Micro pig turned fashion

Paris Hilton has one, the Beckhams have two and it's been widely reported that the goody bags at the Golden Globe include vouchers for a micro-pig of one's own.

Standing as little as 12 inches high at maturity, these UNsecured loans pocket-sized porcines are the latest celebrity pet craze.

In the UK, at least, the breeder Jane Croft, owner of Little Pig Farm in Cambridgeshire, is the driving force behind bad credit loans the animal's popularity. She has a long waiting list of prospective owners and has enjoyed masses of column inches of coverage in the two years she has been breeding.

"I'm really good at marketing," she says. "They are such great animals - highly intelligent, very clean, contrary to popular belief. I love pigs."

Just like a cat or dog, they can be house-trained, she says, and there are other advantages.

"There is no allergic reaction because they have hair and not fur."

Ever-decreasing piggies through selective breeding

Ms Croft, who has had a range of occupations in her life including taxi driver and veterinary nurse, says she was inspired to start her business by the example of another non-specialised breeder, and by the success of the animals in the US.

The mini-pigs in Ms Croft's care might get as tall as 16-18 inches at maturity but many are shorter. She has one called Moonpig which is a mere 12 inches high and is currently thought to be carrying a litter. Black pigs are less popular with buyers, she says.

The tiny sizes are achieved by taking the smaller pigs from litters and then breeding them, although Ms Croft says she also chooses animals for their colour and health. To get her breeding programme off the ground, she travelled the UK buying small pigs.

But there are some who are not convinced a trend for having pigs as pets is a good thing.

Not the usual farmyard bunch...

Kirsty Bayley, pig herd manager at the Institute for Animal Health, is getting an increasing amount of calls asking about the phenomenon.

"They are farm animals, they shouldn't be kept as pets. They are not overly domesticated. They need to be kept in groups. They are not solitary animals."

Ms Bayley suggests the minimum number for the wellbeing of a group of pigs should be about 10.

There are also concerns that their normal lifestyle will be distorted if they are kept in an ordinary family home.

"Pigs are naturally rooters. They started out as forest animals. If they are kept in a house they are going to be destructive.

"They need to be able to show patterns of natural and normal behaviour. They are not going to get that."

Ms Croft does not agree that the pigs can't be pets, and she says she vets every single potential owner herself.

... but the pigs get on well with dogs, says the breeder

"It is a long term commitment. You can't keep them in the house all the time. They have got to have access to a garden. The ones I have in the house use a catflap. It is not right to keep a pig in a house permanently."

She is also aware of the pig's need not to be alone, and says she always tries to sell them at least in pairs. But she still feels they can thrive in groups smaller than 10.

And having kept pigs for 12 years, she is confident they can happily function as pets. 

Acura Cockapoos

Here at Sherry's Cockapoos we have adorable and affordable Cockapoos. We have Miniature, Mini and Toy Cockapoo Puppies. Looking for a Cockapoo? We have a great selection of Cockapoos Puppies For Sale throughout the year so you can purchase one of our adorable Cockapoos today to be your companion for life. Please visit our Up-Coming Litters page to see when we are planning on our next litter of our adorable Cockapoo Puppies so you can reserve one of our precious cockapoos today. A cockapoo is a good choice for people that sufferers from allergies.

Our goal is to raise healthy, happy, loving, smart and well socialized cockapoos for families looking for a wonderful family pet. Our puppies are raised in our home under foot where they get the best possible care and we work closely with our vet to insure that all puppies are in excellent health unsecured loans to the best of our knowledge. If you would like to see some Cockapoo Pictures please visit our Photo Gallery page to see some of our previous puppies. We have cockapoos in a variety of colors black, chocolate, black and white, red, brown, apricot, buff, sable, phantom and white cockapoos.

We are a reputable breeder of Miniature, Mini and Toy Cockapoos in Fitzgerald, Georgia (Map). We are dedicated Cockapoo Breeders in Georgia. You are bad credit loans always welcome to visit our home and meet our adult dogs and the Cockapoo Puppies. (By Appointment Only)

If you are considering buying a puppy from us please visit our Testimonies and Comments page from families that have already purchase a puppy and see what they have to say about us and our cockapoo puppies and the care we give them. We have a reputation for raising healthy, happy, loving, smart and well socialized puppies.We have sold our adorable cockapoo puppies to happy families that live in Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Connecticut, California, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan and Tennessee. References are always available from our Happy Cockapoo Families and our veterinarian. Just Ask!

