| Janet Aulisio | |
| Birth Place: | Hackensack, New Jersey |
| Nationality: | American |
| Field: | Fantasy and sf art |
| Awards: | Chesley Award, 1988 |
Janet Elizabeth Aulisio-Dannheiser is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. From 1981 to 1995, she created the cover artwork for 24 books and magazines, and during the same period, her interior work appeared in over 100 publications.
Janet Aulisio was born in Hackensack, New Jersey.[1] Her work has primarily appeared in publications for FASA, Game Designers' Workshop and White Wolf Publishing — she is especially known for her work on Shadowrun and Earthdawn books — but she has also illustrated cards for , On the Edge and BattleTech TCG, created several covers for Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact and Amazing Stories. and illustrated nine novels.[2]
Writing for Black Gate, Scott Taylor commented on her work for Shadowrun, saying, "Her work on Shadowruns 2nd Edition defined the system's reboot, and her color work gives an almost rhythmic club feel to any interaction within the pages. She creates characters, storylines, and a feeling of heat and shade that whispers of sex, drugs, and magic deep in the alleys of a hard-boiled subculture. ... Although Janet was already doing limited work in color, her vibrant acrylics came to life as she explored the apocalyptic pre-history spun in this gaming system. It was here also that one of her most famous works, "Obsidiman Merchant", came into being. With him we see all the emotion and depth Janet wields with her brush, the tiles behind him helping create a vision of detail that is definitive in everything she creates."[3]
In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath reviewed Shadowrun and noted, "Janet Aulisio comes on board for the second edition, providing deep shadows through which to skulk." In his examination of Earth Dawn, Horvath commented, "[Janet] Aulisio, an enigmatic figure who largely vanished from the industry later in the decade, delivers some sublime work for the setting. In previous games, her work is characterized by deep shadows. This is true here, but she also showcases an astounding sense of color and pattern — her portrait of the Obsidiman merchant, in striped pants and patterned textiles, lounging against a mosaic wall, in many ways, sums up the complex visual language of the entire line."[4]