Tag: digital media

2023 Out!

~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

It’s December 27, end of the year, almost made it through another one. Woot woot!

This year was jam packed with activities and new opportunities. I had the chance to help artist Mauricio Robalino complete a series of videos on his working process. I taught Game Design and Animation for two terms at Tacoma’s School of Industrial Design and Engineering, and mentored student interns through the Next Move program. I can’t wait to see what kind of projects my students and interns create in the future.

No, Mine! Studios Interns Jillian and Sterling helping assemble the South Side Animation Club Animation Kits at the Tacoma Public Library Moore Branch.

I directed “Parenting GO!” for the 72-hour 253 Film Festival, my short animation “Yeetcosystem” premiered at the Tacoma Film Festival, and I launched the South Side Animation Club (a City of Tacoma 2023 Community Arts Project): all three of which wouldn’t be possible without The Grand Cinema. I shared my in progress game demo and Yeetcosystem sales training manuals at the City of Tacoma Arts at the Armory and met and reconnected with a lot of great folks. (It’s not too late to get your training manual and complimentary sticker!)

Original logo (2022) and illustration (2023) for the South Side Animation Club, Suzanne Skaar.
South Side Animation Club Sticker. 2023, design by Suzanne Skaar/ No, Mine! Studios. All rights reserved.

In not-so-great news, in-person animation club meetings are on indefinite hold.  My car decided it no longer wants to shift out of first gear, and the lack of a working vehicle has made hosting the free in-person animation club meetings too daunting a task given the amount of equipment and supplies that need to be moved back and forth. I’m holding out hope that this will be figured out by Springtime. (If anyone wants to donate a Vespa with a cargo rack, or a more practical working vehicle to the studio, now would be the time.) The next virtual Animators meeting be in February; the registration link will go live in early January. Pre-registration is required, but the online meetup is free.

The month of January will be dedicated to studio time and planning. I have a lot of new goals and projects in the works for the studio next year, including collaborating with other artists as possible. If you’d like to work together, reach out to nominestudios@gmail.com.

Thank you for supporting No, Mine! Studios. If you haven’t yet done so, follow @nominestudios on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky. (No, Mine! still has a Twitter account, but … yeah. Not on there so much for some reason…)

Cheers to the New Year, and thank you to everyone who made this year possible! A special thanks especially to Tim Kapler and my Junior Tester Izzy, both of whom helped behind the scenes on many of the studio’s projects.

All the best,

Suzanne

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

Your feedback is requested!

~ Suzanne Skaar ~ 2 Comments

Hi Animators,

I have some news, but more importantly, a whole lot of questions for you.

Our host, The Grand Cinema, is welcoming us back in person in September from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Wednesday, September 12 (the second Wednesday of the month). However, due to two scheduling conflicts, we need to make alternate arrangements for October and November, whether that is simply moving the meeting to another week (1st or 3rd Wednesday), exploring virtual options for these months, or another option (like taking a break for October and changing the venue for November).

This leads me to another issue I have been weighing since the start of this club: how do I make an all ages animation club where professionals, amateurs, and hobbyists feel welcome? I originally made the age range “all ages” so as it to make it possible for animators with caregiving duties to attend, but I also want to make a space for kids who are interested in/ serious about animation to get their questions answered and to form connections. Do adult animators feel welcome at this gathering? If not, why not? Should I separate the club into two age ranges with two separate meeting times? Is there enough interest in a more formal class for kids? Would parent artists interested in making animation be able to attend if I institute an age limit on one of the meeting times?

To help me figure out what will make the South Side Animation Club as accessible, useful, and enjoyable as possible for animators in the Tacoma region in terms of dates, times, and meeting location (virtual vs. in person), it would be great to get your feedback! To complete the survey, please click here. If you have difficulties opening this link, or if you have thoughts on the issue of whether to make a separate meeting for kids and adults, send me a message to nominestudios@gmail.com. If you want a more formal class for yourself or your kid(s), let me know!

If you live outside the region but would like to participate if there is a virtual option, please email nominestudios@gmail.com with the subject line: “I want a Virtual Animation Club Option!” In the body of the message, include your name, age, location, a link to your portfolio if applicable (not required), and times/ days that would work best for you. If you are a parent/guardian emailing on behalf of your kid, please let me know. If you are under 18, please have your parent/guardian email for you.

Thank you!

Suzanne

See you tonight!

~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

The South Side Animation Club returns to The Grand Cinema from 6 – 8 p.m. on August 9 (tonight)!

Animators looking to collaborate, work on projects, or showcase your progress, this is for you! This meeting is free & all ages; children are welcome with adult supervision. Some general supplies such as newsprint and light tracing boxes will be provided for shared use, but feel free to bring laptops, tablets, sketchbooks, tracing paper, pens/ pencils, or anything you need to work on your own project. The Grand is providing a projector and screen so that we can share works in progress, so please consider bringing a USB drive with your work if you’d like.

Indie game devs, writers, voiceover actors, composers, sound designers, and more, you’re welcome, too!

Thank you to The Grand Cinema for hosting us, as well as the City of Tacoma Arts Commission and Office of Arts and Cultural Vitality for sponsoring the Animation Club as a 2023 Community Arts Project.

See you at The Grand, and bring a friend! 🙂

Suzanne

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

April 2023 South Side Animation Club

~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Happy Monday!

This is a friendly reminder that our next South Side Animation Club meeting is happening this Saturday, April 22, from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Tacoma Public Library Moore Branch (215 S 56th St). The club is free and all ages! Please note the shift in time by half an hour; if you try to get into the room before 10:30, you will be put to work. 🙂 (Thank you to everyone who helped with setup and tear down last month! You are all awesome!)

Saturday is also Earth Day, so this is a good time to remind everyone that the Moore Branch is accessible by multiple bus routes.

We do have a few free animation kits left, and they are available on a first come, first serve basis. If you need one and did not get one yet, they will be available at the front of the meeting room as you walk in. We also have newsprint, pencils, loose flipbook paper, and other supplies/ equipment which we will go over at the start of the club. As usual, we will start with a mini-lesson that is not dependent on whether you showed up to the previous lesson. This week, we’ll talk about the 12 Principles of Animation.

If you have work you’d like to share, please bring it! If you’d like to have your work projected, please email a link to nominestudios@gmail.com ahead of time, or bring a USB drive. (This is an all-ages event, so please share work that is PG/ General Audiences friendly.) The showcase will start at around 12 p.m. (or sooner) depending on how many participants we have. 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 very much! We can’t wait to see you Saturday!

Suzanne

South Side Animation Club

~ 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

~ 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:

Sticker Sheet! The Pink Series by Suzanne Skaar, 2021-22. All rights reserved.

I look forward to seeing you!

Suzanne