for my work to be recognized, and I was a little surprised too, since so many great works were submitted. To think that someone read my work and enjoyed it is the best feeling in the world.



What was the inspiration behind your awarded work?
I was partially inspired by my own experiences and those of the people around me. I’m someone who always refrains from speaking my mind in the name of keeping the peace, but later I usually feel bad about it.

First, when I learned that the theme was “Rage”, I pondered what rage is and how it forms. People often see rage or anger as a negative emotion, more typical to antagonists. However, I feel like every antagonist has their own reasons and their own story. A lot of times they are just normal people who are pushed to do negative things. So, when writing about rage, I wanted to write about this aspect of it. I wanted to write a story where rage is not the antagonist, but just a person who’s been hurt too many times and can no longer stay quiet. I hope that the story was able to convey my message.

What challenges did you face while making your manga? How did you overcome them?
I struggled to tell the story within the page limit. I know I should have picked a less complex story, but this story means a lot to me, and I really wanted to tell it. My solution was to write the story as compactly as possible, then have a friend read the storyboard to see if he could still understand it. The first couple of times my friend got a little confused with the events in the story, so I fixed the storyboard until he could understand.

READ LT’s SMA22 ENTRY HERE!


About Your Manga

How and when did you start making manga? What do you wish you knew as a beginner? What advice would you give to someone who wants to start drawing manga?
I have been drawing for most of my life and have tried drawing manga casually here and there. However, I only started writing manga seriously with the aim of publication a few months prior to the audition. Before this, I wish I had known that completing a project from start to finish is extremely helpful for your learning process. Even if you know the project is not going to come out perfect, if you push through and finish it anyway, that experience will be extremely valuable.

Do you draw your manga digitally or by hand? What are your go-to digital or analogue tools?
I draw all my manga and illustrations digitally. My tools are my iPad and Apple Pencil. I use Procreate.

What was the first manga you picked up? Is it easy to access manga where you live?
The first manga I read was Rave by Mashima Hiro-sensei. I first saw the anime on TV and it piqued my interest, so I went behind my parents’ backs and bought a few takobon volumes. I’m from Bangkok, where it’s not difficult to buy manga. There used to be a lot of manga shops in areas where there were a lot of tutoring schools. However, there are less now, since more people opt to buy manga online or read manga on applications instead of buying takobon volumes.

Which manga changed your life?
Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama and May Love Be Your Life Long Poetry by Sa-ard.


Which manga character do you most identify with? Why?
It is very hard to choose only one, but if I have to, I would say I relate a lot to Tsukishima from Haukyuu!! in the summer camp arc, when he didn’t want to take volleyball too seriously and said it was  just a club activity. However, in reality, he was scared that if he took it seriously, it would hurt much more when he failed.

I feel like I’ve had the same feeling about drawing for a long time. However, like Tsukishima, I have learned that fear of failing will take you nowhere. There is no avoiding failing sometimes if you want to succeed. It is just part of the process of growing.

What kind of manga do you want to make next?
I want to write manga for my younger self. I read a lot of manga when I was younger. I also had a troubled mind at that age as well. There were some manga that I read back then with characters I could relate to, and that made me feel less alone. I want to write a manga that can make people feel less alone in their struggles.



About You

What do you do when you’re not making manga? How do you relax?
I read manga and books. I sometimes go to the cinema or watch shows on Netflix. I also like walking around the city, exploring places I’ve never been to before, talking to people who I meet in those places, and learning ways of life that are different from my own.


What industry do you work in (if manga making isn’t your primary job)?
I work in the IT industry. However, I am working towards making manga my full-time job.

Where do you see your manga career in five years time?
I would like to make manga a full-time job in 5 years, so I can focus all my energy on writing manga.



What manga making advice would you give to your younger self if you could?
Finish the project, even if it’s not perfect. Talk about your passion with people around you, so they can support you. Every path has obstacles; there is no easy path. The question is whether or not the goal at the end of the path is worth fighting for.

What advice would you give to people entering the SILENT MANGA AUDITION®?
Be true to yourself. Tell your story the way no one else can, and good luck!

Thank you, LT! We’re eagerly awaiting your next manga masterpiece!

The deadline to join SMA23 is October 1st. Enter for a chance to develop your potential as a manga creator with us in Japan! 


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