the Pig Pen

the Pig pen
A farm wouldn’t be complete without a pen of curly-tailed pigs.
Here are a couple of breeds that are especially fun to make.
Make this pig shed,
page XXX
Gloucestershire Old
Spot Hog, pages XX-XX
American Yorkshire Sow
& Baby Pigs, pages XX-XX
The pig pen 7

Gloucestershire Old Spot Hog
Mostly white with distinctive black patches, this breed
of hog is easy to spot. Unlike the Yorkshires, Old
Spots are known for producing lard, and they have big
floppy ears that often cover their eyes. But they can
hear very well and are great at rooting up food. In fact,
some people call them “orchard pigs” because they
were traditionally raised in English pastures where
they fed on apples that dropped from the trees.
What You Need:
**
Pig templates (from the
back of the book)
**
Craft paints: white,
black, and gray
1 Pop out the two templates you need and
set them face-to-face so that you are sure to paint the
correct sides.
**
Small sponge (preferably
a synthetic craft sponge)
**
Pink or black scrap craft
paper for the tail
Make sure you leave some
pink showing through
2 Paint the coat. Tear a small
piece (about the size of a quarter)
from your sponge and press it in
some white paint. Practice blotting
the paint on scrap paper to make
blotches. Once you have the hang
of it, sponge paint a white undercoat
on the template pieces leaving some
pink showing through.
When the white paint is dry, use
another piece of sponge to add a few
black patches. Let this layer of paint
dry before you go to the next step.
If you end up with too many dark
spots, just sponge on more white.
Did you know that pigs get sunburns
Rolling in the mud helps block their
skin from the sun’s rays.
8 The pig pen

3 Add Shading. To make
the pig look three dimensional
and more lifelike, add
some shading. Dilute a little
gray paint with an equal
amount of water. Brush it on
the far legs, behind the ears,
and on portions of the underbelly
and neck.
4 Make a pig tail. See
the directions in the box
below for making a curly
tail for your pig. Use pink or
black paper.
5 Make a stand and
Assemble your pig.
Follow the steps on page XX
to finish putting your pig
together.
Make Tails for Your Pigs
1 For each of the adult pigs’ tails, cut a ¼- by
3-inch strip from craft paper that’s close in
color to the template. For the baby pigs, use
slightly thinner and shorter strips. Trim the
end into a rounded point.
2 Wind the strip around the handle of a paintbrush
to curl it.
3 Use a dab of tacky glue or a glue dot to
attach the base of the tail to the upainted
side of one of the two template pieces.
3"
ADULT ¼"
2"
BABY ¼"
glue to unpainted
side of template
wrap around your
paintbrush handle
to curl
The pig pen 9

American Yorkshire Sow & Baby Pigs
With its pinkish white body, small upright ears, and long snout,
the American Yorkshire is one of the most popular bacon breeds
of pig. Known for producing lean meat, its body is longer and
more muscular than most other breeds, and a full grown sow
can weigh as much as 500 pounds. Yorkshires make excellent
mothers and usually have litters of 13 or more piglets.
1 Pop out the two templates you need for
each pig from the back of the book, and set each pair
face-to-face so that you are sure to paint the right sides.
What You Need:
**
Pig templates (from
the back of the book)
**
Craft paints: pink, brown,
black, and white
**
Small sponge (preferably
a synthetic craft sponge)
**
Pink scrap craft paper
for tails
2 Paint the pigs. You’ll need a small paintbrush and a fine-tipped marker.
••
Use pink paint to fill in the noses
and inner ears of all the pigs and
the open mouth of the squealing
baby pig.
••
Use a slightly darker pink or a
shade of tan to paint the outer
ears and nostrils.
••
With a fine-tipped marker,
darken the splits in the hooves.
••
Fill in the sow’s and the baby
pigs’ eyes with black paint or
a fine-tipped marker. Once the
paint dries, add a glint to each of
the sow’s eyes by using the tip of
a toothpick to apply a tiny dot of
white paint.
10 The pig pen
add a
glint to
sow’s
eyes
fill the open
mouth of
squealing pig
darken splits
in hooves
Tip: For small areas, dip only
the very tip of the brush into the
paint and then apply the paint
to the paper in tiny dabs. Or, you
can use a fine-tipped marker
or colored pencil instead of a
paintbrush.

3 Add shading. This makes the
pigs look three dimensional and
more lifelike.
••
Dilute a little light brown paint with
an equal amount of water. You want
it to look like a shadow, not a patch
of paint. If it turns out too light, just
mix in a little more paint.
••
Dip a clean brush in plain water and
lightly wet the first area you plan to
shade. This will show you what the
shading is going to look like on the
model. If the dampened area seems
too big or small or misshapen, just
let the paper dry and try again.
••
If it looks good, go ahead and brush
the diluted paint on the far legs,
behind the ears, and on the neck
and belly as shown.
Only infant pigs are
called piglets. Once
they are weaned from
their mother, they’re
called shoats.
4 Want a muddy pig Pigs do
like a good mud bath, so here’s how
to add another realistic touch.
••
Use a piece of craft sponge to blot
some watered-down brown paint on
the pigs’ bodies. Practice on scrap
paper first to get the effect you like.
5 Make a pig tails. See the
directions in the box below for making
a curly tail for your pig. Use pink
or black paper.
6
Make stands and
Assemble your pigs. Follow
the steps on page XX to finish
putting your pig together.
Add mud Iciis arum nulpa
volo explica borporionsed
Add mud Iciis
arum nulpa
volo explica
The pig pen 11