You will be very happy with one of our sweet and cuddly little poos, they will still your heart. Purchase a Cockapoo today or from one of our up coming litters to be your companion for life. Your puppy is raised in a clean, comfortable, loving and nurturing home where they get plenty of love and attention. They are spoiled from the time they are born until they go home with you. We are proud of each and every one of our puppies. We have any Cockapoo color you might be looking for chocolate, buff, black, sable, phantom, black and white, apricot, red, brown and white cockapoos. Visit our Cockapoo Colors page to give you an ideal of what some cockapoo puppies will look like.

We raise several designer dogs. We specialize in Cockapoos and Maltipoos. Either one of these designer dogs would be a good choice for people that have allergies and would make you a great family pet.

Tutorial: Create a Stop-Motion Animation Movie using Digital Camera or WebCam

Sometime back, I created a stop-motion animation film with the soft toys of my 2-year old son playing the lead roles. This 19 second movie was done using just a digital still camera unsecured loans (not video camcorder) and Windows Movie Maker, a free video editing software.

If the term "Stop Motion" is new for you, Wikipedia defines it as an animation technique which makes static objects appear to move. The object is moved by very small amounts between individual frames, producing the effect of motion when the film is played back.

To create a stop motion animation, you need a webcam or a basic digital camera (preferably mounted on a tripod for stability) and any video editing bad credit loans software (like Windows Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple iMovie, etc)

Step 1: Fix your camera in front of the subjects (Mickey Mouse & Co. in my case). You can also your webcam mounted on the computer screen and capture still photographs using the keyboard.

Step 2: Visualize the movements and action of the characters in the movie (like what path they would follow, whether they would jump, etc). You may want to write this down as a rough movie script.

Step 3: Once your initial setting is in place, click the first picture. Now move the object(s) by a very small distance (few centimeters) and shoot the next picture. Make sure you don't change the position of your camera.

Repeat the step until all your characters reach the final frame.

Here's are some sample photographs shot for the movie embedded above - Notice how the elephant, dog and Mickey have moved in each of the frames while the bear is sitting still.



Step 4: Open Windows Movie Maker and goto Tools, Options and click the Advanced tab. Change the "Picture Duration" to 0.125 seconds and Transition Duration to 0.25 seconds (both are minimum values).

Now import all your digital photographs into Movie Maker and drag-n-drop them onto the Video Timeline. That's it. Export the video in AVI or WMV format and upload it to YouTube for sharing with your friends.

Bonus Tip: If you like your characters to jump in the stop-motion animation video, attach them to a thin wire and lift the wire a few centimeters in each frame. If the wire is of the same color as the background, it won't be visible in the final movie.

If you have professional video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro, you can further reduce the time duration between still photographs to create smooth animation video without flickers or jerks.

An interview with the man behind Simon’s Cat.

At the time of writing this the UK is acting like a pretty negative place to live. Arguments about the Euro, debates about Poppy burning and of course Aardman, the last real bastion of British animation is rumoured to be leaving the country.

Now… Skwigly isn’t the best platform for me to comment on politics regarding the economy and freedom of speech acts but is it so wrong too see Aardman leaving…. As an opportunity?

Aardman Animations started from very small and humble projects. Morph was one of the first truly great products of stop motion animation and whilst the company has developed to fulfill their dreams of feature length productions… Who are we to get upset if they want to do DFS adverts and move unsecured loans to more financially supporting locations? It just means we can now keep our eyes open for the next generation of British animation icons.

In a time of creative insecurity Skwigly shines the spotlight of hope on some of the most eye-opening animators in the UK today. This brings me seamlessly into my introduction to the creator of the Internet phenomenon Simon’s Cat who’s youtube animations combined have more views than the Bible. OK that’s not even remotely true but you can almost believe it with his popularity. The origin of Simon Tofield’s success is completely self generated and his deceptively simple art style using a readily available software is the reason he is probably one of the most encouraging and inspirational success stories of the millennium.

Simon Tofield

Q. You epitomise the YouTube success story. Did you imagine this kind of result from uploading that first animation?

The first Simon’s Cat film, ‘Cat Man Do’ was actually a learning exercise I set myself in order to learn Flash. It wasn’t part of any grand scheme, and was supposed to be just a one off. I never imagined much would come of it. How it was received, with now over 27 million views on YouTube was a massive surprise.

Q. On average how long does each short take to produce?

On average it takes about 6-7 weeks to do the animation. And then it takes a further week to do the sound. The films aren’t all the same length so the time needed goes up and down.

Q. What were you doing whilst animating that first episode? Were you working or did you invest all your time into the projects?

At the time I was still freelancing. The first episode was just something done to the side in my free time.

