Superkids

The Superkids program comprises dozens of books that help kids from Kindergarten – 2nd Grade develop their reading and comprehension skills. The program includes 14 main characters who take readers on various adventures and teach them valuable lessons. During this project, our team worked with the publishing company and partner, Zaner-Bloser.

The Plan 

In March 2022, Zaner Bloser initially approached our team with what seemed impossible: rebranding and developing 1,500 illustrations for three Superkids components. Zaner Bloser’s concept artist, Peter Francis had already created the overall illustration style for this project. 

With initial character and environment concepts and art direction from Peter Francis, our team would build out all the illustrations with the help of our 3d and 2d teams.

Three phases broke up this 22-month-long project: Proof of Concept, Development of ALL 3D Characters and Environments, and Illustration Work. Our team would work on illustrations simultaneously when character models were being developed and approved. For example, once Kindergarten character models were approved, our team would work on sketches and final illustrations for all Kindergarten components. 

 

Three phases broke up this 22-month-long project: Proof of Concept, Development of ALL 3D Characters and Environments, and Illustration Work. Our team would work on illustrations simultaneously when character models were being developed and approved. For example, once Kindergarten character models were approved, our team would work on sketches and final illustrations for all Kindergarten components. 

Sneak peeks of the revised program to certain customers have already been a huge success. Customers have stated how excited they are to share the new stories with their students and have high praise for the attention given to the diversity of the characters. We expect the revisions made to The Superkids Reading Program to spark motivation in students by nurturing their curiosity with endearing characters whose adventures engage and inspire them to learn, and by empowering educators with an evidence-based user-friendly reading program.

  • We could not be more thrilled with the final result. MxT brought these characters to life throughout each and every story and worked tirelessly with our team to ensure quality and consistency. We worked with them as a team to figure out every aspect of the project, from process to timelines to the idea of making 3D models of the characters, saving us hours of work.

    Anne M. Rekow

    Senior Creative Director, Brand at Zaner-Bloser

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