Csplk/THE.ASCII.ART.EMPORIUM · Datasets at Hugging Face

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As some examples, I have used two "6"'s for a kangaroo, a "bd" combo
for a horse, a pair of "r"'s for a giraffe and: -=b- :as the eye of
an eagle. In each case, I tried many different combinations until I
was happy with the selection:
.
/\ /\| . , ___,A.A_ __ _____
((.Y(! \|\/\| \ , 7"_/ / ~"-.
\ \|/ bd "n. ~"T( r r) Y -=b-. _)
/ 6~6, / _,"n \| \ Y l c"~o \
\ _ +-. <co>'\ \| ~\ .\| \_.-~"~--. )
\`-=--^-' ~~ \| \|`-' )/
\ \ '

Other details are equally important, and the same technique is used.
Just trying different combinations of characters until a "solution"
is found. Sometimes there is no optimum arrangement, so you either
have to live with it, or rearrange things just enough to give you a
fresh angle of attack.
____
.-~. /_"-._ This T-Rex head demonstrates how you can use
/ /_ "~o\ :Y the character shapes to an advantage. The "L"
/ : \~x. ` ') at the bottom joins three connections together
\| Y< ~-.__j quite well, as does the "Y" at the back of the
: l l< /.-~ mouth. These are things too look out for when
l /~\ \<\|Y creating a picture, and by using the chars in
'.-~\ \L\| such a fashion, you can usually get quite a lot
"--' of detail into a small area.

Back to Contents


3. Small/Signature Art

Smaller artwork requires a slightly different approach than the large
pieces. Due to the smaller area, you aren't always able to recreate
a picture perfectly, so a different frame of mind is needed.

Take, for example, the kangaroo head above. The back of the neck should
of course be curved, but this was not possible with only two characters.
In smaller pics however, it's not always necessary to be that detailed,
it is more important to focus on making the object immediately
identifiable.

Small ascii pictures usually start from a simple motif or idea. The way
certain characters fit together often creates the idea, and once an idea
is found, you have a base to work from.
___
{~._.~} This little koala pic is a good example of how a
( Y ) relatively simple collection of characters can
()~*~() produce a very "familiar" result. Some experimenting
(_)-(_) was done with the eyes, "bow tie" and the bottom "-",
with these being chosen simply because they worked the
best. Different "eye" characters produced different emotional feelings
(which is how the "Koala Collection" came about), but the simple "."
resulted in the most familiar appearance.

Remember, shape is the most important aspect of small ascii art. There
are so many different shaped ascii characters available that there
is bound to be one which fits the needs
_ . of the picture. This example is a "mini"
__CL\H--. Millennium Falcon. Since I'd already
L__/_\H' \\--_- drawn a bigger one, I knew exactly what
__L_(=): ]-_ _-- - shape it needed to be, and what features
T__\ /H. //---- - it needed to make it look like the Falcon.
~^-H--'
" Picking out the main features is a good
step, and then find chars which closely
resemble them. The blasters on top of the Falcon were well emulated by
the "=" for example. The combination of "CL" worked perfectly as the
cockpit, as did a simple ":" for the distinctive markings on it's back.

Simplicity is the key in small art, but that doesn't necessarily make
things any easier. Many things simply cannot be successfully drawn in
small sizes, so a touch of planning can sometimes help.

Back to Contents


4. Solid Art

Solid ascii art differs from line art in that the resulting image is
more of a "silhouette" rather than an outline.

By using a "heavy" character such as: W M H 8 :you build up a basic
silhouette (filled in outline), and then use other characters to anti-
alias (smoothen) the image.

"W" and "M" are the darkest characters in most character sets, but they
do vary quite a lot and are a bit too bottom/top heavy which ruins the
effect somewhat. "H" and "8" also produce patterns of similar darkness,
but result in two different "looks". The "H" is more stark and rigid,
whereas the "8" produces a more "bubbly" appearance (which prints up
quite well apparently).

