Tacoma based artist and community organizer. MA, CDMS, PGAP. Contact me about writing, design, policy, fundraising, research, and more: nominestudios@gmail.com.
While working on a new game animation sequence yesterday, I decided to take a go at some audio. Watch through the end for my voice acting debut. I may have made a few slight — major — adjustments to my voice using Audacity.
I don’t mean to brag, but usually I’m an alto.
I’m not even sure what range this would be.
I originally created individual sprites/ environmental elements in Photoshop and composited the scene/ set up the mechanics in Unity. Other sounds were made using BeepBox. Audio was added in Adobe Premiere Pro. This is still very much a work in progress.
I hope you’re having a wonderful day. Let me know what you think in the comments. If you’d like to show your support, please follow No Mine! Studios on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok!
I started working on my first video game in June 2020. Progress is coming along nicely. I’m striving a balance between pushing forward and fleshing out the first game level’s overall layout while going back and refining existing work. The following trailer contains some new in-game scenes. Tacoma people might recognize a couple of shout outs.
Thank you for following along as I tackle my largest project to date!
If you haven’t yet done so, connect with No Mine! Studios on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and now even TikTok. I would love your support!
It feels wrong to write this without acknowledging the tremendous amount of sorrow that has hit our communities and homes.
Midnight marks a new day and a new year, but it doesn’t erase the pain, suffering, and disappointment.
I spent much of the year grieving, but 2020 brought me so many reasons to be grateful. Pre-pandemic closures, my writing was published overseas for the first time, and in my adopted hometown’s print literary anthology, Creative Colloquy. School closures meant being able to spend more time with my daughter. Changing my work style to accommodate additional childcare responsibilities led to taking new risks. In June, I started work in earnest on my video game. I even got up the nerve to try standup this year (from the comfort of my home).
The moving of meetings online post-pandemic has made it easier to engage in community decision making processes. In June, I successfully lobbied the Pierce County Democratic Party to recognize CS gas and tasers as deadly force. In 2021, I want to see this momentum continue at the State and national levels, and for the first time in a long time, I am optimistic that it will.
Gen-Z has taken to the streets and used social media and other avenues to challenge not only police brutality, but racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, economic inequality, and climate change. Emma Goldman said, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be a part of your revolution.” In the darkest of times, the new revolutionaries have embodied joy, humor, and hope. I am grateful my daughter has such positive role models.
Please stay safe and enjoy the holiday.
Happy New Year!
Suzanne
Gif: Animation sequence for as yet untitled video game. Suzanne Skaar. 2020. All rights reserved.
I’m honored to be included in the City of Tacoma’s Artists in Focus. There are some amazing artists on this list. Please check it out and show them your support!
4 months ago I started developing a 2D pixel art game by myself: the artwork, the writing, the music, and building the project in Unity. I’m still in the early phases of my project timeline, but I wanted to share progress so far.
Thank you to everyone who has given advice and support. If you like what you see, please drop a line in the comments and/or share this with friends.
Sometimes, when conversations in this house get weird, they end up inspiring new artwork. Yesterday led to the creation of the nerd badge, which I added to my online Redbubble shop.
“Nerd Badge” available on a variety of products at nominestudios.redbubble.com .
“Nerd Badge” sticker and other products available at nominestudios.redbubble.com .
With the exception of one other design, I removed everything from the shop on Redbubble. I hadn’t been giving this endeavor the love it needs, so I’m doing a full reset. As it’s election season, I did make my more popular offering, “VOTING IS SEXY,” available on a few more items, including on masks.
“VOTING IS SEXY” hoodie available at nominestudios.redbubble.com .
“VOTING IS SEXY” mask available at nominestudios.redbubble.com .
As Redbubble makes kids masks too, I may end up making more designs available there again. Fun artwork has made getting my child to put and keep her mask on much easier. [It’s still no walk in the park, but…] If you’re having troubles finding designs you’d like to see for yourself, friends, or little ones, email me at nominestudios@gmail.com.
Stay safe, read good books, and get those ballots in!
Summer has been fairly busy. On top of entertaining a kid during a pandemic and planning for homeschool, I’ve had other projects in the works. I was asked to submit work to a by invitation-only call for cyberpunk stories to a journal overseas. Regardless of whether my story gets picked up for publication, it was an honor to be asked, especially as I haven’t written in this genre before. I’ve been volunteering locally as I’ve been able. Remote meetings are a lifesaver for individuals with chronic illnesses/ conditions like migraines, arthritis, and motherhood (ahem), so I hope this trend continues after the pandemic. The ability to turn off the video and audio functions is especially appreciated. A laughing, streaking kid in the house did elicit momentary panic at one point.
In the relatively quiet moments and through the chaos, I have begun to make significant progress on my biggest project to date [Master’s thesis be damned]: an indie narrative game combining many of my favorite subjects.
Here is a peek at the main character:
Mini Dino Pixel Art (side view). Suzanne Skaar. 2020. All rights reserved.
Front view Dino character, idle. Suzanne Skaar, 2020. Animation/ pixel art. Work in progress. All rights reserved.
My last programming class was in high school, more than 20 years ago, so I have been teaching myself Unity, a development platform which is free to users up to a certain revenue bracket. Brackeys tutorials on YouTube have been on repeat for months in the house. They are awesome: go check them out! Thanks to the site Beepbox, I have also been working on digital music composition for the first time. I first started using Audacity for podcasts a few years back, and it continues to be a great tool for artists. [While I’m not ready to share some of my serious attempts yet, my co-conspirator did willingly lend her vocals to this “parenting dance anthem.” It was created using Beepbox and Audacity.]
Other snippets of the game art are up on the No Mine! Studios Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages. I’ve set myself a soft deadline of December (6 months from when I started) to get basic art in place so I can focus on research, writing, and mechanics. This game is a one mother show. If you are on the above platforms, please follow for updates, like, and share. Your support means a lot!
A simple question I won’t ruin by repeating the litany of reasons why Trump should not have lasted this long into his first term, let alone be elected in the first place.
“Peach.” Animated gif. Suzanne Skaar. All rights reserved 2020.
