Matthew Broughton Graphic Artist and Illustrator

ABOUT

A New Vision for Frankenstein: Drawing the Gothic Soul
I'm excited to share a recent project: a complete series of illustrations for Mary Shelley’s timeless classic, Frankenstein. I was commissioned for this project by Stephen Hipkiss from Hipkiss Publishing.

From the start, my goal was to ignore the Hollywood clichés and dive deep into Shelley's original text. I wanted the illustrations to reflect a dark, Gothic atmosphere true to the novel's mood. My line drawing style was heavily inspired by the dramatic, expressive work of masters like Rembrandt and Goya, helping me capture that deep, emotional intensity.

The book's design centres on a few key motifs. The striking yellow on the cover is a nod to Shelley's description of the Creature's chilling "yellow eye." I used this colour to really pop against the black cover. This led to the creation of the yellow lightning bolt that runs down the cover—a shape that not only mirrors the Creature’s profile but also became the unifying "logo" repeated on the spine and endpapers.

On the back cover, I played with shadow: the monster's face is subtly cast as the shadow beneath a full yellow moon, created by the figures of Frankenstein and his fiancée, Elizabeth.

MADEIT CREDITS

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