it contains texts written by Jorn Barger, Bob Allison and Matthew Thomas together with texts gleaned from many others. It is the most recent (v3.0.3.12) publication.
========================================================================
| | : : :: \ \ ;;
J J : : :: \ \ ;;
L L : : __ _ _________ \ \ ;;
| | : : / |`| |`|___ ___|`-.\ \ ;;
J J : : / . | | | `-.| |`-. `-.`\ \ ;;
L L : : / /| | | | | | `-. `-\ \ ;;
| | : : / /_| | | | | | `-. \ \. ;;
J J : : / ___ | | | | | `-\ \`-.
L L : : / /`-.| | | |___ | | _ \ \-.`-._
| | : : /_/____|_|_|_____|_|_|_(_) _ \ \ `-._`:
J J : : |__________________________| `-. \ \-.,-'
L L : : _ _ _ _ _ ___ `-. `-. \ \ |
| | :_: /\(_ / ` | | _ /\ | ) | `-. `-. `-. \ \|
J J | | /--\_)\_,_|_|_-/--\|_\__|__ `-. `-._`-\ \
L L|_| |___________________________|`-. `-._ `-.\ \
| | | _____ ___ ___ `-.`-._ `-._ \ ,!`-.
J J | | ___|`/ _ \`-._/ _ \`--. `-._`--._`-'||`-'
L L | | |_ / /_\ \ / / \ \ `-._ `--. `-,+.`-._
__-------_ | _|`/ _____ \ \ \_/ /_._ `--._ `-.|X||-./
| |/|_|_./_/_____\_\_\_____/=\`-._ `-. |X||.|
| _,--------------.____ -========\_(A)`-.._ `-|X||\
Ool | _| ` |_`--. `-- |X||/
/VK | | | ALT.ASCII-ART: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS / ||-.
========================================================================
[Subject:] (FAQ) Welcome to ASCII art
========================================================================
__ __ __ _,
\\ \\ / ___ '|| ___ ___ __ _ _ ___ _/|_ ___
\\ /\\ / //_\) || // \)// \\ ||'||'|| //_\) || // \\
\/ \/ \\__,_||_\\__,\\_//_||_||_||_\\__, \|_\\_//
___ ___ ____ ____
/\ (( / // | || || ___ _,_ _/|_
/_\\ \\ (( || || __\\'||\) ||
_/ _\\_/__)) \\__,_||_ _||_ ((_||_||_ \|_
This FAQ may be posted to:
On the Web, the FAQ and other useful documents can be found in the ASCII art Documentation Archive (ADA), at the following locations:-
|
There is a wealth of information about ASCII Art in the ASCII Documents Archive International Mirrors |
|
|---|---|
| http://www.sci.fi/~iltzu/ascii/ada/ | (Helsinki, Finland) |
| http://www.ludd.luth.se/~vk/q/ada/ | (Lulea, Sweden) |
| http://voices.vossnet.co.uk/a/atkins/ada/ | (Langley, UK) |
| http://website.lineone.net/~martin.atkins/ada/ | (London, UK) |
| http://www.bluedwarf.net/mikechat/ada/ | (California, USA) |
| http://votrezone.com/ada/ | (Calgary, Canada) |
| http://martweb.hypermart.net/ada/ | (Seattle, USA) <==spyware |
You're probably reading this because it's been posted to alt.ascii-art, alt.ascii-art.animation or rec.arts.ascii.
If you're not, jump in and take a look. In these Usenet groups people discuss ASCII art, request ASCII art, post ASCII art, post improved versions or variations of other people's ASCII art, and generally have fun.
ASCII art is any sort of pictures or diagrams drawn with the printable characters in the ASCII character set. (For a definition of ASCII, see Question 3.)
:-) Probably the most common ASCII art picture is the smiley (-:
but it can get a lot more sophisticated than that.
____
.-" +' "-.
