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ASCII & ANSI - Text Art

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The first thing poping into your mind is probably the question what "ASCII" = text characters on your computer and "Art" have to do with each other and how there can be "Styles" and not to mentiion "a Scene". Well, I don't know when you got your start with computers, but not too long ago ("only" 10-30 years) did computers not look as fancy as they do today with Windows and the Internet.

Back in the days was the only format available in the earlier communication networks such as BBS's (electonic Bulletin Board Systems) and the FIDO Net - ASCII and the what is called "ANSI" when the "colored Cousin" of ASCII was used.

Since "Text" is by nature pretty boring people started to play around with it and started creating images and pictures made of the basic text characters.

The origin of ASCII Art can actually be found much earlier before the age of computers and is covered by "Text ASCII History" by Joan G. Stark (see links section).

I got into ASCII and ANSI pretty much at the "End" of it when ASCII and ANSI art was widely used and soon to be replaced by new fancy high resolution operating systems moving the art of ascii making into the realm of obscure again.

Get the "quick tour" with my ASCII art primer, also learn about the three Styles of the Underground Text Art Scene and see tons of real examples of ANSI and ASCII Text Art.

If you prefer videos, check out this resource, especially the text art history video and the BBS documentary.

Below is also an interesting post by Joan G. Stark about "ASCII Art Today and Tomorrow" in additon to further resources, including books, DVDs, Links to additional resources and sites, the Roy/SAC ANSI and ASCII Text Art blog and the Boondocks ASCII and Scene Forum.

ASCII Art Academy - Articles and Tutorials: It is for people who want to learn more about the origin and use of this unique art form and artists who want to learn how to create this kind of art to carry forward the legacy of decades, if not centuries of other text artists before them.
Art Scene Text Files: artscene.textfiles.com. Huge Art Pack, eMags and Intro File Archive. Well sorted.
Sixteen Colors Archive: Comprehensive online Archive of Scene Art Packs from 1990 until today with the ability to view them in your Browser (yes, the ANSIs and ASCIIs). Lo gin/Registration is required.
Text ASCII History: Development of (ASCII) Text Art by Joan G. Stark. (New!) HTML Version with Graphics.
Wikipedia - ASCII Art: "ASCII art" entry at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Wikipedia - ANSI Art: "ANSI art" entry at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Text Mode Demo Archive: The text mode demo archive exists as a depository for demos that run in plain text mode.
Dmoz ASCII Links: ASCII Art Links at the ODP - Open Directory Project Website Dmoz.org.
Homepage of Roy/SAC - Sysop & Artist: Home of Roy/SAC - Superior Art Creations. Roy created hundreds of ASCIIs and ANSIs over several years which can all be found at RoySAC.com.
Roy/SAC ANSI and ASCII Art Blog: The Lens-masters a.k.a Roy/SAC Private Blog related to Text Art (ASCII and ANSI) and current activities.
BBS Lens: BBS (Bulletin Board System) Lens
Superior Art Creations: Homepage of Superior Art Creations. Access the releases, packs, PPEs, music disks and learn more about the group and its history.
Boondocks ASCII Forum: boondockS! - the ASCII and scene forum! For PC and Amiga Sceners.
Text Art, Demoscene and BBS related Merchandise: Books and DVDs to ANSI/ASCII Text Art, Demoscene and BBS Scene. Freax, Mindcandy, BBS - The Documentary and other goodies for the the old school scener.
Text artist tools, art packs and more: Tools of the Trade. ANSI/ASCII Editors for Dos and Windows, other Text art tools, Art Packs and other Downloads.
ASCII Art Related Videos: A number of videos about ASCII art and related subject, including a video about text art history, the entire DVD set "BBS, The Documentary" and ASCIImation video examples.

ASCII and ASCII art

Roy/SAC ANSI and ASCII text art slideshow

I uploaded a lot of my ANSI and ASCII text art to Flickr and embedded a little slideshow with 100 pieces of it here into this lens for your entertainment. I hope you enjoy it.

ASCIImation Videos

ASCII Art Today and Tomorrow

by Joan G. Stark

The Internet continues to grow. As more personal and home computers are purchased, more people are joining in. The 1999 Internet statistics have been released. There are about 800 million pages on the World Wide Web. Compare this to the 320 million pages estimate of 1997.

Electronic mail (e-mail) is widespread. Almost everyone has an e-mail address. People have discovered that e-mail is an efficient method of communication with friends and relatives. There are a variety of e-mail software and programs available. Some e-mail programs allow for graphic images -- but not all. Even people who are capable of receiving images are hesitant to download unknown files and images. ASCII art is text. It does not have to be downloaded to be viewed. For this reason, many people opt to send ASCII art.

Microsoft declared ASCII art "dead" in June of 1998. Why? I'm not sure. But I would guess that Microsoft is encouraging people to use GIF and JPG graphics -- of course, with their software. I also think that it is due to the fact that some software, namely Microsofts, are now using a default proportional font setting. ASCII art will appear skewed when viewed in a proportional font. All computer systems have capabilities for fixed-width font, so ASCII art isn't completely dead. People only need to switch their font to a fixed-width one such as Courier, FixedSys, Monaco, or Lucinda Console.

ASCII art is not dead. At least not yet. People continue to be intrigued and amazed by what can be created using basic keyboard characters. ASCII art is still used in e-mail, in e-zines, on BBSs, in MUDs/MUGs, and on mIRC. ASCII art has been used in web page development. The non-graphical graphics have served a purpose. ASCII art has also found its way off the Internet -- albeit slowly. It has been used to illustrate books
(look for Jon Barnbrook's British Art History publication -1999). It has been used to llustrate in a magazine (see 1999 June issue of UK's EXE Magazine). A reproduction of an ASCII rendering was recently shown in 1999's contemporary art fair in Malaga, Spain. (www.mac21.com) Heck, you can even get a chocolate bar with an ASCII'fied wrapper! (www.gardenofinspirations.com) -- don't be surprised to see that I make ASCII art T-shirts available in the future!

Somewhat related Documentations (DVD)