Frances Castle

Frances Castle

From her first career in the computer game design industry Frances turned her hand to illustration in 2005. An avid collector of all things vintage she is particularly keen on old comic books and vintage children’s books from the 50’s and 60’s, this passion for all things retro can be seen influencing her work which has a wonderfully nostalgic feel.

Frances has illustrated a number of successful non-fiction titles exploring history, discovery, travel and famous historical figures. She has created her own self-published, fully illustrated graphic novel, Stagdale: Part One, which weaves an enticing mystery with facts from World War II and 1970’s Great Britain. Alongside her illustration work Frances is also a musician and she founded Clay Pipe Music, a boutique record label that releases beautifully designed, limited edition vinyl records.

Frances's work appeals to a broad range of editorial, design and publishing clients. She works digitally drawing straight onto her iPad Pro and then uses scanned and pre-painted textures to add depth and colour to her work. She enjoys experimenting with printmaking, particularly Gocco and Risograph printing.

Frances is based in North London and can be found on Instagram and Twitter, or on her allotment.