Paul Youll was born in Hartlepool, England on June 8, 1965. He was the youngest of a set of identical twins with three older brothers. He and his twin brother, Stephen, were always fascinated by science fiction at the movies, in comic books, and on television. When asked the question 'why become an artist?', Paul always says 'it's the love of science fiction that created the artist not the artist creating Science fiction'. In 1981 both Paul and Stephen enrolled at New College Durham to study art full time with the goal to become book cover artists for science fiction and fantasy novels. The college taught many disciplines in painting, design and life drawing, and at every opportunity he would slip in a sci-fi piece of art into his course work. After graduating from college the brothers then continued their study of art at Sunderland University. Here Paul studied Natural History and Visual Information Design. The courses provided excellent training for painting animals and landscapes which would prove very valuable when doing fantasy paintings and rendering the intricate backgrounds he is so well known for in the book publishing world.
After graduating from Sunderland University, many months were spent painting various samples to show to art agents in London. The work was well received and both brothers were advised to show their art at the next big Science Fiction Convention to be held in six months. During this time Paul and his twin were employed at the famous Durham Cathedral to paint portraits and illustrations of various artifacts for churches throughout the North of England. After work he painted more samples to exhibit and they showed their science fiction work for the first time at the World Science Fiction Convention in 1987. It was this first exhibition that got them their first book cover assignment for a novel by Daniel Keyes Moran called 'Emerald Eyes'. It was everything that Paul had been working toward.
This first job was the beginning of a wonderful career as a book illustrator. From 1987 to the end of 1989, the brothers worked side by side on many commissions both from London and New York publishers. Paul and Stephen split up their artistic partnership in 1989 when Stephen went to live in the United States. Paul has worked since then for just about every publishing house in New York painting covers for such famous authors as Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, Anne McCaffery, Connie Willis, Ian McDonald, George Alec Effinger, Charles Sheffield, Stephen R. Donaldson, Timothy Zhan, Jack L. Chalker, George R. R. Martin, Fred Saberhagan, Mike Resnick, Larry Niven, Dave wolverton and Catherine Kerr. Paul is well known for his popular Star Wars X-Wing jackets and his Star Trek illustrations for the Bradford Exchange. His work has been exhibited in England and the United States. The Paintings he does are incredibly full of detail and a high degree of realism.
Paul Youll lives in England with his wife, Annmarie and their cat, Tiger.
This website is dedicated to my brother Graeme who loved science fiction as much as anyone.
