# Castleforte

> Long Beach, CA creative studio offering custom book cover design ($300–$750) and animated book covers ($400–$650), plus cinematic trailers, teasers and social animation, led by named principal Brian Castleforte.

Source: https://selfpublishingdirectory.com/cover-design/castleforte
Website: https://castleforte.com
Category: Cover Design (https://selfpublishingdirectory.com/cover-design)
Pricing: paid — $300–$750
AI-powered: yes
Tags: animated-cover, custom, premium, motion-graphics, book-trailer, social-media, professional-studio, named-principal, 3D-mockup, mp4, gif
Last verified: 2026-08-27
Best For: Authors who want one named, verifiable animator to handle the cover and the whole launch video package, from a static design through trailer
Genres: fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, romance
Revision Policy: Revisions are per-SKU, not house policy — 3 rounds on static cover design, 3 on cinematic trailers, 2 on animated covers, teasers and e-book enhancements, 1 on social content. Bundles cut this to 1–2 rounds per item.
Service Type: custom-studio

Castleforte (trading as Castleforte Creative) is a Long Beach, California studio led by Brian Castleforte, a designer and animator with 30+ years in graphic design, motion graphics and animation and 20+ years making film and TV graphics for LA studios — Nike, Marvel, Sony and Nintendo are named on his About page. Photographer/videographer Yoko Morimoto is the only other named team member. The book offering is a full launch-visuals package sold off one page, `/animated-book-covers/`: static cover design, animated covers, teasers, cinematic trailers, e-book enhancements, social content and author headshots.

- **Book cover design (static):** Value $300 (budget-friendly, professional quality), Premium $750 (custom illustration or photo manipulation). Both include 2 concept options, 3 revision rounds, professional typography, print-ready PDF plus web-optimized JPG, and a 3D mockup. Bought as an add-on to another service the same tiers drop to $200 / $550.
- **Animated book covers:** Essential/AI $400 (AI-assisted motion, the budget route), Deluxe $650 (traditional motion graphics, no AI). Both are a 5–10 second animation of your cover with motion graphics and VFX, 2 revisions, MP4 + GIF delivery, and platform-optimized versions.
- **Dynamic book teasers:** $300 (10s), $400 (15s), $500 (20s) — animated text and imagery with music, 2 revisions, plus a designed thumbnail and platform-sized cuts.
- **Cinematic book trailers:** $1,850 (15s), $3,500 (30s), $4,800 (60s). Includes script development, stock/AI video, music and sound FX, professional or AI voiceover, up to 30s of VFX, 3 revisions.
- **E-book enhancements:** $800 AI-enhanced (AI art for up to 10 pages, animation on 5 scenes), $1,800 hybrid (up to 15 pages, 7 scenes), $2,000 premium illustrated (hand illustration on 5 pages, 3 scenes).
- **Animated social content:** $300 for 2 post designs in 3 formats (6 files); $480 for 4 designs (12 files), 1 revision.
- **Bundles:** Author's Accelerator $2,700 (value cover + Essential animated cover + 10s teaser + 15s trailer + 6 social images, **1 revision each**), Bestseller Bundle $4,500 (Essential animated cover + 15s teaser + 30s trailer + 9 social images), Masterpiece Maker $5,800 (Deluxe animated cover + 20s teaser + 60s trailer + 12 social images). Stated savings are $450, $500 and "over $600" against à-la-carte, which reconciles against the published SKU prices. Note the Accelerator halves the revision allowance on every item to buy that discount.
- **Best for:** Authors with a marketing budget who want a named, verifiable animator rather than a faceless service, and who would rather buy the cover and the launch video from one studio than coordinate two vendors. The broader portfolio (TV, motion graphics, two published books, brand work) is a real differentiator from book-cover-only shops that bolted on animation.
- **Source files:** Not required any more — the studio will design the cover itself, and the Author's Accelerator bundles exactly that. If you bring your own cover, the animated tiers work from your existing art. The studio publishes nothing about whether it hands over layered PSD/AI files.
- **Limitations:** No turnaround time is published for any service — not on the pricing page, not in the process section, and no third-party source states one. Confirm the timeline on the free 20-minute discovery call before booking around a launch date. The site also has **no terms, privacy or refund page at all** (its 33-page sitemap contains none), so copyright ownership, stock-image licensing, deposit terms and refund policy are unpublished — get them in writing. The static cover design is described as "for print and e-books" but the studio never says whether that includes a full print wrap with spine and back cover; ask. The Essential/AI animated tier and much of the trailer/teaser/social work use generative AI imagery and voiceover, so authors with a no-AI policy are limited to the Deluxe animated cover and the Premium illustrated e-book package. The footer still reads "© 2024" and the "AI Studio" nav item is a dead link.