/.'.'A_'*`.\
|:.*'/\-\. ':|
|:.'.||"|.'*:|
\:~^~^~^~^:/
/`-....-'\
jgs / \
`-.,____,.-'
|
Here's a small ASCII picture of a snow-scene paperweight, drawn by Joan Stark: If this picture looks very strange and you can't really tell what it is, don't panic -- see Question 5. |
People use ASCII art for a number of reasons. Here are some of them.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
7-bit as defined in ISO-646 is a basic set of 128 numbered
symbols
which almost all kinds of computer can display. Here are the
ones
that are used for ASCII art:
032 [space] 048 0 064 @ 080 P 096 ` 112 p
033 ! 049 1 065 A 081 Q 097 a 113 q
034 " 050 2 066 B 082 R 098 b 114 r
035 # 051 3 067 C 083 S 099 c 115 s
036 $ 052 4 068 D 084 T 100 d 116 t
037 % 053 5 069 E 085 U 101 e 117 u
038 & 054 6 070 F 086 V 102 f 118 v
039 ' 055 7 071 G 087 W 103 g 119 w
040 ( 056 8 072 H 088 X 104 h 120 x
041 ) 057 9 073 I 089 Y 105 i 121 y
042 * 058 : 074 J 090 Z 106 j 122 z
043 + 059 ; 075 K 091 [ 107 k 123 {
044 , 060 < 076 L 092 \ 108 l 124 |
045 - 061 = 077 M 093 ] 109 m 125 }
046 . 062 > 078 N 094 ^ 110 n 126 ~
047 / 063 ? 079 O 095 _ 111 o
There are other characters in the set (with the numbers 0 - 31 and 127), but they can do bad stuff to Usenet readers, so PLEASE DON'T USE THEM in your pictures (except characters 10 and or 13 which are used to insert a new-line by a variety of Operating Systems).
If one particular picture posted to this group looks faulty, but the rest of them look fine, then its most likely a problem with that particular picture, or with the poster's Usenet program. But if all the pictures look bad, then your Usenet reader may be set to display messages in a proportional font (see Question 5).
ASCII art is created using a fixed-width font (like on a traditional typewriter), because this is the only way to make it portable. However, several Usenet readers now display messages in a proportional font (where different characters are different widths).
To see what your program is doing, look at these two lines:
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii| WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW|
If they look the same length, you're using a fixed-width font and all should be ok. If the second line is longer than the first, you need to change your settings to use a fixed-width font.
Detailed information on how to configure other Usenet readers is available at the ASCII-Art Documentation Archive. If all else fails, copy the text of the picture from your program and paste it into a text editor (such as Notepad). It's a hassle, but at least you'll get to see the pictures.
[jorn barger]
_+m"m+_
Jp qh
O O
Yb dY
"Y5m2Y"
|
You can create ASCII art in any text editor, such as: Notepad in Windows, SimpleText or BBEdit in MacOS, nedit, vi, vim, or pico in Unix, BEd or AZ in AmigaOS, edit in DOS, or any of the various Emacs editors.
A 'quick-start' program for learning is JavE, a free Java program that can be obtained from:- http://www.jave.de
Some editors have features which make them more suitable for ASCII art than others, but that is largely a matter of personal opinion. Features which are both useful for ASCII art and available in many text editors, include the following:-
Unfortunately, there aren't many text books on the subject. :-) A good way to learn is to study how someone has made a picture. What characters are chosen and how the characters are laid out. How a texture is made.
#########::::::::::######## ##########::::::::######### ###########::::::########## ###########,---.########### ##########/`---'\########## #########/ \######### ########/ \######## #######:`-._____.-':####### ######::::: ( ) |::::###### #####:::::: ) ( o:::::##### ####::::: .-(_)-. :::::#### ###:::::: '=====' ::::::### ########################Mk# |
The best way to learn is to Practise.
Draw your cat, your toaster, your
partner, your musical instruments,
anything that will sit still long
enough. Practice makes, if not
perfect, then at least pretty good.
Whether you do small drawings (less
work involved) or large ones (easier
to make recognizable) is up to you.
If you're interested in tutorials,
there are many available from the
ASCII-art Documentation Archive.
_
\`"-.
) _`-.
, : `. \
: _ ' \
; *` _. `--._
`-.-' `-.
| ` `.
:. . \
| \ . : .-' .
: )-.; ; / :
: ; | : : ;-.
; / : |`-: _ `- )
,-' / ,-' ; .-`- .' `--'
`--' `---' `---' bug
|
A good way to begin drawing is to type a row of spaces for however wide you want your picture, and then copy this row and paste it for however many rows high you think the picture will get. Turn Overtype on and place the cursor somewhere in the middle and begin drawing. This can save using Delete, Backspace, Enter and Space-bar keystrokes. Saving this empty `canvas' as a read-only file for future use can save you even more time later.
Another method is by tracing a picture either onto clear-plastic and sticking it onto the screen then opening an editor to trace under or using an editor which allows the loading of a background image to trace over, a process known as `water-mark'.
You can also modify existing art. Take a piece of art you think could be improved. Make a copy. Now work on it. When you are good at that, try to improve a really good pic. Then see if you can fix a damaged file. Now take some small pics and put them together into a big composite image.
