Hi! News from No, Mine! Studios

February 6, 2026 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Happy Friday!

I’m still recovering from surgery, but I am anxious to get back to studio fun as soon as possible!

One of the reasons behind this anxiety is Yeetcosystem: The Game! There is a great team of developers working behind the scenes to make this project a reality. More news to come! But if you want to support us in getting the word out, we do have preliminary Yeetcosystem social media profiles up on BlueSky and Instagram, and even a Discord channel! (This was set up by a lovely volunteer who wishes to remain behind the scenes. I am still learning Discord. What is the Discord term for a “noob”? I need to ask my teen.)

GIF: Pixel art characters from game running around an industrial plant wearing construction outfits and carrying tools. Yeetcosystem, 2025-2026. Based on character by Suzanne Skaar, 2021. All rights reserved.

Also on the horizon:

I am also pleased to announce that I’ll be heading to GDC this year as part of the 2026 Pixelles Ensemble Cohort! It will be my second time at GDC, and my first time tagging along with the Pixelles: a Montreal-based organization dedicated to promoting gender diversity in the gaming industry. Thank you to these amazing organizations for this opportunity!

Arts community update:

In the fall, I was accepted into Tacoma Arts Live’s (TAL) Accelerating Creative Enterprise (ACE) program. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to connect with other artists and creative entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, TAL just announced that they will be selling the Tacoma Armory and sunsetting programs like ACE in June. Many artists and entrepreneurs are losing their home base, and cool programs like the one’s offered by Tacoma’s Dockyard Derby Dames will have to find new homes. I love the people, and I love the (supposedly haunted) space. I’m going to do my best to soak up the creative energy of this space as much as possible before the venue and non-profit close their doors. Please do the same! Follow Tacoma Arts Live for upcoming projects and support local artists!

*In game screenshot of the “Rawrmory.” 8/1/2022 progress, “Suciasaurus Scrolls: A Grit City Adventure” (a.k.a., the dinosaur game). Suzanne Skaar, 2020-2025. All rights reserved.*

In slightly more humorous No, Mine! Studios news:

Healing from a procedure that made me contemplate ripping my own arm off did inspire a new probably not kid friendly side project. Axi the Accessibility Axlotl is also on Instagram and BlueSky!

Did you know that axlotls can just regenerate damaged limbs without fighting health insurance first?

They truly have the dream life.

Axi the Accessibility Axlotl is the mascot no one should need, but we still have to work harder to address accessibility issues in public spaces, work places, and school. If you have a topic that you want me to address through this project, reach out via the studio email nominestudios@gmail.com, subject line, “Axlotl.”

If you print out and post any of the images at your work or school (get permission on this, because the axlotl does have an ax, so…), take a picture and tag the studio’s and/or axlotl’s account(s)!

As always, thank you so much for your support! It means the world to me.

Cheers,

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

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

Work in Progress

August 2, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Good morning!

My next live demo is at Grit City Comic Show’s Artist Alley in October, & I’ll be announcing my TAIP artist talk soon, so I’ve been hard at work on background art, secondary character design, & animations.

In game screenshot of as yet untitled pixel art dinosaur game. Small black and ivory T-rex sitting in between two buildings looking up at a green brontosaurus peering from behind building. On top of the building to the right is a sign which reads “The Very Diverse Society for Old Dude Bros.” Pink “No, Mine! Studios” logo in bottom righthand corner.
Art by Suzanne Skaar, 2020-2022. All rights reserved.

In game screenshot of as yet untitled pixel art dinosaur game. Small black and ivory T-rex sitting in bush in front of brick building loosely based on Tacoma’s Armory (“The Rawrmory”). Cannon on top of roof to the right. Small triceratops sits atop a tower to the left. White “No, Mine! Studios” logo in bottom righthand corner.
Art by Suzanne Skaar, 2020-2022. All rights reserved.

I’m open to other opportunities, too! 😊 Email nominestudios@gmail.com.

If you’d like to help this project reach a wider audience, please follow No, Mine! Studios (nominestudios) on the following platforms:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

TikTok

YouTube

You can also buy a dino a coffee here.

Thank you very much for supporting a Tacoma-based, woman-owned small business!

