Tsuyoshi Nagano (長野 剛 in Japanese) is the creative mind behind the cover illustrations for the Japanese editions of the Star Wars novels.
Beyond his contributions to Star Wars, he has also produced artwork for the Nobunaga's Ambition and Romance of the Three Kingdoms series of KOEI PC/Online games, Toho's Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-out Attack, and the covers for Sekai Bunka Publishing's Sanguozhi (Three Kingdom Saga).
He holds memberships in both the Society of Illustrators and the Japan Publication Artist League.
Around the year 1998, the artist Tsuyoshi Nagano discovered a Star Wars novel while browsing a bookstore. This encounter ignited a desire within him, leading him to approach his employer, Takeshobo, the publishing house responsible for the Japanese Star Wars novels, to inquire about the possibility of creating cover art for the series. Nagano's enthusiasm stemmed from his long-standing admiration for Star Wars, dating back to his school days. In fact, the first laserdisc he ever purchased was Star Wars, making him "really excited" about the prospect of working on the project. His initial assignment involved designing the cover art for a Willow novel, and his supervisor, Junzo Takagi, expressed considerable satisfaction with his work. Following this success, Nagano received the green light to embark on his first Star Wars novel cover art endeavor, which was for the Hand of Thrawn duology.
Nagano ultimately crafted a total of 96 cover art pieces for the Star Wars franchise.
- The Phantom Menace
- The Jedi Quest series The Way of the Apprentice The Trail of the Jedi The Dangerous Games The Master of Disguise The School of Fear The Shadow Trap The Moment of Truth The Changing of the Guard The False Peace The Final Showdown
- Outbound Flight
- Attack of the Clones
- The Clone Wars multimedia project Shatterpoint The Cestus Deception Jedi Trial Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
- Labyrinth of Evil
- Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
- The Last of the Jedi series The Desperate Mission Dark Warning Underworld Death on Naboo A Tangled Web Return of the Dark Side
- Death Star
- Allegiance
- The Hand of Thrawn duology Specter of the Past Vision of the Future
- Survivor's Quest
- The New Jedi Order series Vector Prime Dark Tide I: Onslaught Dark Tide II: Ruin Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse Balance Point Edge of Victory I: Conquest Edge of Victory II: Rebirth Star by Star Dark Journey Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand Traitor Destiny's Way Force Heretic I: Remnant Force Heretic II: Refugee Force Heretic III: Reunion The Final Prophecy The Unifying Force
- The Dark Nest trilogy The Joiner King The Unseen Queen The Swarm War
- The Essential Chronology
- The New Essential Chronology
- The Ultimate Visual Guide: Special Edition
- Rebel Reads 2021 on the Rebel Legion YouTube channel (backup link)
- Tsuyoshi Nagano: Interview with the Legendary Expanded Universe Artist and Art Gallery Spotlight on the Jedi Council Forums (Literature board; posted by xezene on 3/19/22 7:45am) (backup link)
- Tsuyoshi Nagano, Legendary EU Illustrator: Interview and Art Spotlight on Reddit (March 19, 2022) (backup link)
- https://tsuyoshi-nagano.nftc2022.com/ - Tsuyoshi Nagano's official site
- http://artas1.com/tsuyoshi_nagano/ - Tsuyoshi Nagano's official ARTas1 page
- http://en.tis-home.com/tsuyoshi-nagano - Tsuyoshi Nagano's official Tokyo Illustrators Society page
- Tsuyoshi Nagano ( @Tsuyoshi Nagano ) on Twitter
- Tsuyoshi Nagano on Instagram