WWWWWWWW MMMMMMMM HHHHHHHH 88888888
WWWWWWWW MMMMMMMM HHHHHHHH 88888888
WWWWWWWW MMMMMMMM HHHHHHHH 88888888
WWWWWWWW MMMMMMMM HHHHHHHH 88888888

I originally used "M" and "W" since they worked well with the font I once

As some examples, I have used two "6"'s for a kangaroo, a "bd" combo

for a horse, a pair of "r"'s for a giraffe and: -=b- :as the eye of

an eagle. In each case, I tried many different combinations until I

was happy with the selection:

.

/\ /| . , ___,A.A_ __ _____

((.Y(! |\/| \ , 7"_/ / ~"-.

\ |/ bd "n. ~"T( r r) Y -=b-. _)

/ 6~6, / _,"n | \ Y l c"~o \

\ _ +-. <co>'\ | ~\ .| \_.-~"~--. )

\`-=--^-' ~~ | |`-' )/

\ \ '

Other details are equally important, and the same technique is used.

Just trying different combinations of characters until a "solution"

is found. Sometimes there is no optimum arrangement, so you either

have to live with it, or rearrange things just enough to give you a

fresh angle of attack.

____

.-~. /_"-._ This T-Rex head demonstrates how you can use

/ /_ "~o\ :Y the character shapes to an advantage. The "L"

/ : \~x. ` ') at the bottom joins three connections together

| Y< ~-.__j quite well, as does the "Y" at the back of the

: l l< /.-~ mouth. These are things too look out for when

l /~\ \<|Y creating a picture, and by using the chars in

'.-~\ \L| such a fashion, you can usually get quite a lot

"--' of detail into a small area.

Back to Contents

3. Small/Signature Art

Smaller artwork requires a slightly different approach than the large

pieces. Due to the smaller area, you aren't always able to recreate

a picture perfectly, so a different frame of mind is needed.

Take, for example, the kangaroo head above. The back of the neck should

of course be curved, but this was not possible with only two characters.

In smaller pics however, it's not always necessary to be that detailed,

it is more important to focus on making the object immediately

identifiable.

Small ascii pictures usually start from a simple motif or idea. The way

certain characters fit together often creates the idea, and once an idea

is found, you have a base to work from.

___

{~._.~} This little koala pic is a good example of how a

( Y ) relatively simple collection of characters can

()~*~() produce a very "familiar" result. Some experimenting

(_)-(_) was done with the eyes, "bow tie" and the bottom "-",

with these being chosen simply because they worked the

best. Different "eye" characters produced different emotional feelings

(which is how the "Koala Collection" came about), but the simple "."

resulted in the most familiar appearance.

Remember, shape is the most important aspect of small ascii art. There

are so many different shaped ascii characters available that there

is bound to be one which fits the needs

_ . of the picture. This example is a "mini"

__CL\H--. Millennium Falcon. Since I'd already

L__/_\H' \\--_- drawn a bigger one, I knew exactly what

__L_(=): ]-_ _-- - shape it needed to be, and what features

T__\ /H. //---- - it needed to make it look like the Falcon.

~^-H--'

" Picking out the main features is a good

step, and then find chars which closely

resemble them. The blasters on top of the Falcon were well emulated by

the "=" for example. The combination of "CL" worked perfectly as the

cockpit, as did a simple ":" for the distinctive markings on it's back.

Simplicity is the key in small art, but that doesn't necessarily make

things any easier. Many things simply cannot be successfully drawn in

small sizes, so a touch of planning can sometimes help.

Back to Contents

4. Solid Art

Solid ascii art differs from line art in that the resulting image is

more of a "silhouette" rather than an outline.

By using a "heavy" character such as: W M H 8 :you build up a basic

silhouette (filled in outline), and then use other characters to anti-

alias (smoothen) the image.

"W" and "M" are the darkest characters in most character sets, but they

do vary quite a lot and are a bit too bottom/top heavy which ruins the

effect somewhat. "H" and "8" also produce patterns of similar darkness,

but result in two different "looks". The "H" is more stark and rigid,

whereas the "8" produces a more "bubbly" appearance (which prints up

quite well apparently).

WWWWWWWW MMMMMMMM HHHHHHHH 88888888

I originally used "M" and "W" since they worked well with the font I once