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. Zug has illustrated many collectible card games, including Magic: The Gathering and Dune, as well as books and magazines. He lives in Pennsylvania.^[2]

This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (July 2020)

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.^[3]

Zug returned to art, inspired by Frank Frazetta and the illustrators of the Brandywine School.^[4] He started painting in oil and attended art school for 2.5 years (no diploma).^{[citation needed]} He capped his tutorial by ghost-painting western novel covers and penciling historical comic strips on the side.^[4] 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.^[4] 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.^[4]

Zug's 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.^[5] He has also done cover artwork for novels by Angie Sage.^{[citation needed]} His work is included in the book Masters of Dragonlance Art.^[6]

Zug's first work with children's novels was illustrating the cover art and the inside pictures for the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. Zug has illustrated all seven released novels.^[7]

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."^[8] He was nominated for a Chesley and received the Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist in 2001.^[4]

Novels:^[9]

• 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" by Ben Bova in Amazing Stories

Cover art:

• 1995: I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay
• 1996: Gold Unicorn
• 1997: Red Unicorn
• 1998: Amazing Stories, Fall 1998
• 2003: The Alabaster Staff
• 2003: The Best of The Realms
• 2003: Wild Robert
• 2005: The Shattered Land
• 2005: Septimus Heap, Magyk
• 2006: Septimus Heap, Flyte
• 2007: Septimus Heap, Physik
• 2008: Septimus Heap, Queste
• 2009: Septimus Heap, Syren
• 2011: Septimus Heap, Darke
• 2013: Septimus Heap, Fyre

Dungeons & Dragons

• 2001: Lords of Darkness (cover)
• 2007: Rules Compendium

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)^[10]
• 2010 - Illie Award for "Helium" presented at IlluXCon