Liz Danforth

Elizabeth T. Danforth is a figure of note in the game industry. Although primarily recognized as an illustrator, she is an editor, writer, game scenario designer, and game developer.

Liz is known primarily as a freelance artist in the fantasy and science fiction genres, with the majority of her body of work illustrating for the game industry between 1976 and 2004. She has created book covers, maps, and illustrations for many of the significant game publishers including Wizards of the Coast, TSR, Inc, Alderac Entertainment Group, FASA, Iron Crown Enterprises, GDW, and more. She produced over 50 pieces of art for the massively popular collectible card game (produced by Wizards of the Coast) as well as an equal quantity of illustrative artwork for the Middle-earth Collectible Card Game, and Legend of the Five Rings (collectible card game), and many others. Her maps and illustrations appear in novels and anthologies from Bantam Spectra, Tor Books, DAW Books, and St Martin's Press.

She has freelanced for the computer game industry, developing scenarios for two licensed Star Trek computer games from Interplay. She was the lead developer for New World Computing's Tunnels & Trolls computer game, and worked on projects with Electronic Arts.

In July 1996, Elizabeth was inducted into the Academy of Gaming Arts and Design's Hall of Fame (award date 1995). [http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1995/list-of-winners] The Academy is the creative arm of GAMA, the Game Manufacturer's Association [http://www.gama.org/] . She is a lifetime member of ASFA, the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists [http://www.asfa-art.org/] .

Liz has been artist guest of honor at numerous science fiction conventions over the past 30 years, including CascadiaCon [http://www.cascadiacon.org/] , the North American Science Fiction Convention held in Seattle (2005).

More recently, Liz has completed a master's degree in Information and Library Science (University of Arizona, 2008), and is one of a dozen hand-selected "grant experts" working in association with the American Library Association on a million-dollar grant-funded project (funded by the Verizon Foundation) to study how gaming can be used to improve problem-solving and literacy skills, and to develop a model gaming "toolbox" for gaming in libraries.

Mini-List of Projects:
* Of Dice and Pen (anthology by editor Fred Poutre; publisher: Flying Pen Press, 2008): short story [http://www.amazon.com/Dice-Pen-Fred-Joseph-Poutre/dp/0981895727/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221690949&sr=1-1]
* Spirit Gate (novel by author: Kate Elliott; publisher: Tor Books, 1997): maps
* Tunnels & Trolls Fifth Edition (publisher: Flying Buffalo Inc, 1979): editor, developer and illustrator
* Highwaymen: Robbers and Rogues (anthology edited by Jennifer Roberson; publisher: DAW Books; 1997) illustrator
* Dragon Crown War (novel by author: Michael A. Stackpole; publisher: Bantam Spectra; 2002): map
* computer game from Interplay: scenario designer

External Links:
* http://www.oakheart.com/ Personal Web Site
* http://www.daydream-graphics.com/ Gallery Web Site
* http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/june2008/verizon08.cfm -- ALA press release on the gaming in libraries project
* http://gaming.ala.org/news/category/news/ for July 14, 2008