======================================================================== | | : : :: \ \ ;; J J : : :: \ \ ;; L L : : __ _ _________ \ \ ;; | | : : / |`| |`|___ ___|`-.\ \ ;; J J : : / . | | | `-.| |`-. `-.`\ \ ;; L L : : / /| | | | | | `-. `-\ \ ;; | | : : / /_| | | | | | `-. \ \. ;; J J : : / ___ | | | | | `-\ \`-. L L : : / /`-.| | | |___ | | _ \ \-.`-._ | | : : /_/____|_|_|_____|_|_|_(_) _ \ \ `-._`: J J : : |__________________________| `-. \ \-.,-' L L : : _ _ _ _ _ ___ `-. `-. \ \ | | | :_: /\(_`/ `-| |`-_/\-| )-_| `-. `-. `-. \ \| J J | | /--\_)\_,_|_|__/--\|_\__|__ `-. `-._`-\ \ L L|_| |___________________________|`-. `-._ `-.\ \ | | | _____ ___ ___ `-.`-._ `-._ \ ,!`-. J J | | ___|`/ _ \`-._/ _ \`--. `-._`--._`-'||`-' L L | | |_ / /_\ \ / / \ \ `-._ `--. `-,+.`-._ __-------_ | _|`/ _____ \ \ \_/ /_._ `--._ `-.|X||-./ | |/|_|_./_/_____\_\_\_____/=\`-._ `-. |X||.| | _,--------------.____ -========\_(A)`-.._ `-|X||\ Ool | _| ` |_`--. `-- |X||/ /VK | | | ALT.ASCII-ART: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS / ||-. ======================================================================== [Subject:] (FAQ) Welcome to ASCII art ======================================================================== __ __ __ _, \\ \\ / ___ '|| ___ ___ __ _ _ ___ _/|_ ___ \\ /\\ / //_\) || // \)// \\ ||'||'|| //_\) || // \\ \/ \/ \\__,_||_\\__,\\_//_||_||_||_\\__, \|_\\_// ___ ___ ____ ____ /\ (( / // | || || ___ _,_ _/|_ /_\\ \\ (( || || __\\'||\) || _/ _\\_/__)) \\__,_||_ _||_ ((_||_||_ \|_ Answers to frequently asked questions about ASCII art ======================================================================== 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://website.lineone.net/~martin.atkins/ada/ (London, UK) http://votrezone.com/ada/ (Calgary, Canada) ======================================================================== -*+!%$%!+*-.-*+!%$%!+*-.-*+!%$%!+*-.-*+!%$%!+*-.-*+!%$%!+*-.-*+!%$%!+*- ======================================================================== Contents ======================================================================== [1] What's alt.ascii-art? [2] What is ASCII art? [3] What does ASCII mean? [4] Why do all the pictures look strange? [5] What font do you use for ASCII art? [6] What program do you use for ASCII art? [7] How do I draw my own ASCII art? [8] Can someone do me some kewl lettering? [9] Where can I find Figlet's address? [10] Can I copy or post that ASCII picture for myself? [11] What way works best to ask for a picture of something? [12] What should I know before posting to alt.ascii-art? [13] What to NOT post to alt.ascii-art? [da roolz] [14] Have a picture or graphic and would like it Asciified? [15] How do I convert a picture or graphic to ASCII art? [16] How do I put ASCII art on a webpage? [17] What are ASCII art signature files? [18] What is ASCII art animation? [19] What does ObAscii mean? [20] The ASCII Art Rough-Guide to m$.Outlook? [21] Where can I find pictures/tutorials/infos/chatrooms/experts? [22] Historacle's What types of ASCII art are there? [X1] The Ascii Art 10-Commandments ======================================================================== [1] What's alt.ascii-art? What's going on here? ======================================================================== You're probably reading this because it's been posted to news:alt.ascii-art, news: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. ======================================================================== [2] What is ASCII art? ======================================================================== 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. ____ .-" +' "-. Here's a small ASCII picture of /.'.'A_'*`.\ a snow-scene paperweight, |:.*'/\-\. ':| drawn by Joan Stark: |:.'.||"|.'*:| \:~^~^~^~^:/ If this picture looks very strange and /`-....-'\ you can't really tell what it is, jgs / \ don't panic -- see Question 5. `-.,____,.-' People use ASCII art for a number of reasons. Here are some of them. * It is the most universal computer art form in the world -- every computer system capable of displaying multi-line text can display ASCII art, without needing to have a graphics mode or support a particular graphics file format. * An ASCII picture is hundreds of times smaller in file size than its GIF or BMP equivalent, while still giving a good idea of what something looks like. * It's easy to copy from one file to another (just cut and paste). * It's fun! ======================================================================== [3] What does ASCII mean? ======================================================================== 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). ======================================================================== [4] Why do the pictures look strange? ======================================================================== 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). * If there are a lot of almost-blank lines in