Frank Herbert's Dune has been inspiring artists since the release of the first of the six novels way back in 1965. The design of Arrakis and the planet's giant sandworms have been interpreted many times, in dozens of book covers, movie posters and video games, sometimes based closely on Herbert's text, and sometimes in more impressionistic interpretations.
With Dune: Part 2 now in cinemas, we celebrate below some of the best Dune art we have seen, from classic covers to more modern interpretations, and yes, even a poster for David Lynch's much maligned take on the saga. For more art and design inspiration from the movies, see our piece on the evolution of Godzilla and the history of the Ghostbusters logo.
The first Dune covers by John Schoenherr
Dune began life in serialised form in Analog magazine in December 1963, with covers illustrated by John Schoenherr. Herbert himself was a fan of the art and said Schoenherr had managed to capture the “Dune mood”. So when Chilton took on Hebert's novel, it made sense to reuse a piece by Schoenherr.
Interestingly, the option chosen wasn't one that shows the sandworms or any other science fiction element of the story, but a mysterious landscape that evokes fantasy rather than sci-fi. It could easily be a scene from Earth, and this may have been intentional given the disdain with which sci-fi was sometimes viewed. Chilton also decided to release the book as a hardback to set it apart from disposable pulp sci-fi.
Schoenherr was commissioned to create a new cover for the paperback release of the novel. In this case, the illustration is simpler in its composition, with less detailed textures. It's also brighter, easier to interpret with the shape of the characters in the foreground being clearer, but it still evokes a sense of mystery, inviting us to wonder what's behind the huge rock.
Bruce Pennington's Dune paperback covers
In the 1970s and 80s, the New English Library released Dune books one to four in paperback with vibrant wraparound illustrations by the British artist Bruce Pennington. The illustrations sometimes took a quite free interpretation of the books, which is perhaps why Manor Books chose to reuse them for totally unrelated titles, but they are glorious works themselves, and the vivid colours combined with the choice of font seem quite in tune with the psychedelic experiences that inspired Herbert's vision.
And Pennington didn't take his own art too seriously either. He went on to parody his own work by illustrating the cover for the National Lampoon spoof Doon in the 1980s.
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The German Dune movie poster by John Berkey
David Lynch's 1984 big-screen interpretation of Dune may have been imperfect (...OK, it got panned), but at least it led to the creation of this stunning poster by John Berkey. A giant in the history of science fiction art, Berkey was responsible for much of the original poster art for the Star Wars trilogy. He didn't shy away from showing the sandworms in this piece, capturing their size in his signature realistic but impressionistic style.
Gerry Grace's Dune cover panorama
These are the Dune covers that I remember, and they tapped into a sci-fi art style that was in vogue in the 1980s. Gerry Grace's covers were more literal than some previous Dune artwork, with plenty of overt references to elements in each novel. They have that glorious soft colour palette, and best of all, the illustrations form one huge panorama when the books are placed open side by side. Epic.
Someone stitched together these 1980s Dune covers by Gerry Grace and it’s spectacular. pic.twitter.com/IqmvsBrzriOctober 9, 2022
The Dune 2019 deluxe edition
Coming up to date, the trend has gone back in the opposite direction, and more recent Dune covers have tended to be more minimalist and abstract. That partly reflects a trend in book cover art in general, but there's also the fact that people are perhaps now more familiar with the story of Dune – or at least probably know that it features giant sandworms.
As such, recent cover art has sought to emphasise Dune's place as a contemporary classic and a serious piece of literature. The cover of Penguin's deluxe, hardback 2019 edition of Dune features an illustration by Matt Griffin, who also did the endpapers and dust jacket.
Dune 50th anniversary edition
Speaking of minimalism, the 50th anniversary edition of Dune features one of the most abstract. All of the elements are present in Sean O’Connell's beautiful cover art, but in a stripped down form, with a sandworm shown as a silhouette revealing sandy dunes and distant planets in muted colours. Very classy.
2019 Ace edition
The 2019 US paperback edition from Penguin's Ace also goes for a minimalist approach with layered orange tones for an almost cut-out look and a vertical title. The emphasis is on Arrakis and spice production, although illustrator and designer Jim Tierney places the figure of Paul Atreides in the 'U' of the title.
The Dune movie posters
Fans of the Dune saga loved the minimalist Dune movie poster created to tease the release of the first installment of Denis Villeneuve's cinematic interpretation of the first Dune novel. Simple but effective, it makes brilliant use of negative space to create the effect of both a large, dark planet and a sand dune. Like recent book covers, it put the emphasis on the design of Arrakis and raised our expectations for the 2021 film, although a strategically placed lens flare couldn't prevent some people from reading the title as 'DUNC'.
The initial Dune Part 2 poster was equally simple and effective, with not a floating head in sight. It showed Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides and Zendaya's Chani in front of a striking Arrakis sunset. One of the best movie posters of 2023, it whet our appetite for the sequel that's showing at cinemas now.
Dune Awakening concept art
Moving on to video games, the evocative concept art for Dune: Awakening has us excited about the upcoming survival game. Awakening is a complex survival MMO from Funcom, the studio behind Conan: Exiles, built in Unreal Engine 5. There's still no release date. But all we can say is that the design of Arrakis looks more beautiful than ever.
For more on the artistic legacy of Herbert's sage, see our piece on how Dune influenced a generation of artists.
