Kam Mak grew up in New York City's Chinatown. He earned his bachelor of fine arts degree from the School of Visual Arts, and since then he has illustrated book jackets for numerous publishers and taught painting at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

He has also illustrated The Moon of the Monarch Butterflies by Jean Craighead George, The Year of the Panda by Miriam Schlein, and The Dragon Prince by Laurence Yep. Kam Mak lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, son, and daughter.