Stephanie F. Scholz

Here is a cover signed Stéphanie F.Scholz for The Economist magazine on the surprising resilience of democracy. Then, cover illustrations and openings for the main themes of the CNRS Journal in France. And also, a sublime illustrated guide of the largest telescopes of our planet thought and written by Jacob Kramer for Flying Eye Books.

Here is the cover of The Economist magazine as well as a series of illustrations by Stephanie F. Scholz illustrating the current global "lockdown" and non-existent personalized medicine today.

Here is our thirteenth Capsule Créative. This month, we invite you to meet Stéphanie F.Scholz, who was born in Japan, and grew up in Australia, and lives and works at present in Berlin. Good reading!

Describe your creative lab in a few words?
My creative lab is a large desk in a red brick old industrial building in Berlin. It has a few funny objects scattered around, a bunch of new and old books with interesting images, a collection of pens and pencils and a Wacom tablet and computer. I also like collecting patterns, colors and funny drawings by other people and hanging them on the walls around me.

In two sentences, how would you describe your work technique?
I make digital cut outs - I draw by hand or in illustrator and then cut the shapes out of many scanned papers, gradients and textures.

What is the project of which you are most proud of?
I would say I'm most proud of my work with Jacob Kramer on our illustrated children's science book called LOOKING UP. It's about observatories and telescopes, and we are trying to make it equally appealing for girls as for boys. I get to draw all these great places around the world that showcase the biggest and most high telescopes. Jacob uses really imaginative language, which inspires and makes it much easier to understand complex physical matters. It's quite a big long-term project as we've planned three other books for this series, which all also celebrate how scientific instruments act as extensions of our senses. 

What are your favourite colors to create?
Oh, I like so many different palettes I really can't say! I like how colours work together and I mostly enjoy a mixture of very bright and very muted colours. I tend to not work that much with black or white.

Why did you become an artist?
I wanted to become an illustrator because I like working with texts and making images for print, magazines and books. I also enjoy that the tasks change- it is a really varied creative occupation and I constantly learn about new things. I really love trying to come up with concepts for images, which is like riddle solving.

In four words, how would you describe your style of illustration?
Bold, colourful, geometric with gradients.

What is the project of your dreams?
Like many illustrators it's probably doing the cover for the New Yorker and I would also like to work on more science books.

What does a typical day in the life of Stephanie F. Scholz?
I get up all grumpy in the morning, have tea and read until I'm normal again and then head to my studio, which I share with a bunch of designers, programmers and musicians. I then usually start sketching, working on commissions or working on the book project if there's some time in between. I might go for a run or head to a yoga class before lunch if I have the time. And then I sit at my desk for the rest of the day. And when I'm at my desk, I always listen to podcasts or audiobooks, they are like fuel to me And usually end up meeting friends or going to the cinema in the evening.

What inspires you?
I love looking at what other illustrators are up to and I like a wide variety of styles and ideas. I also go to an art history course once a week, which often surprises and inspires me. And I find inspiration in popular science books about astronomy, biology, history or in novels.

What is your favourite blog or website?
I really like reading slate star codex and human progress. I often look at it's nice that and but does it float and also enjoy seeing illustrator's personal websites.

The 3 first ones are for a platform for urban gardening called "Let it grow" in a monthly column. The first article spoke about BIOFIT, the second one about a green gym that uses natural materials of green schools and how plants help children learn, the 3rd illustration accompanied an article about vertical forests. The last illustration is for a book project about telescopes called "Looking Up". It depicts the Holmdel Horn Antenna in New Jersey with which microwave background radiation was discovered in the 60s.

Special focus on Kardashian's family illustrated by Stephanie F. Scholz for Air le Mag (McDonald's).

Stéphanie is busy this summer; besides being available this month, she has just finalized illustrations for Missy Magazine and Luna magazine. Keep your eyes open for Zeit magazine in the upcoming months; she was chosen to illustrate the whole magazine.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Stephanie to the clinic.
Stephanie Franziska Scholz was born in 1983 in Japan, grew up in Australia and now lives and works in Berlin. She studied drawing and print making at the University of Fine Arts in Berlin as well as the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna and received her diploma in 2012. After completing her studies, she illustrated several books, worked for newspapers and magazines and began a series of computer cut-outs. She is a founding member of the art collective Studio Spektral and has participated in several solo and group exhibitions.