Saturday, December 14, 2013

M.O.M. - A Comics by Team OK

I made this comics as a submission for a Vietnamese online contest. I did it by myself but under the name of "Team OK" which consists of my best friend DO and me (hence "O-K"), and it took me many days and months. One reason was that I could only do it during my free time, and another reason was that I did it using my tablet for the first time so I was learning along the way. The last time-consuming reason was that, well, the comics is in colors! When I was finally done at 3 AM in the morning, I submitted it with full of hope and went to bed. But the next day I woke up and saw that my submission was badly received - possibly one of the worsts. How sad. But oh well.

So I finally feel like posting it here. The comics has very few words, so I hope you'd be able to enjoy it regardless of your background. Till this very moment, I still feel very proud of this comics, and like it a lot. So here it goes. (clicking on each page will make it larger to read)


Saturday, December 7, 2013

"Aerial Strike" with Tutorial

Some time during last summer I completed an artwork for Arwen. When I asked her what she wanted me to draw for her, she said "a horse". Here is what I did:


Well, close enough. And here I am showing step by step how I did it.

TUTORIAL

Thursday, November 21, 2013

How Many Words in This List That You Know?


How are you doing on your readings in general and more specifically in developing your vocabularies? Recently I started reading a book for my Finance class called The End of Wall Street by Roger Lowenstein. In the very first chapter of the book – a short 6-page prologue, there were many words that I did not know, and I am listing them here:

destitute
somnolent
bulwark
scrutinize
(to) prick
quiescent
laudatory
salient
fervent (adj)
frothy
parlance
umbilical (cord)
placate
carnage
plenitude
opiate
dictum
stupendous

I was so surprised to see so many new words in such a small amount of pages! How is this Roger Lowenstein guy? You would think that while reading a finance book, the only words you would stumble upon are technical terms or lingos. Or maybe I am just bad.
How many words in the list above that you already know?

Monday, July 15, 2013

I Am Bored


It’s nearly midnight right now and I feel bored. I don’t want to do any work; I don’t want to play any game or watch any movie. I don’t even feel like going to bed. What I am to do?

It is by no means that I am running low on tasks. Tasks are always there hanging. They keep urging you to prolong this Life and make it perfect. Yet in the midst of all the to-do’s, occasionally I’d feel terribly bored – like right now at this moment.

I feel so bored, as if all the motivations and meanings in Life have finally decided to leave me for good, so that I would be lonely and sad. There you have it: I am so lonely and am so sad. I feel hollow and vain like a make-believe fortune cookie, or like a teenager yearning for love and care of a parent. I have been without a family for so long, have been wandering to the point of not having a place to claim my own. Sure, someday I’ll settle down somewhere and call it home. But isn't it extremely painful to have to create it yourself because you have none? I am so tired, and I am bored of being tired.

I have stopped blogging for so long it scares me to come back. This blog is a part of who I am, a humble way for me to serve God, and a place I can take refuge. Maybe that’s why I am complaining: it does feel like home when you can stop caring and start whining and no one will judge.

I am back.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

An Duong Vuong


An Duong Vuong, 2013 by DK-Gm
Silk Art
My first surreal attempt

An Dương Vương was a Vietnamese ancient king (257-207 BC) whose life was eventful and memorable. He built the spiral-shape three-layered fortress to protect the capital city of Co Loa. However, the son-in-law betrayed him, and the king failed to prevent his country to be invaded.

This piece portrays the king's tormented soul. I hope you'd enjoy it.


Friday, January 18, 2013

A Story on Sunday



“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”
- Exod 20:8 (NIV)

It was another Sunday, and I was at church when I learned that our study group will discontinue by the end of the month. That’s too bad since it was hard to find a good Bible study group and I really enjoyed this class. “Oh well, what can I do?” - I said.

Then after the service, Arwen felt hungry and she was a bit grumpy and I wasn’t very happy about it. Why do we tend to be unhappy on Sundays?

While driving home, I decided that if the day was crappy, what I could do was to get many things done. I washed the dishes, and right after lunch I started doing laundry. After all, by the end of the day, maybe I would feel better with myself being productive.

The snow just now melted, leaving the soil in front of the laundry place soggy and wet. As I was carrying the huge laundry basket I stepped on this soil and it felt like quicksand. I quickly stepped back but it was too late: my proud Nike shoes got all the dirt they could take. Great, now the car became dirty when I got in, and the apartment also got dirty when I came inside. At least I didn’t drop the laundry.

Then I drove to the laundry place again to put the clothes into the dryer. When I came out of the car my little ice shovel scratched my leg it hurt so bad. I wanted to cry.

But it was Sunday, and my duty as a Christian was to try to be positive. So I braced myself out of the house one more time to get the laundry which should now be dried. I just needed to get the laundry, then maybe I could take Arwen to the local antique shop called “Those Were The Days”. She wanted to go there, so we might have some fun and be happy.

I turned my car key, and the engine sounded extra-loudly and there were strange noises. I decided to turn it off. And here the showdown happened. I took the key out of the ignition the machine did not stop(!). I tried opening the hood and saw some belt still spinning really hard. I did not know what to do. I thought of calling 9-1-1 but it might be too late. The car might explode right there and I might not survive. So I dashed to the neighbor next door for help. While I was knocking the car stopped.

So at least it did not explode. I tried to get in and turn it on, but nothing at all happened. No clicking sound. No light turning on. Nothing. The car is as dead as soup. It was all too quiet.

I had to walk to carry the laundry home. And I couldn’t take Arwen to “Those Were The Days”.

So my question was: I was just trying to do chores, why all of this had to happen to me?


Site note: This story happened 2 weeks ago, and up until now we still haven’t found another car to buy yet. The weather is cold, and walking to class is tough, which makes it altogether more unfortunate. 

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Origami Extreme - Part 10!!!



Here I start a new year with a BAM: A brand new Origami collection!!! The collection this time is about animals, a little bit of this and that. All the models are from John Montroll’s Animal Origami for the Enthusiast (1985). It’s a wonderful book filled with detailed diagrams of models ranging from simple to pretty complicated. Mr. Montroll’s models are all folded by one uncut square, and that’s why he’s my favorite. I really enjoyed folding these models. Bluebell once again helped with the title picture.

PART 10: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

FOX by John Montroll – one of my favorites. When I was little I memorized this dude.



BEAR by John Montroll – He is all white, maybe a polar bear. SAVE the polar bears!!!


OWL by John Montroll – Silent in the dark: are you a dark knight too?


WALRUS & SEA LION by John Montroll – I combine these two because they are quite similar. Maybe one has trunks(?) and one doesn’t?


GIRAFFE by John Montroll – Giraffes  are fascinating creatures. I think of them more than just long-neck deer.


KANGAROO by John Montroll – This guy is also fun. Vietnamese people call him “a mouse with a bag”.


ELEPHANT by John Montroll – This model turned out to be very cute! It has become a gift to a good friend of Arwen.


ANTELOPE by John Montroll – The most complicated model of the collection. I am quite satisfied with the result. It’s also Arwen’s favorite. (That’s why she is holding it in the pictures).


ANGELFISH by John Montroll – Such a fancy name for a simple model. Matter not! When they are many they can still be impressive! : )





And this is it for this Origami collection! I hope you enjoy this series, because I really do. Thank you all for reading this post. Let me know which model you like the best!

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