Q. The teaming up with sound artist Shrooty Was a match made in heaven… How did you two get involved?

Shrooty is actually a guy called Russell Pay. I’ve known him for years as he works closely with the animation studio TANDEM, which is where I got my first job after graduating from university. I was freelancing at TANDEM when I needed to have sound made for Cat Man Do, so Russell was a natural choice to work with. When we work together, I make the sounds for the cats and other animals, like the hedgehog. Russell produces all the foley, which is backround noises and effects.

Q. Your real life cats have been a lot of the inspiration for the series… And you often attend events like Birmingham NEC’s Supreme Cat Show. Do your cats come with you as celebrities of the feline world?

Haha. They are blissfully unaware of their influence on my animation and the impact those films have made. Even if they did know, I think they’d still prefer to stay home closer to their food and beds!

Q. Even though your animations are based on cat observations, the enormous fan-base of your work isn’t restricted to ‘cat lovers’. Why do you think so many different kinds of people enjoy your work?

Certain types of humour are universal. Simon’s Cat has a lot of visual comedy, which transcends age, sex and even international boundaries. As you know Simon’s Cat has no dialogue, so it relies very much on the body language of the characters. Body language, in animals anyway, is very universal, and understood wherever you are in the world.

Q. You’ve just released your third book Kitten Chaos and unlike the previous two this time it’s more narrative based. Is this a taster of much bigger Plans for the series? Maybe something feature length?

I think the second book also had a strong narrative, but you are correct that the narrative of the books is getting more obvious. There is already an overarching narrative in the series, but that is realised over time as it reveals itself and you learn the relationship between Simon and Simon’s Cat. There are thoughts about making a longer Simon’s Cat, but that’s still in development, and I don’t want to say too much about that until there’s something definite to announce.

Q. Regarding the distinct style you’ve developed who are your biggest inspirations in illustration and animation?

I first got into animation watching Saturday morning cartoons. I know it sounds a bit funny, especially if you go back and watch an episode now, but I really loved Transformers as a kid. Trying to copy the animation of the TV series, and drawing robots was what got me started down the path of animation. Regarding illustration, I’ve always admired the work of Bill Watterson who created Calvin and Hobbes. Also Gary Larson of The Far Side.

Q. You quickly became a figure for the RSPCA with your Simon’s Sister’s dog ‘fed up’ animation and various on-line competitions and sponsorships. How did that come about?

The Simon’s Sister’s Dog film was made after the RSPCA approached me asking if I could help make a film highlighting the problems of pet overfeeding and obesity. The first thought was to use Simon’s Cat, but Simon’s Cat is a bit a too smart to end up letting himself get overfed. So it instead fell to Simon’s Sister’s Dog, who in the books is a bit more of a fall guy, and better for illustrating the point that needed to be made. I’m also the patron of my local cat sanctuary called Stray Cat Rescue. They introduced me to two of my real-life cats, so I felt it important to lend my support to them.

Q. How easy was the transition from creating animations to doing the comic strips for the Mirror?

By the time the Mirror comic opportunity came around I had already two Simon’s Cat books under my belt. They are large books. 240 pages each. So I was already acclimatised to telling stories with just few drawings.

Q. Unlike other animal based comics you don’t have any script. Does this restrict the possibilities of what you can do with the Simon’s Cat stories?

I always draw a rough storyboard for the films. This is essentially my script. There are no words, so it’s like a visual script. I don’t feel lacking words is restrictive at all. Animals speak, but not with words. I still have a massive vocabulary at my disposal, a vocabulary of noises, actions and as I mentioned before, body language.

Q. Your entire career is a positive symbol for animation in the UK as a lot of home grown companies have closed their doors. Do you have any plans for the future to build on your success with a Simon’s Cat Studios?

The Simon’s Cat team is slowly growing as we undertake a wider variety of projects. As well as the films, there are the books, the Mirror comic, merchandise, brand licensing, two iPhone apps, a recently launched second YouTube channel, the Simon’s Cat website and events we attend. If things continue to go well, it will be inevitable that the team will have to continue to grow to match. And by then, well maybe it will warrant naming a studio!

Q. It must be weird describing the title of the series like you’re talking about yourself in third person. Does the cat secretly have a name?

Yes, it’s a bit weird sometimes. But on the whole I’m used to it now. When you hear it enough times, you just associate ‘Simon’s Cat’ with the stuff we make, rather than with it being my name each time. In the first film, Simon’s Cat was based on my real-life cat called Hugh. So in spirit, Simon’s Cat is part Hugh, but in name, he’s just ‘Simon’s Cat’.