Category: Uncategorized

See you at The Arts at the Armory!

~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Arts at the Armory, one of Tacona’s largest annual celebrations of the arts, is this weekend! Come hang out with No, Mine! Studios from 11 a.m. -5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and check out the other wonderful vendors, too! I’ll have my game demo on hand, as well as a limited stock of stickers, buttons, and the new “Yeetcosystem Licensed Sales Agent Training Manual (Volume 1)” (the manual comes with a free sticker – included in package). Tim Kapler is also making his return to the arts world this weekend, so come say hi!

Concept art for Yeetcosystem. Suzanne Skaar, 11/2/2022. All rights reserved. Visit yeetcosystem.com for more information..

Cheers!

Suzanne

GeekGirlCon is this Saturday!

~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Graphic by Maddy Vonhoff of Foulplay Games, 2023.

Do you have your tickets for GeekGirlCon 2023? If so, make sure this panel is on your itinerary!

I’ll be moderating the “DIY Gaming: How to Self-Publish and Promote Your Own Games” Panel this Saturday, October 7, at 1 p.m. Maddy Vonhoff of Foulplay Games, Liana Mackenzie of Valorous Games, Jae Euteneier of Parlour Interactive, and AnnaMaria Philips of Violet Daisy Games.

Please help us get the word out about this amazing group of entrepreneurs in the gaming industry!

See you Saturday!

Suzanne

Upcoming Events and News

~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Good morning!

It is a lovely rainy day in Tacoma. I returned to teaching high school half-time this month (game design and animation, as well as Photoshop), so I am just now getting back into preparing for all the exciting events coming up. I also have news about the South Side Animation Club, so grab your tea and let’s get started!

Upcoming Events

GeekGirlCon 2023

I am excited to return to this year’s GeekGirlCon! I was invited by Maddy of Foulplay Games to moderate the panel: “DIY Gaming: ‘How to Self-Publish and Promote Your Own Games”. We’re on at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 7, in the America Room! Get your GeekGirlCon passes today!

Tacoma Film Festival

My micro-animation “Yeetcosystem” was accepted into this year’s Tacoma Film Festival! Come check it out on Tuesday, October 10 at 7 p.m. as part of the festival’s larger animation block!

Tacoma Arts at the Armory

Third time’s the charm! This year, I’ll be returning to Tacoma’s free community event, Arts at the Armory, on November 11 and 12 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Come say hi, see the progress on my game, and get some No, Mine! Studios buttons and stickers! Some of my favorite Tacoma artists will have their work on display at the Armory, too, so put this in your calendar now!

South Side Animation Club/ South Side Animators

Based on programming needs and feedback, I am announcing a change in direction for the South Side Animation Club.

The all ages South Side Animation Club is on a temporary hiatus due to a number of factors. Wednesday nights are just a hard time for families to meet, especially with school, work, and other obligations. Wednesdays also conflict with the wonderful Tacoma Artists Meetup group. They meet weekly, so check them out! Moving forward, we need access to a venue that would be available on Saturday mornings and is near major buslines if we’re going to stay accessible. If you have suggestions or connections for restarting the all ages club in January or later, please email nominestudios@gmail.com. No, Mine! Studios will have a table and game demo at the Arts at the Armory event on November 11 and 12 that is all ages (including adults!) appropriate, so please feel free to chat with me about this program.

For adults interested in creating animation, we will return virtually on Saturday, November 18 at 10 a.m. Pre-registration for South Side Animators is required. There is no cost to attend and the meeting is open to all regardless of geographic location. The new format will give us a chance to discuss topics like techniques, funding, and technical issues, and share work. With that said, this virtual gathering is a safe space. Material which is sexist, racist, homophobic, ableist, etc. is not permitted or tolerated, and will result in a ban from the group. By signing in to the meeting, you agree to abide by these terms. Click here to pre-register. The South Side Animators virtual meetings will be scheduled for the third Saturday of the month moving forward.