When drawing ASCII art be aware that there are a few characters that differ in size, shape and position among fonts:
| ' | apostrophe | tilts southwest-northeast or vertical |
| ^ | caret | differs in size and shape |
| ~ | tilde | appears in the middle or top |
| I | aye | straight line in sans-serif, with strokes in serif try using the vertical bar (|) instead. |
| # | hash | hash symbol on most, currency on some old computers. |
There is a program called Figlet which does that sort of thing automatically -- you type in `Jane Smith', and you get back
___ __,
( / ( o _/_ /
/ __, _ _ `. _ _ , / /_
_/_(_/(_/ /_(/_ (___)/ / /_(_(__/ /_
//
(/
in this and a whole lot of other fonts (see Question 9). The ASCII art text produced by Figlet can be quite stunning, so try it first before asking for help from the newsgroups.
IF, however, Figlet doesn't produce the kind of results you want, THEN post to alt.ascii-art or rec.arts.ascii with your request and ensure that you include:
The Figlet home page is at:- http://www.figlet.org/
and links to the FTP site:- ftp://ftp.figlet.org/pub/figlet/
where you can download versions of the program or source-code
for many different platforms.
You can run Figlet on the Web by going to one of the following sites and choosing your text and options on the Web page. Different sites offer different options (e.g. multiple fonts at once, justification, and limited line length). Some of these sites also provide an e-mail Figlet service for people with browsers which don't support forms.
.
/ \
| |
|.|
|.|
|:| __
,_|:|_, / )
(Oo / _I_
+\ \ || __|
\ \||___|
\ /.:.\-\
|.:. /-----\
|___|::oOo::|
/ |:<_T_>:|
|_____\ ::: /
| | \ \:/
| | | |
[nosig] \ / | \__
/ | \____\
`-'
|
Don't assume that if somebody posts something to a Usenet group, that gives you the right to use it however you like, copyright laws still apply. For more information, see the article:- Copyright Myths FAQ: `10 big myths about copyright explained' in news.announce.newusers.
It is also available at:- http://www.clari.net/brad/copymyths.html
Generally, ASCII artists don't mind if you copy their pictures and re-post them or put them on your own Web site, as long as you don't make any money out of them.
Here are a few important considerations:-
_ ___
#_~`--'__ `===-,
`.`. `#.,//
,_\_\ ## #\
`__.__ `####\
~~\ ,###'~
\##'
[nosig]
|
As for posting other people's ASCII art, after a discussion in alt.ascii-art the following rules were agreed upon:
One contributor, name of Krogg, suggested the following:
You choose ... I think the default choice is #3 but you should make up yer own mind....
Give your request the subject: `REQ:' or `[req]'
Whatever you're looking for a picture of, in the message describe more exactly what you're looking for. Generally, the more specific you are, the more likely you are to get some response.
If you just say something like: `can someone draw me a fish, please' then you may not get many replies, because people may not know what size or feel they're wasting their time by drawing something you won't want. If you don't have Web access, mention this fact, otherwise you may get replies consisting only of URLs for the kind of pictures you're looking for.
If someone is rude back to you directly, then please be patient, since it may just be a troll trying to wind you up.
__
.' )) __-:!:- If you have a picture
.' .' )) and want it Ascii-fied
((__,' .' ASCII! -:!:- see Question 14 and 15.
-:!:- ((__,'*
It doesn't matter if your ASCII art isn't particularly good; we'd like to see it anyway. We won't be rude about it (although you'd better tell us what it is, or we might ask :-), but if it shows potential, you may find that other people will `re-diddle' it -- change a few characters, make it a bit better, and re-post it.
HOWEVER, there are a few things you should check before you post to alt.ascii-art any piece of ASCII art (see also Question 13).
So if you have one of these HTML-sending programs, then select the option which tells it to send messages as PLAIN TEXT only and turn off "send MIME message".
If you have a picture which uses HTML for a particular feature (such as colors or animation), put it on a Web page and post the URL of the page to alt.ascii-art
If you're not sure about whether your message will turn out ok, post it to a test group (such as news:alt.test or news:misc.test) first and make sure (using a different newsreader, if you can) that you can read it ok.
[See Question 10 for advice on posting someone else's ASCII art.]
_ _ _ _
___ (~ )( ~) The following List of Items (~ )( ~) ___
/ \_\ \/ / should NOT be posted to \ \/ /_/ \
| D_ ]\ \/ the Usenet groups:- \/ /[ _G |
| D _]/\ \ / /\[_ G |
\___/ / /\ \ alt.ascii-art / /\ \ \___/
mark (_ )( _) alt.ascii-art.animation (_ )( _) JavE
~ ~ news:alt.ascii-art.endless.blabla ~ ~
alt.binaries.pictures.ascii
NOTE: alt.binaries.pictures.ascii supports posting of ASCII software tools or fonts (in ZIP format) and binary images of ASCII or other FontSet (in GIF format) and any other ASCII art related material, but no Spam, in relation to discussions in the alt.ascii-art newsgroups.
