Comic artist Nguyen Thanh Phong from Hanoi came first with one of the Special Jury Prizes for best artworks at the Asian Youth Animation & Comics Contest 2011 held from August 26 to 29 in Guiyang, Guizhou, China.
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| Nguyen Thanh Phong |
With his comic “Nguoi hoa ho” or “Man-turned-tiger”, Phong was awarded Best Comics Strips and a cash prize of CNY10,000 ($1,500).
Now in its fifth year, the Asian Youth Animation & Comics Contest, themed “Green Cartoon, Creative Future” this year dedicates to bringing in young Asian comic talents from all over the world and has attracted hundreds of entries from 70 countries and territories.
Besides competitions, industry promotion activities, discussion forums and workshops were parts of the festival.
Born in 1985 in Hanoi, Hai Phong studied fine art at the University of Fine Art (Hanoi) but has chosen to pursue comics and animation since he was a student.
In 2010, Phong’s “Bicof stories” got published in “Liquid City”, a Southeast Asian comic collection featuring artworks of outstanding artists in the region.
The collection’s prime mover is Sonny Liew, a Malaysian who in 2007 was nominated for an Eisner Award — the comic-book equivalent of an Oscar, Time reported earlier this year.
Phong has also represented Vietnam at many international comic festivals such as the Spanish Espai Cromatic or the Korean Buchoen festival.
Below are some of Phong\'s artworks:
