ARTISTIC JOURNEY

Hi, I’m Lobsang Soepa
Illustrator. Storyteller. Dreamer with a stylus.
I was born and raised in Tawang, a remote Himalayan town tucked between India and Tibet—a place where the mountains are old, the monasteries quiet, and the stories often forgotten. I didn’t grow up in the heart of Tibetan culture, nor did I speak much Tibetan at home. Most of my early life was spent in Indian English-medium schools, far away from my roots. I spent some of my most formative years at Sainik School Punglwa, a military boarding school in Nagaland, where I first fell in love with drawing thanks to my friends, especially one who, without any formal training, taught me the basics of art and sparked something in me that never left.
At one point, I dreamed of becoming a pilot in the Indian Air Force. But after failing the medical exam due to poor eyesight, life took a different turn. I studied psychology for a brief time in Bengaluru, but a spontaneous answer at a college fest—“I’d love to be an animator”—changed everything. The very next day, I dropped out and dove headfirst into learning digital art at a local studio. Two years later, I found myself freelancing, working with publishers, illustrating children’s books, and even painting murals for public spaces.
Then COVID hit, and I returned to Tawang. In that quiet, something clicked. I realised I knew far more about Greek gods and Percy Jackson than I did about the rich folk tales of my land. That realisation became the seed of my journey into comic storytelling.
Today, I use comics to preserve, share, and celebrate the underrepresented stories of the Himalayan region, beginning with Khando Drowa Sangmo, a Tibetan folktale close to my heart. I believe in the power of art not just to beautify but to reclaim identity, and my dream is to one day open a creative studio in Tawang—a space where artists and storytellers from the hills can come together to keep our stories alive.

If you’re here, welcome. I hope you find something that makes you feel seen, heard, and inspired.