South Side Animation Club Details

March 13, 2023 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

What’s New

Join the South Side Animation Club at Tacoma Public Library Moore Branch (215 S 56th St) on Saturday, March 25, 2023 for our first meeting! Free and all ages. Presented by No, Mine! Studios and the Tacoma Public Library, with support from the City of Tacoma Arts Commission.

The date for the first South Side Animation Club is getting closer (March 25, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Tacoma Public Library Moore Branch), and preparations are going well!

No, Mine! Studios Interns Jillian Schmitt and Sterling Kelly helped assemble 40 Animation Kits that will be given away to participants for free on a first come, first served basis. We’re also planning to expand the resources available for the stop motion station, so last week I trekked out to TinkerTopia to get some ideas. I highly recommend supporting this local business if you’re looking for additional stop motion set building supplies and figurines to use for animation.

Club Meeting Format

Each club meeting will be set up with multiple stations dedicated to different styles of animation. Participants are free to float between stations.

Digital

Participants can check out a limited number of Chromebooks at the Moore Library front desk, use Adobe products on the computers in the main area, or bring your own laptop/tablet. If there is interest in collaborating on a digital group drawing, I’ll make a Magma Studio link available the morning of the club meeting(s). USB thumb drives are included with the free Animation Kits.

Hand Drawn

The free Animation Kits include tracing paper, coloring pencils, sharpeners, and more useful supplies. We will have newsprint, pencils, coloring pencils, and a light trace box for general use/ collaboration, and participants are welcome to bring their own supplies.

Flip Books

Flip books are included in the Animation Kits. We’ll have some loose paper as well as a flip book size light box for shared use. Participants are also welcome to bring their own drawing supplies from home.

Stop Motion

We have Two Hue Animation Studio stop motion cameras so up to two groups can work on different projects simultaneously. We’ll also have some other set building materials for smaller projects.

Teardown of stop motion projects (returning cameras to the No, Mine! Studios team and materials to their proper bins) will need to be completed by 11:50 a.m.

Audio

The South Side Animation Club will have mini-lessons on audio editing and sound design for animation at a future meeting. Because noise may be a factor, there won’t be a dedicated audio station at the first meeting, but library card holders can check out podcast kits for recording ahead of time from the Tacoma Public Library: (Podcast Kit Style 1/ Podcast Kit Style 2)

The Tacoma Library’s Digital Media Lab at the Main Branch (downtown) also schedules appointments for those who want to work on recording and editing.

If you have some basic questions about audio editing with Audacity or Adobe Audition, I will do my best to help at the club meetings after the mini-lesson and before the Showcase.

Showcase

As a reminder, we have access to the library’s projector! Those who want to showcase their animations should email a YouTube/ other link to nominestudios@gmail.com or bring a USB drive with the work. (This is an all-ages event, so please share work that is PG/ General Audiences friendly.) The showcase will start at around 11:30 a.m. (or sooner) depending on how many participants we have, so please get your digital files to me by 11 a.m. that day or sooner. We will also plan a longer Showcase later in the year. More details to come!

Local game devs, you are welcome to share your work here as well! Message me ahead of time so we can make sure we have the necessary equipment/ cables.

Share with Friends!

Please help us get the word out to as many interested community members as possible!

Acknowledgments

The South Side Animation Club wouldn’t be possible without the Tacoma Public Library Moore Branch, the City of Tacoma Arts Commission, the City of Tacoma Office of Arts and Cultural Vitality, and the support of the greater Tacoma community.

Thank you for your support!

Suzanne

Mark your calendars!

March 7, 2023 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Join the South Side Animation Club at the Tacoma Public Library Moore Branch (215 S 56th St) on Saturday, March 25, 2023 for our first meeting! The monthly club meetings are free and all ages.

Presented by No, Mine! Studios and the Tacoma Public Library, with support from the City of Tacoma Arts Commission.

South Side Animation Club Progress

February 17, 2023 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

I often get an inordinate amount of glee from purchasing art supplies, but that’s tenfold this week because — Some of the supplies for the South Side Animation Club kits arrived this morning! 😁 2 gallon Ziploc bags, #2 pencils, and nonphoto blue pencils. Now just waiting on the tracing paper, USB drives, and the motivation to design and print out the package labels. 😄

The kits will be available for free to the public at Tacoma’s Moore Library starting at the first club meeting on March 25 at 10 a.m. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking of some other smaller items to add (plain sketchbooks, small notepads, erasers, …). If any local businesses would like to contribute items to the kits or equipment to the club, please contact me at nominestudios@gmail.com.

Thank you everyone for your support, especially the City of Tacoma Arts Commission, the City of Tacoma Office of Arts and Cultural Vitality, and the Tacoma Public Library Moore Branch for helping this project come to life!

Purple and white text on orange background: "Coming spring 2023! No, Mine Studios presents South Side Animation Club. Tacoma, WA. For more information, visit nominestudios.com." — South Side Animation Club announcement. Design by Suzanne Skaar, 2022. All rights reserved.

What’s Going On: South Side Animation Club and More

February 3, 2023February 20, 2023 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

It’s official! The South Side Animation Club has found a home at Tacoma’s Moore Library. Our first meeting will be on Saturday, March 25 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Please help get the word out and share/RSVP to the Facebook event. Thank you to the City of Tacoma Office of Arts and Cultural Vitality and the Tacoma Arts Commission for helping make this project a reality!

In other news, I am excited to announce that for the first time Interns through Tacoma Public School’s Next Move Program will join No, Mine! Studios! In addition to learning about indie game dev, they’ll be contributing to the South Side Animation Club in a variety of ways. Welcome!

And one last update, I will be joining a local Tacoma high school as an adjunct instructor for Game Design and Animation starting next week, which means…. BRING ON THE POWERPOINTS!

(I may be at my happiest when making slideshows.)

Thank you everyone for your support along the way. Here’s to an amazing 2023!

Suzanne

South Side Animation Club

December 14, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Animated gif of a dinosaur happily bouncing up and down side to side. — **Happy dinosaur. Gif. Suzanne Skaar. 2020. All rights reserved.**

I just received word that the City of Tacoma has approved funding for No, Mine! Studios to start the South Side Animation Club!

This all ages/ all-levels gathering will be once a month, free to the public, and is meant to bring more opportunities in the arts to residents in the South End, East Side, and South Tacoma. (It’s not a requirement to live in these neighborhoods: others are welcome to participate, too.)

A large portion of the funding received will be used to compile starter kits with drawing paper, pens, pencils, etc. and more for participants who need supplies. There will also be a projector and screen on hand so that participants can share works in progress.

There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work to take care of before the first meeting in the Spring: securing a venue in the South End Tacoma, getting the word out to interested artists, securing supplies/ equipment, and more. If you want to get involved, please email nominestudios@gmail.com.

I am grateful to the City of Tacoma for this opportunity. I’ll share more news as it becomes available.

Suzanne

T Minus 7

December 3, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

The Countdown to Tacoma’s Arts at the Armory is on! Mark your calendars for December 10 and 11, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. for your chance to support local independent artists.

While you’re there, stop by my booth to play test my in-progress dinosaur game demo. I will also have a limited supply of stickers and buttons for sale.

In honor of Screenshot Saturday, here’s a glimpse at what I’m currently working on:

I look forward to seeing you!

Suzanne

Resources

October 14, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Happy Friday!

As promised earlier this week and to those I spoke with at the City of Tacoma Kaleidoscope Kickoff Party, here are some resources that I have found useful while working on my as yet untitled dino game.

*Screencapture of how a scene is assembled in Unity. Artwork by Suzanne Skaar, 2020-2022. All rights reserved.*

GAME ENGINE

I am building my game in Unity, which is free for individuals who make under a certain amount of income from games per year. I am brand new, and I have definitely not come close to that threshhold yet. Another engine that other artists like using is Unreal. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m thinking about testing it when I start on my next project. A great benefit of Unreal is that they do offer funds for some projects. Here’s the link for more info.

*2022 8 1 Progress. In game capture. As yet untitled dino game by Suzanne Skaar, 2020-2022. All rights reserved.*

GRAPHICS

(NOTE: This is not a paid promotion by Adobe. If they would like to change that, my bank account is all ears.)

I create the initial designs of characters, objects, and background art in Adobe Photoshop. I held on for as long as I could to my 2009 MacBook and hard copy of Photoshop CS 6, but at this point, I am now locked into the full Creative Cloud. It’s expensive, so if others would like to suggest free/ cheap alternatives that work well with Unity, please comment below. The import process between Photoshop and Unity is fairly simple. I can share a sample video of the process if others are interested, but there are also many tutorials on YouTube.

AUDIO

When getting the sound ready for the game, I have used a combination of Audacity (audio editing software), BeepBox (online tool for making and sharing melodies), and more recently, Adobe Audition. The first two are free whereas Audition comes with Creative Cloud subscriptions. I have used Audition more for marketing than content creation so far.

VIDEO

For video, I have been relying on Open Broadcast Studio (OBS) for screencaptures and Adobe Premiere Pro for compiling videos. OBS is free, and I am still figuring it out. For Creative Cloud subscribers, Audition is linked to Premiere, so changing audio levels or doing simple effects like fade in/ fade out is relatively fast.

TUTORIALS

I started researching how to turn my concept into a game using Unity in March 2020. Since then, I have watched a lot of videos which break down the process of animating sprites, importing audio, and more. Due to updates from game engine platforms, some of these tutorials may become outdated fairly quickly, but I really like the teaching styles of Brackeys and BurgZerg Arcade. While Brackeys is no longer posting new videos, they have a plethora of great ones still up on YouTube. GDC posts a lot of great talks about game design from all angles. From the business side, I recently discovered the Future of Play channel on YouTube. The Publish Me Punish Me series is entertaining and informative.

If you think this kind of post is helpful, please like and share with friends. You can also support No, Mine! Studios on the following social media platforms:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

YouTube

If you’re local to Tacoma, I would love to see you at Grit City Comic Show on October 22, 2022! In addition to having the game progress available for playing, I’ll have a limited supply of merchandise for sale.

If you’re not able to attend but want to help support No, Mine! Studios financially, you can buy a dino a coffee here and buy art online here.

For media, retail, and event inquiries, please email me at nominestudios@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support!

Suzanne

Kaleidoscope Party Recap

October 9, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

This is a few days later than I had hoped, but I wanted to say thank you to everyone who attended the Tacoma Arts Month Kaleidoscope Kickoff Party at the STAR Center. Thank you to the City of Tacoma and Metro Parks staff and the Tacoma Arts Commission for this great opportunity! And a special thanks to the Arts Commission for accepting my game into the 2021-2022 Tacoma Artist Initiative Program. The game demo went well, and I can’t express how much I appreciate the support!

It was great to see 2021-2022 Tacoma Artist Initiative Program recipients Curtis Ashby and Tamiko Nimura! [Tamiko is a 2022 AMOCAT Award Winner! ] Thank you to the Tacoma Arts Commissioners, artists, and staff who popped in to say hi and check out the game in between taking care of other duties for the party. And I loved seeing how far indie game devs will go to support each other, like Natasha who came all the way from Seattle! (Check out her work!) It was absolutely a packed house at times, so I didn’t get a chance to thank everyone personally.

I am especially grateful for my co-parent Tim Kapler and Izzy’s hard work. In addition to helping with the setup and tear down processes, I was informed by several attendees that Izzy did a great job directing people to the game demo, as well as pitching the game itself. Despite being encouraged by both parents to focus on enjoying the party, multiple trips to the pancake station and the Grand Cinema’s table for popcorn only strengthened the Junior Tester’s resolve to make sure everybody in the building had a studio business card and tried the game for themselves.

I ran out of stickers and buttons at the event, but more will be available for sale at the Grit City Comic Show on October 22 at the Tacoma Convention Center. Please let me know via email (nominestudios@gmail.com) if there is
a specific item you are looking for, and I’ll do my best to have it on hand (within reason). I also have a smaller set up for those who haven’t gotten a chance to check out the game progress yet.

Because a few individuals asked, I am available to speak to local classes and am open to teaching beginning animation and digital art classes. Please email nominestudios@gmail.com.

For those who asked about the tools I am using to make my game, I’ll share a more in-depth blog post later this link, along with links to tutorials that I have found helpful.

A common theme of the night was talking to people who had either made an indie game and not released it, or wanted to make an indie game but didn’t know where to start. If you are interested in seeing more indie games flourish in Tacoma, let’s connect! There are so many talented creators here in the 253! I want to see the local dev’s game about revolution in my Steam account!!! (I didn’t grab your contact info, so please contact me if you see this!)

There are many ways to help support No, Mine! Studios. If you haven’t yet done so, you can like and follow No, Mine! Studios for more frequent updates on the following social media platforms:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

YouTube

Financial contributions are appreciated. I am considering options such as crowdfunding to hire a local programmer to help get the game ready for publication. Until that campaign kicks off, you can buy a dino a coffee here. And you can buy some of my art online here.

Thank you again for your support, Tacoma and beyond!

Suzanne

Tacoma Arts Commission Meeting

September 9, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

In this picture: Text: “As Yet Untitled Dino Game; 2021-2022 TAIP Funded Project; Suzanne Skaar.” Background art: screen capture of black and white pixel art dinosaur peering over green brick wall in underground environment. Different colored pipes form networks throughout the foreground and background of the picture. Pink No, Mine! Studios logo is in the bottom right corner.

I’ll be presenting at the next Tacoma Arts Commission meeting!

Join us online on Monday, September 12, 2022 at 5 p.m. I’ll be talking about my experience as part of the 2021-2022 Tacoma Arts Initiative Program Funded Cohort and progress on my first game. Information is available on the City of Tacoma’s website.

Thank you for your continued support!

Suzanne

Tacoma Arts Month Kickoff Party!

August 31, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

No, Mine! Studios will be at the official kick-off party for Tacoma Arts Month! The Kaleidoscope Openin g Party is free and will be hosted at Tacoma’s STAR Center on October 5 from 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Stop by and test the latest progress on the as-yet-untitled dino game.The last public demo was at the October 2021 Arts at the Armory event. There’s still so much to do, but I am excited to share the progress made since then!

In game screenshot. Pixel art dinosaur standing on wooden fence looking up at sign which reads "Magma Lava Fired Pizza." Sign on righthand side of fence reads "Closed for repairs." Sign on leftside of fence reads "Cook Wanted No Exp", but "no" is crossed out with red letters. A tiny volcano is seen behind the fence. — In game progress. Suzanne Skaar, 2020-2022. All rights reserved.

For those interested in being included in the game as an NPC, I’ll have audio recording equipment and permission forms on hand as well. 🙂

I received support for the research and development of game background art from the Tacoma Arts Commission through the 2021-2022 Tacoma Artist Initiative Program. (While the Kickoff Party will mark the completion of my participation in the program, I’ll definitely be working on the game for the foreseeable future.) For those who would like to learn more about this program, I’ll be talking about my TAIP experience at the September 12 Commission meeting.

You can help support this small, Tacoma-based business by liking, following, and sharing @nominestudios on the following platforms:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

YouTube

You can also buy a dino a coffee here.

Thank you!

Suzanne