Sarah Schanze

Art & Design

Comics & Illustration

Northeastern University Comics

I was commissioned to create the artwork for comics written by Luke Landherr, a professor at Northeastern University, to help teachers and students understand new concepts in an entertaining and engaging format. Comics have always been a passion of mine, and I’m thrilled to see them used for education.

The MUSIC Model Page One
The MUSIC Model Page Two
Preparing to Teach Page One
Preparing to Teach Page Two

K12 and Stride Illustrations

During my time at K12 and Stride I made several illustrations for both online and print formats. Styles shifted depending on the subject and audience. Where appropriate I loved to incorporate different inspirations, like taking influence from Japanese woodblock prints for art for “The Stonecutter” or Greek vases for Ariadne and Athena.

Screenshot from The Stonecutter story asset.
Illustration from The Stonecutter story asset.
Screenshot from The Sun, Moon, and Sea asset.
Illustration of double-page spread for "Over in the Meadow" poem.
Illustration for the story of Ariadne and Athena showing the titular characters weaving.
Illustration for "The Stonecutter" showing the protagonist hammering stone.

Whimsy and Characters

While at Stride, I helped design four characters used as supplemental engagement pieces to add a touch of whimsy to our K-5 courses. I also created a number of additional illustrations using all the characters. All of these were made in Adobe Illustrator. You can click on them to see them bigger.

Image of three age ranges for the character Raj.
Image of three age ranges for the character Sarah.
Image of three age ranges for the character Eloise.
Image of three age ranges for the character Eric.
Collage of vector illustrations for grades K-5.

Tiny Dungeon: Hatchling Edition

I created the black and white illustrations used inside the kid-friendly Tiny Dungeon 2e: Hatchling Edition game book. It was a fun challenge to work in grayscale and create art that’s still engaging and inspiring for younger players.

Black and white lineup of heroes from Tiny Dungeon, including a human, fay, dwarf, and tree-person.
Black and white lineup of villains, including a necromancer, dragon, menacing witch, and highwayman.
Black and white drawing of a girl swinging on the limbs of a tree person.
Black and white illustration of a human and dragon-person descending into a crystal cave.
Black and white drawing of a an older bear-person leaning on a pickax and holding a big crystal.
Black and white drawing of a bear-person sitting on a blanket in a snow-covered landscape looking up at the stars and the aurora borealis.
Black and white drawing of a boy holding on to the back of a giant turtle swimming through the water with a couple of curious fish nearby.

Brain Boost

In an effort to increase engagement among students during their courses, Stride implemented breaks called “Brain Boosts.” Illustrations were desired that would match the various activities (listening to music, reading, physical activity, etc.) but could also fit in with various subject types.

These illustrations were a joint effort between me and another designer named Ben Gamache. I came up with ideas and created the thumbnails and rough layouts, and Ben created the necessary 3D models. Once they were made and exported, I went back and added the backgrounds and other elements.

Illustration featuring a cartoon fox, round robot, and the Curiosity Mars rover rolling over a martian landscape.
Illustration of a cartoon fox and robot listening to the Golden Record from the Voyager missions.
Illustration of a cartoon fox and robot looking at a rocket about to take off into space.
Illustration of a cartoon fox and robot taking a selfie with the James Webb telescope behind them.

Process

Communication was important for this project to ensure consistency and ease. There was a lot of back and forth between me and Ben and ultimately we created some awesome artwork together.

Step One

Simple first step was to create thumbnails and brainstorm ideas. The focus on space was decided early and I had a lot of fun coming up with relevant concepts.

Digital pencil sketches of ideas featuring a cartoon fox interacting with various space things, like the Golden Record and the James Webb telescope.

Step Two

Once the final ideas were decided on, I created larger rough sketches. I used color to divide what would be 3D renders and what would be the backgrounds.

Digital sketch of a cartoon fox, a robot, and the Mars Curiosity rover. They're colored purple to denote them as 3D renders.

Step Three

This part was all Ben’s. He created the 3D models of the characters from scratch and used free models from NASA of space tech like the Mars rover or the James Webb telescope. He exported them only including the 3D pieces and handed them to me to add the background and finishing touches.

3D renders of a cartoon fox, a robot, the Mars Curiosity rover, and a low-poly martian landscape.

Step Four

I brought the 3D pieces into Photoshop and added backgrounds and extra bits to add a bit more fun. For example, in this image, I added the Ingenuity space copter as a companion for the robot, and motion blur to the rover. I consulted photos from Mars to add believability to the background like the dust devils. Overall it was a lot of fun to make.

Illustration featuring a cartoon fox, round robot, and the Curiosity Mars rover rolling over a martian landscape.