Finally, do not use any control codes, non-ASCII characters, or word-processor-type formatting in your postings. These are particular to your editor or computer system they will almost certainly not have the intended effect on the systems the rest of us use (they may even crash some Usenet readers).
The official charter for rec.arts.ascii, as sent in the newsgroup control message, is:
The group rec.arts.ascii will be an appropriate group for postings to include, but not be limited to, the following:
rec.arts.ascii is a moderated group meaning that all posts are reviewed before being sent to the group. That work is done by a robo-moderator which filters SPAM and checks the posts have the correct format before approving them. It can also target a specific poster's traffic for human moderator approval.
Subjects must be tagged either:
The robo-mod also checks that the posts are in PLAIN TEXT only, that line length is set to LESS than 80 characters UNLESS the phrase [long lines] is in the BODY of the post, when the LIMIT is then raised to 200 characters.
Cross-posting is permitted provided that:
Cross-posting to other moderated groups is NOT permitted.
There are computer programs available which convert graphics files of a variety of formats (often GIF) to ASCII art. They go by names such as ascgif, gifa, gifscii, and gif2ascii. Do a Web search for any of these programs to find places where you can download them.
Try:
Many think that you just put a GIF into a converter program and out comes a perfect ASCII pic. Here are some things you can do to improve the chances of getting a good conversion:-
Another method is by tracing a picture, either onto clear-plastic and sticking it onto the screen then opening an editor to trace under or using an editor which allows the loading of a background image to trace over, a process known as `water-mark'.
In this case, post a request to alt.ascii-art asking for someone to `asciify' it, but
> >>> PLEASE DON'T POST THE PICTURE ITSELF <<<
to save downloading time for people reading the messages, if possible give the URL (Web address) of the picture instead.
If you saw the picture on a Web page, you can find out its URL by right-clicking on it (on the Macintosh, right-clicking, Ctrl-clicking, or holding down the mouse button) and selecting `Open this image' (or its equivalent for your Web browser), then copy the URL from the Location bar to your news program (make sure you copy it exactly).
If the picture is not on a Web site anywhere, put it up on your own site (if you have one), or get a friend to put it up on their site, and post the URL to alt.ascii-art. If you can't do this, post your request to the newsgroups and wait for someone to reply, then post the picture to alt.binaries.pictures.ascii or e-mail to them.
A signature file (or `sig' for short; not to be confused with the initials added to an ASCII picture) is a small, personalized text file which an e-mail or news program can add to the end of every message a person sends -- the equivalent of a letterhead for dead tree (paper) mail (or snail-mail). Usually it contains little more than the person's name, organization and e-mail address, maybe an inspirational quote of some sort and some people like to incorporate ASCII art into their signature files as well.
_ _ _ _ _ _ ___ ___ \|/ ____ \|/
| | | ___| | (_) \| | __/ __| @~/ ,. \~@
|_ _|___| |__| | .` | _|\__ \ /_( \__/ )_\ Mike
|_| |____|_|_|\_|___|___/[Figlet] \__U_/ Jittlov
The lack of importance in relation to global warming, violence in society, and so on, can be the subject of heated arguments. To be brief, (almost) no-one will complain if your signature file is four lines long or fewer -- and it is quite possible to draw good ASCII pictures which are that small.
_______________________________________________
(@) (@) `) There are a lot of web-pages on this with )
^ < > ^ ( google search ascii sig. _______)
=== `----Richard James-----------------'
Some e-mail/news programs don't allow you to have a signature file which is longer than four lines, while others just complain. Five or six lines may be acceptable, but any longer, and you're starting to take the risk that your signature will be longer than some of your e-mail messages; this wouldn't really make sense on paper, so it isn't really acceptable in cyberspace either. The exception is in messages posted to alt.ascii-art itself -- we're used to seeing long sigs, so we won't complain.
-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-
But, no matter what the length of your signature, make sure it's fewer than 72 characters wide, otherwise it may end up a horrible mess (see Question 8).
An animated image produced by a sequence of changing ASCII
pictures.
The speed will depend on the system you are using.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
o \ o / _ o __| \ / |__ o _ \ o / o
/|\ | /\ __\o \o | o/ o/__ /\ | /|\
/ \ / \ | \ /) | ( \ /o\ / ) | (\ / | / \ / \
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ascii-Animation transports vary a lot. The earliest known portable types used the Control-Codes of the (often .VT or .ANS) terminal screens for either `paging' or `direct cursor addressing'. Sometimes found as c-code in .sigs, which, when compiled and run produce moving patterns or images.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
o _ _ _
_o /\_ _ \\o (_)\__/o (_)
_< \_ _>(_) (_)/<_ \_| \ _|/' \/
(_)>(_) (_) (_) (_) (_)' _\o_
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Most Web Ascii-Animation uses Java or Javascript.
ObAscii = Obligatory Ascii
Obligatory: [adj] compulsory (of a ruling) having binding force
Ascii: [slang] ascii-art picture
A funny way to remind people to put a drawing in their post.
This means an ascii in every post! (especially off-topic threads) Failure to comply can result in flaming! This implies that if you don't include an ascii in your post you deserve to get flamed!
It is to be a new ascii-art which takes longer but allows time to collect your thoughts and gives bystanders something to look at.
====================================================================
The 1st ever! ObAscii :
====================================================================
From: Matthew Thomas <mpt26@spamfree.land>
Date: Thu, 08 Oct 1998 13:50:09 +1300
Organization: University of Canterbury.nz (opinions are my own)
^
,' \ [snip - 3rd party flame ]
L""/
` | BOLLOCKS!!!
J |
J L I am staying out of this as much as
| | . , possible, Colin, because I really ...
| | `v_L.'
// ,>'--\'_ :.
\`' \ - /-. [snip - rant/rave]
/ /`""| :.
),' `-
( ,-' \ Anyway, I think a lot of this
) ,' ,' h flaming would decrease if everyone
/ / / `)--.. was required to post a (different)
\/ / \ <) obligatory ASCII pic in each message
< , L<' -- at the very least, it would slow
F/ _/ ,' the flames down.
L ,-' \
| ___L So, to start the trend, here's my
/ ( F
J ___,' L ObAscii: the Statue of Liberty.
| ,' |
F ,' |
(_,--..__ mt-2|_
,' `"`--.._\
,' / \
/ (_
[snip - .sig of Matthew Thomas]
Microsoft's Outlook Express program has a number of flaws, including
which make it very difficult to send ASCII art properly. Whether these are bugs or features we don't know, but we do know that Microsoft would rather ASCII art as a medium just disappeared (see http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/digital/daily/0,2822,13735,00.html for more information). A registry patch to fix some of the flaws in Outlook Express is available from the ADA.
or the ascii-art you are sending is wider than 72 characters:
NOTE : If LUCIDA CONSOLE is not available as a font, pick another from the list of available FIXED-WIDTH fonts. Examples of fixed-width fonts commonly available with ms.windows:
If you have followed the above steps correctly, you should now be able to view and create ASCII art as it should be.
There are a number of ASCII art Usenet groups:-
are English-speaking ones that are widely used.
Lots of ASCII artists put up libraries of their own and others' ASCII art on their Web sites, as well as tutorials on how to draw ASCII art:
Darker .'`,^:";~ Lighter
bright /|\ -_+<>i!lI? /|\ dark
letters | /\|()1{}[] | letters
on rcvunxzjft on
dark | LCJUYXZO0Q | bright
background \|/ oahkbdpqwm \|/ background
Lighter *WMB8&%$#@ Darker
-------------------THE ASCII ART FAQ TEN COMMANDMENTS-------------------
\\\\`///
/ _ _| 1. Thou shalt read the FAQ.
(\'('\/') 2. Thou shalt not remove the
______/( >(__ initials from any ASCII art.
/`- \ \_=__| `\ 3. Thou shalt not claim ownership
/ /__( _____\ _____ of someone else's ASCII art.
/_ \.____ ," "." ",__ 4. Thou shalt read the FAQ.
| / _\__/_ - / \ 5. Thou shalt ask permission
\/ /____ \ASCII ART FAQ /// before using someone else's
) / / \__\ - | ASCII art.
'-.__|_/ ///| I VI | 6. Thou shalt not sell someone
\_ | | | else's ASCII art.
| | II VII | 7. Thou shalt read the darn FAQ.
\ | | | 8. Thou shalt not post someone
/ | III VIII | else's ASCII art without making
\ | | | clear that you didn't make it.
\_ | IV IX | 9. Thou shalt not assume that
\| | | ASCII art isn't art at all.
| V X | 10. Thou shalt read the FAQing FAQ.
|______b'ger______|
========================================================================
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END O F T H E A S C I I A R T FAQ
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