Guy Francis: Mormon Illustrator
Guy Francis is a children’s book illustrator. He was born and raised in Provo, Utah, and spent his summers working and playing on his family ranch. He began illustrating at age nine. His first projects consisted of creating cartoon characters commissioned by his friends for 25 cents and illustrating his fourth grade bulletin board. During high school he realized he could make a living at being an artist and earned his bachelor’s degree in illustration from Brigham Young University. While at BYU, he landed his first picture book job illustrating Showdown at Slickrock for editorial cartoonist Pat Bagley.
For the first ten years of his professional career, he illustrated and animated for educational software. He now illustrates book covers, children’s games, and chapter books as well as picture books. He has illustrated the Clark the Shark series (by Bruce Hale), the Ghosthunters series (by Cornelia Funke), the Blast to the Past series (by Stacia Deutsch), the Ghostville Elementary series (by Debbie Dadey), the Adam Sharp series (by George Edward Stanley), The Planet Hunter: The Story Behind What Happened to Pluto (by Elizabeth Rusch), Dance by the Light of the Moon (by Joanne Ryder), and Mary Had a Little Ham (by Margie Palatini), to name a few.
Francis is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Lorien, are the parents of four children.