Gary Chalk, the illustrator of the early Lone Wolf series, was born in 1952, grew up in Hertfordshire, England. Being interested in history, he began playing war games at the age of fifteen. When he graduated from college with a Bachelor of Arts in design, Gary spent three years training in a studio before becoming a teacher in art and design.

Gary was working as a childrens book illustrator when he became involved in adventure gaming, an interest which eventually led to the creation of several successful games. He is the inventor/illustrator of some of Britains biggest-selling fantasy games including Cry Havoc, Starship Captain, and Battlecars (co-designed with Ian Livingstone). He is also known for his work on the very successful game, Talisman.

Gary was working at Games Workshop when Joe Dever asked him to illustrate some of his manuscript of Flight from the Dark. The two teamed up after that and they continued to work together until the eighth book in the series, The Jungle of Horrors.

Gary has also drawn the illustrations in Redwall and related books, The Prince of Shadows gamebook series, and several books which he also authored. Gary continues to enjoy war gaming and works as an illustrator and model maker.