Mark Zug is an artist and illustrator who is known for his work with the Septimus Heap series and Harlan Ellison's adaptation of I, Robot. He has illustrated many collectible card games, including Magic: The Gathering and Dune, as well as books and magazines. He lives in Pennsylvania.
Biography
Zug began drawing in childhood. His early art as a teen was inspired by authors such as Frank Herbert and J. R. R. Tolkien. He later worked as a class-A machinist at a factory while experimenting with a musical career.
Rise to prominence
He returned to art, inspired by Frank Frazetta and illustrators of the Brandywine School. 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 Harlan Ellison'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 Frank Herbert'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, Diana Wynne Jones, and Hilari Bell, as well as series like Dragonlance. His work can also be found on the covers of Star Wars comics and the magazines Popular Science, Dragon, Dungeon, Duelist, Inquest, Star Wars Gamer, Amazing Stories, and is associated with many fantasy game products and brands like Shadowrun, Battletech, 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 for the Nancy Yi Fan novel Swordbird 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 for Best Emerging Artist in 2001.
Bibliography
Novels: 2005: Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk 2006: Septimus Heap, Book Two: Flyte 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 (I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay) 1999: A Whisper of Caladan Seas 2000: High Jump
Cover Art: 1995: Cover - I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay 1996: Cover - Gold Unicorn 1997: Cover - Red Unicorn 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
Awards
Mark Zug has won a few awards for his outstanding works
2001 - Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist
2005 - Chesley Award for Best Gaming Related Illustration (2005) 2010 - Illie Award for "Helium" presented at IlluXCon