— Suzanne

Tacoma History, Dinos, and Game Dev

July 22, 2022October 27, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been looking up the history of cool Tacoma buildings I want to reference in my game and did some digging into what used to be an old theater in the Lincoln District.

When it was first built, the owner made it so that women (not men, mind you) could have a separate nursery area for caring for their kids and still see the screen. It closed in 1958, became a theater not at all appropriate for kids, then a church. It’s been boarded up for a while, now.

While I usually change the names of buildings/ businesses to dinosaur/prehistoric puns, I think I’ll keep the original name in this instance.

Pixel art illustration of Rex Theatre: loosely based on actual theater of same name in Tacoma, WA. Suzanne Skaar, 2022. All rights reserved.

A challenge with drawing from historical references for this game has been to not be too literal in the design process. I’ve taken some liberties with background art design for the purpose of keeping with the game’s overall style. For example, looking at my illustration and the historical photo of Rex Theatre side by side, it’s easy to see that my version is a little taller and less rounded on the top than the original. Another difference is that while the original theater had 650 seats, I don’t think 650 dinosaurs could fit into the original theater.

At least not 650 adult T-Rexes. The building itself is only 6,000 square feet, and T-rexes could grow up to 40 feet long and 12 feet high, and that’s not accounting for width…

So rest assured, my overthinking friends who also get caught up in historical details, I am overthinking this, too, and we’re just going to let some things slide. And the other details I can’t let slide will be dealt with in the game as awkwardly as possible. Like what happens when you try to jam as many dinosaurs as you can into a theater.

I’m grateful to the Tacoma Arts Commission for supporting this part of the game research process through the Tacoma Artist Initiative Program (TAIP). You can learn about other TAIP projects by clicking here.

9 year anniversary of No, Mine! Studios

July 17, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Social media reminded me that 11 years ago today, I made the announcement that I was expecting my Junior Tester, a.k.a. “Kiddo,” and 9 years ago today, I started this website, nominestudios.com, borrowing the then 1.5-year-old’s favorite phrase.

Inspiration. 2013. Photo by Suzanne Skaar.

The development of this website inspired me in many ways to make the switch from painting to digital art. The need to keep two cats and a toddler out of my ink and paper supply also provided a lot of motivation to this end. I started off doing animations using a mouse and an old MacBook that kept dying. I was finally able to update my equipment two years ago to a computer capable of running current forms of Windows and a Wacom tablet after the pandemic once again necessitated a shift in work styles.

And now, I’m fortunate enough to be developing a game, experimenting with music and sound effects, and doing research/ background art with support of the Tacoma Arts Commission Artist Initiative Program.

Here’s a look back on some of my work through the years. Apparently WordPress is still glitching on mobile apps with some of the animations :(, so if you can view this on desktop, it will hopefully work better.

Thank you all for your support!

Suzanne

Click on any photo below to expand to slide show view.

Screenshot Saturday

July 16, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ Leave a comment

Happy Screenshot Saturday!

This week I’ve been building out the game environment, adding details, and working on sound design. Here’s a peek:

As a reminder, it’s not too late to add your voice to the game as a background character! Please click here for more details, or email nominestudios@gmail.com with questions.

As always, thank you for your support!

Suzanne

Call for Audio Submissions

July 3, 2022July 3, 2022 ~ Suzanne Skaar ~ 3 Comments

Hi friends!

My 43rd birthday is on July 26. While many people use their birthdays on social media these days to solicit funds for charity, I am collecting impressions of dinosaurs.

In 2021, my indie game was accepted into the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program for support while I focus on research and designing the background art. One of my other goals for this project is to include as many voices from the Greater Tacoma Community as I can in the game. As such, I want to include others’ best (and even worst) dinosaur impressions in the game’s soundscape.

QUESTION: Is there pay for participating? No, there is no pay. But if your audio clip is used, you have the choice whether you will be included in the credits or not.

Don’t live in Tacoma but want to participate anyway? Not a problem!

If you are under 18, please get permission from your parent or guardian prior to participating.

If this sounds like fun, please check out the application form for complete details (Word/ PDF). Submissions are due July 26, 2022.

Please note that submissions may be shared on social media. If you don’t want your submission shared, please don’t send it! And if you do share your submission on social media, please tag @nominestudios!

Thank you for your support!

Suzanne