the picture, then the message is probably suffering from `wrapping'. This wrapping may be being done by your newsreader; see if it has an option called `wrap long lines' or similar, and make sure it is turned off. If this doesn't work, then the wrapping was probably done by the news program of the person who sent the picture, in which case there's not much you can do -- everybody else will be seeing the same thing. * If there are a lot of < and > symbols in the picture, with words like HTML, FONT COLOR, B, I, and so on inside them, then the picture has been sent in HTML format and your newsreader does not understand HTML (most newsreaders don't). ======================================================================== [5] What font do you use for ASCII art? ======================================================================== 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). The following two lines tell you which kind of font you're using. The arrow ends up in a different place for different font types and is right most of the time: You are using a [Proportional] [Monospaced] font ................................. --^-- Also, 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. In Netscape Messenger, this option is set in Edit > Preferences > Mail & Newsgroups. In Outlook Express, the option is set in View > Options > Fonts (see Question 20) In Forte Agent, the option is set in Options > Display Preferences > Fonts and Free Agent, the option is set in Options > General Preferences > Fonts The AOL newsreader can not, at the time of writing, display Usenet messages in a fixed-width font at all. Detailed information on how to configure other Usenet readers is available at the: ASCII-Art Documentation Archive (see the beginning of this FAQ). 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. ======================================================================== [6] What program do you use for ASCII art? ======================================================================== You can create ASCII art in any text editor, [jorn barger] such as: Notepad in Windows, SimpleText or BBEdit in MacOS, nedit, vi, vim, or pico in Unix, _+m"m+_ BEd or AZ in AmigaOS, edit in DOS, Jp qh or any of the various Emacs editors. O O Yb dY A 'quick-start' program for learning "Y5m2Y" 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:- * Overtype, also known as overstrike: removes the need for you to constantly realign characters using the Backspace, Space, and Delete keys. Try the Insert key if there is one on your keyboard, or your program's Options or Preferences. * Rectangular copy and paste: allows you to select rectangular sections of text (not just rows or parts of rows). On programs which have this feature, it is usually done by holding down a key such as Ctrl while selecting text. * Find/Change: allows you to change all the characters of one value to another (eg: change all the ~s to "s). ======================================================================== [7] How do I draw my own ASCII art? ======================================================================== 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. ########:::::::::::######## 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. #####:::::: ) ( o:::::##### If you're interested in tutorials, ####::::: .-(_)-. :::::#### there are many available from the ###:::::: '=====' ::::::### ASCII-art Documentation Archive. ########################Mk# _ 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. `--' `---' `---' bug 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. ======================================================================== [8] Can someone do me some kewl lettering? ======================================================================== 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: * that you have already tried Figlet or don't have access to it otherwise you will probably just get told to use it. * a description of the kind of lettering you want, along with any other symbols or logos which you would like incorporated into it. ======================================================================== [9] Where can I find Figlet ? ======================================================================== 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. * http://schnoggo.com/figlet.html * http://www.network-science.de/ascii/ * http://home.cern.ch/~rigaut/FigletJava.html * http://software.hixie.ch/utilities/cgi/figlet/figlet ======================================================================== [10] Can I copy or post that ASCII picture for myself? ======================================================================== . / \ 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: (Oo / _I_ `10 big myths about copyright explained' +\ \ || __| in news:news.announce.newusers. \ \||___| \ /.:.\-\ It is also available at:- |.:. /-----\ http://www.clari.net/brad/copymyths.html |___|::oOo::| / |: