Hi, my name is Fran but you can also call me cavesprite too. I moved to Chicago from my hometown Atlanta in 2020. I am an evolutionary biology and earth sciences student pursuing my childhood dream of becoming a paleontologist and science communicator. I am also an interdisciplinary artist, with most of my artwork being fantasy/sci-fi illustration, pixel art, and paleoart. I have been playing Neopets since 2012 and aishas are one of my biggest muses. You will see them throughout my site and my artwork because I LOVE them!!
I have a lot of interests and hobbies, I mean a LOT.. Music has been a passion of mine for much of my life, and I have ammassed a large record collection over the years. Most of the music I tend to gravitate towards is electronic, industrial, ambient, and house, but I also have a soft spot for just about any other genre under the sun... I have been a big fan of Aphex Twin since 2014. I also love Nine Inch Nails, Dead Can Dance, Animal Collective, and LCD Soundsystem, to name a few. I actually used to DJ for a college radio station for a few years, and may or may not be involved with a *certain* band... but that's a story for another day, hehe....
I also love to read, and am usually reading a book or two as well as a few manga series at any given time. The library is one of my favorite places to hang out and relax! My favorite book is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Some of my other favorites include Dune, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Redwall, and Moomin. My favorite comics and manga are One Piece, Akira, Banana Fish, and the W.I.T.C.H. series. I also have a collection of cat-related manga and comics! I also love to read paleontology and evolution related scientific papers when they come out.
When I'm not drawing or reading, I like to play tabletop games and video games. I love to play on Roblox, Neopets, Flight Rising, and a pixel art game called Wplace, where you can find some of my artwork! Some modern game series I enjoy are Splatoon, Pokemon, Hylics, and Kirby. I am also a long time player of Cookie Run Kingdom. Although there are modern video games I enjoy, my favorite games are old-school arcade games, and the local arcade is one of my favorite places to go. My all-time favorite game is The Secret of Monkey Island, and I have played it several times. I highly recommend it!
I am also very passionate about animals, and caring for them is a big hobby of mine, especially fishkeeping. I have two cats, three guinea pigs, two Australian dumpy tree frogs, and a freshwater community tank. Currently I have albino corydoras, neon tetras, and a neocardina colony of 30+ (shrimpies!!). My shrimp babies are my pride and joy, and I bred over half of them myself โ with the most recent batch of shrimplets being born this past February. !! <3
I love to express myself through fashion, and I have many piercings. I have been dyeing my hair pastel pink since 2020, and it's one of my favorite colors. I have a wide array of styles I enjoy, but my favorite things to wear are either industrial goth/techwear or pastel pink. I also wear a lot of hippy/earth tone clothes as well, and have a lot of pastel 80s sweaters. My favorite colors to wear are brown or earth tones, black, gray, pink, and dark red. I have a lot of dark red clothing and I always wear it out when I want to feel lucky.. :) I also like to accessorize with hair clips, jewelry, and nails. I don't often wear makeup, but I LOVE glitter! I often wear hats and head coverings because of my trichotillomania. I also have an interest in indie perfumes, and collect a lot of unusual scents to match the seasons, my mood, and my outfits. You can see some of my looks and fashion inspiration here!
When I can, I hunt for fossils around the midwest and southeastern United States. Sometimes I also collect other rocks, feathers, bones, and dead insects. I also collect plushies and figures of cute characters I like. I collect dragons, San-x and Sanrio characters, Pop Mart characters, and various sofubi. I have a pretty big collection of Konatsuya negora sofubi. I also have a crystal collection. I have many collections, which you can browse here!
Oh, also, I LOVE OBJECT SHOWS!! Mainly BFDI but I have seen and enjoy many others, mainly TNM, One, and PPT2. My fav object show characters are Grassy and Tennis Ball! :3 As far as non-object shows, I don't normally watch many, but my favorite T.V. show is definitely The Sopranos. I also like The X-files, Twin Peaks, and retro cartoons or anything by Sid and Marty Krofft (I am a big fan of The Land of The Lost). I ocassionally will watch an old school anime, but I much prefer manga. I also love movies!! My favorite movie is Close Encounters of The Third Kind. I have a Letterboxd which you can check out here.
If you want, you can check out my art gallery here. If you are interested in the scientific work I do, click here!
I am cavesprite on most platforms, although I avoid social media like the plague. If you want to say hi, feel free to shoot me a message! I don't bite! Usually...
