Mark Zug is an artist and illustrator who is known for his work with the Septimus Heap series and

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of ''Psycho'', ...

's adaption of

I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines '' Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' bet ...

. He has illustrated many collectible card games, including

Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...

and

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

, as well as books and magazines. He lives in Pennsylvania.

Biography

Zug began drawing in childhood. His early art was inspired by authors such as

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel ''Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...

and

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

as a teen. He later worked as a class-A machinist at a nearby factory while experimenting with a musical career.

Rise to prominence

He returned to art, inspired by

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media. He is ...

and illustrators of the

Brandywine School The Brandywine School was a style of illustration—as well as an artists colony in Wilmington, Delaware and in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, near the Brandywine River—both founded by artist Howard Pyle (1853–1911) at the end of the 19th century. ...

. He started painting in oil and attended art school for 2.5 years (no diploma). He capped his tutorial by ghost-painting western novel covers and penciling historical comic strips on the side. His first big break came in 1992 illustrating

's I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay, for which he also did 160 pages of fully painted comics. He fulfilled a long-held dream of illustrating

's Dune universe - in the form of Last Unicorn's collectible card game of the same name, which proved a springboard into game illustration.

Present

His works have appeared on the covers of novels by authors like

Tanith Lee Tanith Lee (19 September 1947 – 24 May 2015) was a British science fiction and fantasy writer. She wrote more than 90 novels and 300 short stories, and was the winner of multiple World Fantasy Society Derleth Awards, the World Fantasy Lifetime ...

Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011) was a British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually ...

, Hilari Bell, the

Dragonlance ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving i ...

series,

Star Wars comics ''Star Wars'' comics have been produced by various comic book publishers since the debut of the 1977 film ''Star Wars''. Marvel Comics launched its original series in 1977, beginning with a six-issue comic adaptation of the film and running fo ...

, the magazines Popular Science, Dragon, Dungeon, Duelist, Inquest, Star Wars Gamer, Amazing Stories, and graced many fantasy game products and brands like

Shadowrun ''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspi ...

Battletech ''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark ...

, Dune, and Magic: The Gathering. He has also done cover artwork for novels by Angie Sage. His work is included in the book ''Masters of Dragonlance Art''. His first work with children's novels was illustrating the cover art and the inside pictures for the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. He has illustrated all seven released novels.

Critical acclaim

Zug has received quite a few accolades for his visually stunning artwork. His work in the

Nancy Yi Fan Nancy Yi Fan (born August 26, 1993 ) is a Chinese American author who is best known for writing a series that currently consists of the novels ''Swordbird'', ''Sword Quest'', and ''Sword Mountain''. Biography Fan was born in Beijing, China. At ...

novel

Swordbird ''Swordbird'' is a children's fantasy novel written by Nancy Yi Fan. A prequel, '' Sword Quest'', was released January 22, 2008. A sequel, '' Sword Mountain'', based on Sword Mountain, home of an eagle tribe mentioned in ''Sword Quest'', was pub ...

was acclaimed, saying that "Mark Zug's black-and-white drawings repeat strategically, offering a visual underpinning to the characters and story line." He was nominated for a Chesley and received the

Jack Gaughan Award The Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist is an American award honoring the memory of illustrator Jack Gaughan. Because the latter felt it was important to encourage and recognize new blood in the field, the New England Science Fiction Assoc ...

for Best Emerging Artist in 2001.

Bibliography

Novels: *2005: Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk *2006: Septimus Heap, Book Two:

Flyte ''Flyte'' is a 2006 children's novel by Angie Sage and the second book in the '' Septimus Heap'' series. The book's cover was modelled after the in-story book: ''How to Survive Dragon Fostering: A Practykal Guide'' with the Flyte Charm lying o ...

*2007: Septimus Heap, Book Three: Physik *2008: Septimus Heap, Book Four: Queste *2009: Septimus Heap, Book Five: Syren *2011: Septimus Heap, Book Six: Darke *2013: Septimus Heap, Book Seven: Fyre Interior Art: *1995: Illustrations (

: The Illustrated Screenplay) *1999: A Whisper of Caladan Seas *2000: High Jump Cover Art: *1995: Cover -

: The Illustrated Screenplay *1996: Cover -

Gold Unicorn ''The Unicorn Series'' is a young-adult fantasy novel series by Tanith Lee. The trilogy revolves around Tanaquil, a young woman who is better at tinkering than magic, much to the dismay of her sorceress mother. ''Black Unicorn'' ''Black U ...

*1997: Cover -

Red Unicorn ''The Unicorn Series'' is a young-adult fantasy novel series by Tanith Lee. The trilogy revolves around Tanaquil, a young woman who is better at tinkering than magic, much to the dismay of her sorceress mother. ''Black Unicorn'' ''Black Un ...

*1998: Cover - Amazing Stories, Fall 1998 *2003: Cover - The Alabaster Staff *2003: Cover - The Best of The Realms *2003: Cover - Wild Robert *2005: Cover - The Shattered Land *2005: Cover - Septimus Heap, Magyk *2006: Cover - Septimus Heap, Flyte *2007: Cover - Septimus Heap, Physik *2008: Cover - Septimus Heap, Queste *2009: Cover - Septimus Heap, Syren *2011: Cover - Septimus Heap, Darke *2013: Cover - Septimus Heap, Fyre Dungeons & Dragons *2001: '' Lords of Darkness'' (cover) *2007: ''

Rules Compendium ''Rules Compendium'' is a book written for the 3.5 edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Contents The ''Rules Compendium'' consists of material that originally appeared in the ''Player's Handbook'', ''Dungeon Master' ...

Awards

Mark Zug has won a few awards for his outstanding works *2001 -

for Best Emerging Artist *2005 -

Chesley Award The Chesley Awards were established in 1985 by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists to recognize individual artistic works and achievements during a given year. The Chesleys were initially called the ASFA Awards, but were later re ...

for Best Gaming Related Illustration (2005)(October 2005). "Chesley Awards", '' Chronicle'' 27 (9): 10–11. *2010 - Illie Award for "Helium" presented at IlluXCon

References

External links

Official Mark Zug website - link to the fantasy world of Mark ZugMark Zug bibliography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zug, Mark 1959 births American illustrators Artists from Fort Wayne, Indiana Artists from Pennsylvania Fantasy artists Living people Role-playing game artists Septimus Heap