As always, thank you for supporting a small, mom-owned studio, and I hope to see you at one of the above events!

Suzanne

Errors in the last blog post

~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Argh! If you read the last blog post via your email, you may have noticed a few chunks of missing text. WordPress decided to die midway and not save all my edits, and I didn’t catch it before it went out. D’oh! The post should be correct on the website now.

Thank you for your patience!

“Spin.” Animated GIF by Suzanne Skaar, 2021. All rights reserved.

Announcements

~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Good morning, and happy Thursday!

I have some fun announcements to share, so let’s get started.

First things first, South Side Animation Club returns to The Grand Cinema on Wednesday, August 9 from 6-8 p.m. It is a free and all ages opportunity for animators of any skill level. Come hang out with us as we work on individual and collaborative projects, network, and showcase our work in various stages of production, from concept to finished piece. Children are welcome with adult supervision. Thank you to everyone at The Grand Cinema for making this possible!

Second, I am excited to announce that I’ll be moderating a GeekGirlCon panel created by Maddy from Foul Play Games! More details will be shared once our date, time, and location are confirmed, but I’m excited to lead the discussion with others creating their own paths in the game industry. GeekGirlCon is a wonderful event, and this will be the third year I have been invited to be on a panel there.

Finally, I have been working to get back into the swing of daily drawing, which as other parents know is not always the easiest when kids are home from school for summer break. [As if the pandemic didn’t drive this point home, I know…] For the month of August, I’ve set myself the task of drawing and posting a new dino/ dino adjacent illustration every day on my Instagram account. Artists, join the challenge and let me know what kind of work you create! If you haven’t followed No, Mine! Studios on Instagram, I would love your support.

Also finally (this time I mean it), one of yesterday’s illustrations is available on my Redbubble shop, along with several other works you may or may not have seen. Check out the shop and let me know if there is anything that you’d like me to add there!

Picture of spiral bound notebook with illustration of chicken in a green dino suit.

Finally finally (third time’s the charm), thank you for supporting a small, Tacoma-based, woman-owned business and indie artist. I appreciate you!

Have a wonderful day!

Suzanne

South Side Animation Club Meeting May 2023

~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Exciting Announcement!

Because the weather has been in our favor lately, we are holding the next South Side Animation Club outdoors!

Join us on Saturday, May 20 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Wapato Lake Park (6500 S. Sheridan Ave
Tacoma, WA 98408). The exact location will be posted on the website (https://www.nominestudios.com/) and Instagram (@nominestudios) once we set up, but we should be easy to spot! Bring camping chairs, blankets, sunscreen, snacks, and cold drinks (non-alcoholic per club and park rules), as well as a sketchbook, pencils, pens, watercolors, or whatever else you would like to work with outdoors. I’ll bring some supplementary art supplies to share (colored pencils, sharpeners, loose flip book supplies). [As this month’s meeting is outdoors, it will be relatively technology free except for what attendees choose to bring.] Wapato Lake is a wonderful setting to work on background art as a group, but as always, everyone is free to work on their own projects and encouraged to share progress with the group.

For those who sign in on Saturday, we’ll have a drawing for some mini-door prizes halfway through the session. We’ll announce the drawing winners at the meeting.

The South Side Animation Club is all ages, free, and intended for artists of all mediums and skill levels with an interest in making animation: digital and traditional animation and stop motion, sound design, writing, directing, and more.

Children are welcome when accompanied by guardian. Please note: We are unable to provide supervision for unattended children. Thank you for understanding.

Please refrain from smoking/ vaping near the club meeting spot out of respect for individuals with respiratory and other conditions. We also still encourage masks and/ or social distancing as appropriate to keep our group as accessible as possible.

This Community Arts Project is made possible with support from the City of Tacoma Office of Arts and Cultural Vitality and the Tacoma Arts Commission. Please feel free to email any questions you may have about the club to Suzanne Skaar at No, Mine! Studios: nominestudios@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you this Saturday!

Suzanne