YOU WOULD have thought that Alice Mak Ka-bik, the creator of Hong Kong's favourite cartoon piglets McMug and McDull, knew all about this particular farm animal.
Not so. Ironically, it was her lack of contact with pigs that prompted the illustrator to start drawing them.
'Many people have cats or dogs for pets, so it seemed more interesting to feature piglets [in my comic strips],' said Mak, who lives in Causeway Bay.
She certainly has made the right decision. Her creations - McDull, his mother Mrs Mc, his cousin McMug and the forgetful teacher Miss Chan - have a huge following now, especially with the movie My Life As McDull being a runaway box-office success last Christmas.
However, commercial success has never topped Mak's list of priorities. The Polytechnic University graduate told Young Post: 'I hope that every McMug and McDull product can radiate a message of love.'
Mak created the piglets 10 years ago. While she is responsible for the drawings, Brian Tse Lap-man, her business partner and husband, takes care of the storylines.