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But there was yet another little piggy who brought great success to a shy, young Hong Kong artist — Ms Alice Mak Ka-pik
Ms Mak is an illustrator and the creator of the local cartoon icons “Mcmug and Mcdull”.
She said it would be nice if other cartoonists and illustrators regarded her as an illustrator.
“Through my work, some young people may find that the life of an illustrator is fun. I think this would help promote the profession.
“I would be much happier if the readers enjoyed my work and benefited from it,” said Ms Mak.
Ms Mak has liked drawing ever since she was a little kid.
“But I did not receive any formal training, except watching my elder brother taking drawing classes,” said Ms Mak.
Later on she entered the former Hong Kong Polytechnic Institute to take a design course.
At the Institute, she majored in illustration. At that time, there was no profession called illustrator in Hong Kong.
Fortunately, Ms Mak had a chance to meet some foreign illustrators. She even wrote letters to some of the them soliciting their comments on her work.
Later, she went on a trip to Europe and visited a lot of illustrators.
“People can work as well as enjoy their life. This is what life is!” said Ms Mak.
Finally, she made up her mind to become an illustrator.
Some people call her a cartoonist. However, she considers herself an illustrator because she draws only the pictures but does not write the stories.
Ms Mak has been a partner with Mr. Brian Tse Lap-man, a children’s literature writer, for a long time.
Mr. Tse is the writer behind the Mcmug comics, and he is now her husband.
They met when Mr. Tse asked Ms Mak to draw pictures for his stories during a summer job.
But she does not like to talk much about this since she does not want them to project the image of a couple.
“I realised that I do not have the talent to master the stories and the pictures at the same time. So I focus on drawing instead,” she said.
Some people feel that artists should have a sense of mission. But Ms Mak does not feel that way.
“I’m not that kind of person,” she said, jokingly.
Although Ms Mak wants more people to know Mcmug, she is not concerned much about her own popularity.
Said Ms Mak: “I’m a Catholic and I think fame is not that important to me.”
She does not like delivering speeches in the public or being interviewed.
She does not like talking to strangers, either.
In the past, she felt very nervous about having interviews.
Later, she got used to it.
To some extent, she already has gotten bored with interviews because people always ask the same questions. Some people even think that she is unfriendly.
So, she now rejects most interviews.
“People can portray me in whatever way they like in the interview. I think it’s very hypocritical and I hate this.
“Finally, after I have read different interviews and I know what interviews are. So, I have to accept the interviews happily,” said Ms Mak.
Many organisations invite her to give speeches or talks in public. But she rejects as much of these as possible.
“It is very painful for me (to speak in public),” she said, laughing. “Every time I regret blushing when I am giving a speech.”
Though Ms Mak is very satisfied with her current job, she has considered changing to another profession.
Said Ms Mak: “I’ve imagined doing many different jobs. It’s just that I don’t have the ability to do so.”
Still, drawing is a very important part of her life.
“Drawing is a language to me,” said Ms Mak. “If I don't know how to say something to you, I will draw it instead.”
Some artists use their experiences as sources of inspiration.
But Ms Mak said her childhood was plain and ordinary.
“I lived on the 16th floor and my parents did not let me go downstairs to play. Most of the time I just studied, watched television and read comics,” said Ms Mak.
So, Ms Mak thinks that she is an introvert.
“I am quite afraid of drawing pictures of a big crowd,” said Ms Mak, smiling.
“Sometimes I had nightmares when my teacher asked me to draw such kinds of pictures,” said Ms Mak.
As is suggested in her comics, she seldom goes to places other than Causeway Bay, where she works and lives.
“It is a natural thing for me.
“But I know now it’s not that natural to others,” she said.
But she does not think her life is narrow.
“Whether it’s narrow or not depends on what you think,” said Ms Mak.
Many people feel that Mcmug has been commercialised. Ms Mak thinks it is not a bad thing.
“It is the way to protect Mcmug,” she said.
However, some readers do not think so.
She said that some readers dislike the way Mcmug has become too popular and they are no longer “minority readers”.
“For the good and the growth of Mcmug, I must do it.”
To let more people know about Mcmug, Ms Mak and her colleagues recently set up a web site – iyellowbus.com.
“We’re now facing a change in lifestyles,” she said, “Some children may not visit bookstores, but they do visit web sites.
“Moreover, a web site is not limited by national boundaries. People from all over the world now have a chance to know Mcmug.”
Three years ago, Ms Mak and her colleagues set up the Chun Tian Hua Hua Foundation, a government-registered, non-profit charity organisation.
The foundation aims at helping children through raising funds for different organisations.
One of its sponsors is Yellow Bus magazine.
Unfortunately, the foundation is now facing some hardship.
“Some organisations asked us to give them free Mcmug products as gifts to the children.
“The government thinks that we are promoting Mcmug through distributing
these free gifts, so they may not give us a licence next year,” said
Ms Mak.
