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THE.ASCII.ART.EMPORIUM

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Half height: a o v z
And then there's the 3rd sort. The characters that look like half height, but
sit a little lower on the line, like they would in handwriting. These are: j g
y p q
And all together they can make a slight curve, just like the others:
pqyjgacoevA8!@)lf$%;$fl(@!8AveocagjypqacoevA8!@)lf$%;$fl(@!8Aveoc
Lines and Diagonals
There are three basic lines to any picture - straight (either horizontally, or
vertically), diagonal, and the third is the curve, which includes circles.
We'll look at straight and diagonal lines first. Horizontal and vertical lines
are simple in ascii - here are some examples:
Horizontal: 8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
----------------------------------------------------------
__________________________________________________________
..........................................................
Vertical: | 8 : ! 1 I
| 8 : ! 1 I
| 8 : ! 1 I
| 8 : ! 1 I
| 8 : ! 1 I
| 8 : ! 1 I
Diagonals are a bit more tricky. You can make simple ones using the / and \
keys. Diagonals with other gradients need a technique similar to that used to
make slight curves. Experiment yourself to see how you can make different
angles. Here are some examples to start you off:
/ .' _,-' __
/ .' _,-' __..--''
/ .' _,-' __..''
/ .' _,-' __..--''
/ .' _,-' __..--''
/ .' _,-' __..--'' ____....----"""
/ .' _,-' __..--'' ____....----""""
/ .' ,-' __..--'' ____....----""""
Circles
By now we've looked at the basic characters, character height, slight curves,
lines, and slopes. The last thing to look at is what many people who make ascii
have trouble with: circles. You're half way there already, though, because
ascii circles are basically a mix of vertical and horizontal lines, slopes or
diagonals, and curves. After a little practice, you'll get a feel for making
different sized circles - I have a basic set of circles in a file that I refer
to when I need a circular or rounded shape in an ascii pic, so now I can make
them easily in all sorts of sizes. Start making small circles - how many ways
can you think of to make a circle in under 5 lines? The bigger the circle the
more rounded it can be, but try making circles of different sizes and see what
you come up with. These are mine:
__
_ /""\ / \
1 line: O () 2 lines: (_) \__/ 3 lines: \__/
____
___ .-''-. .' `.
4 lines: / \ 5 lines: / \ 6 lines: / \
| | | | | |
\___/ \ / \ /
`-..-' `.____.'
_.-""""-._
9 lines: .' `.
/ \
| |
| |
| |
\ /
`._ _.'
`-....-'
That's the basic characters, and what you can do with them. Play with them, see
what patterns and ascii scribbles you can make. Have a go at taking one of my
pics, or another ascii pic from some of the excellent sites around, and copy
it. Then change it! See how you can use the characters to make the picture look
different. Can you make the expression on a face change? Can you make an ascii
person fatter, thinner, taller, shorter? Give Barney the dinosaur a moustache,
or, much better, multiple wounds? :-) This is how I learned. Many of my first
efforts were absolutely dreadful. So I looked at how someone else had made the
same sort of picture and learned from it. And I still do - probably why people
often say my style is very similar to Joan Stark's!
To get you started, cut and paste this head into wherever you want to draw your
ascii, and give it a face. Add a hat or a body. Or make the hair shorter or
longer. Make it a clown or a devil!