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THE.ASCII.ART.EMPORIUM

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1 What is ASCII art?
Standard ASCII art is made with characters, such as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
\ | - _ + % @ < ; ! = # . , : > ( ] / & $ ^ ' ` " ~ ) [ { } ? *
These characters are part of the ASCII (as - kee, America Standard
Code for Information Interchange) set. This part of the ASCII set,
is called the 'printable set' (7 bits, characters 32 to 126).
There's also non-standard ASCII art, which contain 'contral codes'.
ASCII art is popular, with several ASCII art groups on the various
information services. Before computers, ASCII art was made on typewriters,
teletype machines (5 bit), and was created typographically. There are even
tee-shirts with the :-) smiley.
2 Why use ASCII art instead of a GIF?
ASCII art is used because:
o Standard ASCII art is the only type of graphics easily transmitted
and instantly viewable on any terminal, emulation, or
communications software.
o If you can view text, you can view ASCII art (as it is made up of
standard text characters). No conversion or special software
required to view. Non-standard ASCII art (8 bit with control
codes) requires that the file be saved and "cat'd". See Questions
20 and 21.
o ASCII art is compact, a few K, not 20, 50, 100 or more K!
3 What is ASCII art used for?
ASCII art is used for many things, like:
o EDUCATION - A periodic table or molecular model for example.
o CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION - Pictures are international.
o BBS & SERVER SCREENS - Login and logoff screens, MUDs, promos, etc.
o ENTERTAINMENT - Like a birthday 'card', holiday greetings,
invitations, congradulatory messages, children's picture stories,
etc.
o VISUAL AID - Such as a wiring diagram, floor plan, illustrated
instructions, or flow chart, to eliminate a long involved
explanation with a graphic.
4 What are the different kinds of ASCII art?
The first four use the standard printable set, and can be viewed
anywhere, anytime, on any equipment. They are:
o Line drawing - Such as the stickmen above. This type of image is
made using characters for their shapes.
o Lettering - Large and styled, like the title "ASCII ART FAQ" above.
o Gray Scale picture - These create the illusion of gray shades by
using characters for their light emitting value (assuming you are
viewing light characters on a dark background). For example:
$@B%8&WM#*oahkbdpqwmZO0QLCJUYXzcvunxrjft/\|()1{}[]?-_+~<>i!lI;:,"^`'.
Lighter <- viewing light characters on a dark background -> Darker
Darker <- viewing dark characters on a light background -> Lighter
o 3-D images - They can be viewed by people with similar vision in
both eyes. You try to focus as if you are looking at the back of
the monitor. The image should pop into focus and create a 3-D
illusion. Other 3-D images are viewed by putting your nose on the
monitor glass. See ASCII Art Resources for info on where to get
3-D programs.
Other forms of ASCII art using the standard printable set include
the following four:
o Geometric Article - Text is formed into interesting, meaningful shapes.
o Picture Poem - A geometric article that is also a poem. See the
swan in the examples in ASCII Art Resources and ASCII Art
Reference (the Web version of the FAQ).
o Page Making - Text and graphics are intermixed, as in a magazine.
o Picture Story - A story told with accompanying ASCII pictures.
Created using ASCII art page making techniques.