Help on ASCII Art or Drawing

I have only just started subcribing to this news group.  I was
very impressed with the postings.

I will appreciate it if anyone can create my name in an art for
a signature.  In the meantime can anybody provide pointers to
the FAQ for this group.

Finally I will be glad if anybody can tell any avaliable editors
for DOS 6.2 or Win3.1 environments, so I can learn to create
lovely ascii-art myself.

Thanks
-- 
Gordon Fairbanks

Gordon Fairbanks (gor...@newtown.demon.co.uk) wrote:

>In the meantime can anybody provide pointers to
>the FAQ for this group.

Voila...become an expert overnight...or maybe two nights...


============================================================================

            ASCII ART FAQ  by  Jorn Barger       11 December 1993

============================================================================

From: jor...@MCS.COM (Jorn Barger)
Newsgroups: alt.ascii-art,alt.config,alt.binaries.pictures.ascii
Subject: Re: why not REC.ARTS.ASCII (& FAQ repost)
Date: 11 Dec 1993 14:06:10 -0600

In article <199...@cis.uab.edu>,
R L Samuell <sam...@cis.uab.edu> wrote:
>
>Why not go for mainstream acceptance and propose the group Rec.arts.ascii ?

Definitely, yes, but I strongly suggest we have it moderated, to 
keep the cruft down, and leave a.a-a as the wide open free-for-all...  

[to answer your other request, here's *a* FAQ, far from definitive:]

ASCII ART FAQ
by Jorn Barger

Purpose: to promote more creative use of the ASCII character set on 
Internet, especially for _page layout_ and _animation_, and the 
development and distribution of tools to facilitate this.  

Justification: Ascii art will continue to be the appropriate, 
populist technology for graphics on Internet, for some years to 
come... so we might as well get good at it!  (There's still lots of 
untapped potential...) 

There's such a range of newsreading environments, that few of the 
ideas offered here will work the same for everyone. If we want to do 
this right, we need to get a sense of where these differences are 
most serious.  (White-on-black displays vs b-on-w, for one...) 

Contents of FAQ:
- Samples of page-layout and animation
- The ASCII character set: problems and potential
- The line-draw character palette
- Line-draw ascii fonts
- Esthetics: texture, gesture
- Greyscale character palettes
- ASCII anti-aliasing
- An 'asciify' algorithm for anti-aliasing pbm bitmaps, with sample

This last topic may have the most *practical* utility-- it should 
allow archives of GIFs and JPEGs to offer compact catalogs of 
thumbnails *in the form of simple text files*.  

Thruout the faq, I'll be raising questions about things I don't 
know, that I'd like to be able to answer in future updates.  
Feedback is *very* welcome.  

Here's some samples of ascii page-layout:


              1 9 9 3

The central             |"|
bargraph shows >>>>>>>> |m| <    =---------
the total               |m| 1                  This rightmost bargraph,
number of      |"|      |m| <    .             turned sideways, shows
newsgroups,    | | <    |m| 2    .             the *distribution* of daily
log 10         | | 9    |m| <    .             volume for all newsgroups.
(groups_total) | | <    |m| 3    ]             (msgs_per_group)
(~5000)        | | <    |m| <    ]
               |m| 6    | | 4    ]]            Here, most newsgroups are
        >>>>>  |m| <    | | <    ]]            still way under 100 msgs
This leftmost  |m| <    | | 5    ]]]]          per day.  One group in ten
bargraph is    |m| 3    | | <    ]]]]]]]       tops this level.
a logarithmic  |m| <    | | 6    =---------
display of     |m| <    |_|      0  100  200
total Usenet   |m| 0            msgs/day/group
readership,    |_|
(subs_total)           5000 groups
(~1,000,000)  1 million readers



 1 9 8 8                    1 9 9 3                 1 9 9 8: the nightmare?
(wild guesses)
      |"|                       |"|                       |"|
      |m| <  =---------         |m| <  =---------         |m| < =---------
      |m| 1                     |m| 1                     |m| 1 ]
|"|   |m| <               |"|   |m| <  .            |"|   |m| < ]]
| | < |m| 2               | | < |m| 2  .            | | < |m| 2 ]]
| | 9 |m| <  .            | | 9 |m| <  .            | | 9 |m| < ]]
| | < | | 3  .            | | < |m| 3  ]            |m| < |m| 3 ]]
| | < | | <  .            | | < |m| <  ]            |m| < |m| < ]]]
| | 6 | | 4  ]            |m| 6 | | 4  ]]           |m| 6 |m| 4 ]]]]
| | < | | <  ]            |m| < | | <  ]]           |m| < |m| < ]]]]]]
|m| < | | 5  ]]           |m| < | | 5  ]]]]         |m| < | | 5 ]]]]]]]]
|m| 3 | | <  ]]]]         |m| 3 | | <  ]]]]]]]      |m| 3 | | < ]]]]]]]]]
|m| < | | 6  =---------   |m| < | | 6  =---------   |m| < | | 6 =---------
|m| < |_|    0  100  200  |m| < |_|    0  100  200  |m| < |_|   0  100  200
|m| 0      msgs/day/group |m| 0                     |m| 0
|_|                       |_|                       |_|
     500 groups               5000 groups                50,000 groups???
100,000 readers           1 million readers         100 million readers


Current editors/ word processors assume that you want your text 
elements to hug the left margin, effectively a 'sideways gravity' 
that must be carefully counteracted.  It's easy to screw up (which 
the warlorders call 'tabdamage').  If your wp offers typeover-mode, 
that's likely to work better than insert-mode, for preventing 
tabdamage.  

Here's a primitive animation (that also illustrates the use of 
lineweight to simulate depth).  The protagonist is just a circle 
with a heavy ascii lineweight, abstractly representing a character 
named Joy Hoy: 

            _+m"m+_
           Jp     qh
           O       O
           Yb     dY
            "Y5m2Y"

The faster your modem, the nicer this works:


==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .     .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:. /.../..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./       \         | . . . I://.//./ /::I      ,
              |   ]   :/           \       | .     H:.: /.//...:H ..
              |   ]  / /           \ \     |    :. I.:/.//.//..:I  .:   .
  _+m"m+_     |   ]/  /               \    | .  ,  H:../// /./::H  . ..
 Jp     qh    |  /                  \   \  | ., .  I./:/../// .:I  ,  . ,
 O       O ___|/     /               \    \|____;__H:. ////:/./:H_________
 Yb     dY
  "Y5m2Y"           /
__________________  /                                           __________
    _______"_____                        =======_=======_===_===__________
==========================================================================

==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .     .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:.//... ..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./       \         | . . . I://.//. //::I      ,
              |   ]   :/           \       | .     H:.://.//...:H ..
                  ]  / /           \ \     |    :. I.:/./ .//..:I  .:   .
           _+m"m+_ /  /               \    | .  ,  H:../////./::H  . ..
          Jp     qh        J888888888888h  | ., .  I./:/../ //.:I  ,  . ,
   ______ O       O  /    88 \\\  \ \ \ 88 |____;__H:.// //:/./:H_________
          Yb     dY      88 \\\\\\ \\\ \ 88
           "Y5m2Y"  /    8 \\\\\\\\\\ \\  8
 _________________  /   J888888888888888888h                   __________
    ______"______      8OO8XX [YBNNDY] XX8OO8 ==_======_====_===__________
==========================================================================

==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .     .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:.//.../..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./       \         | . . . I: /.//.// ::I      ,
              |   ]   :/      [==] \       | .     H:.://.//...:H ..
              |   ]  / /     [d==b]\ \     |    :. I.:/.//.//..:I  .:   .
              |   ]/  /       "  "    \    | .  ,  H:.. ////./::H  . ..
              |  /       _+m"m+_    \   \  | ., .  I./:/..////.:I  ,  . ,
    __________|/     /  Jp     qh    \    \|____;__H:./ ///:/./:H_________
                        O       O
                    /   Yb     dY
 _________________  /    "Y5m2Y"                                __________
    _______"_____                        =======_=====_=====_===__________
==========================================================================

==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .    .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:.//.../..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./    w  \         | . . . I://. /.///::I      ,
              |   ]   :/           \       | .     H:.://.//...:H ..
              |   ]  / /           \ \     |    :. I.:/.//./ ..:I  .:  .
              |   ]/  /               \    ' .  ,  H:../ ///./::H  . ..
              |  /                  \   _+m"m+_ .  I./:/..////.:I  ,  . ,
    __________|/     /                 Jp     qh __H:./// /:/./:H_________
                                       O       O
                    /                  Yb     dY
 _________________  /                   "Y5m2Y"                 __________
    _______"_____                         ___===_====_======_===__________
==========================================================================

==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .     .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:.//.../..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./       \         | . . . I:/ .//.// ::I      ,
              |   ]   :/           \       | .     H:.://.//...:H ..
              |   ]  / /           \ \     |    :. I.:/.//.//.. !  .:   .
              |   ]/  /               \    | .  ,  H:..///  _+m"m+_ . .
              |  /                  \   \  | ., .  I./:/.. Jp     qh  . ,
    __________|/     /               \    \|____;__H:./ // O       O  ____
                                                           Yb     dY
                    /                                       "Y5m2Y"
 _________________  /                                           __________
    _______"_____                        =======_===_=======_===__________
==========================================================================

The ASCII character set

The American Standard Code for Information Interchange supplies a 
character-assignment for each number from zero to 127 (7F in 
hexadecimal).  As I understand it, Internet protocols are optimized 
for this seven-bit range--if you're trying to ftp an eight-bit-wide 
file, you have to specially request 'binary' transmission.  (So the 
opposite of binary, here, is *ASCII*.) 

Only the numbers from 32 to 126 (20 to 7E hex) are defined as 
*printable* characters (the others are defined as control codes): 

    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
  =--------------------------------
2 |   ! " # $ % & ' ( ) * + , - . /  <- <- <- 20 hex is the
3 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ?           blankspace
4 | @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
5 | P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _
6 | ` a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o     7F is non-printing
7 | p q r s t u v w x y z { | } ~   <-  in the US ("rubout")

Unfortunately, this narrow standard ignored the needs of many other 
cultures: the British 'pound' sign, letters with accents in French 
and Scandinavian alphabets, etc., which led them to introduce slight 
modifications to the standard, making the following symbols (at 
least) non-universal: 

   {^ `       { curly brace 1   ^ caret  ` backquote
    #| }       # hatch/hash mark   | pipe  } curly brace 2
     ~\         ~ tilde    \ backslash
    ]$[@      [square brackets]  $ dollarsign   @ at-sign

[The test-graphic is vaguely a woman with a rose in her teeth, on my 
screen anyway...] 

Furthermore, even within the US, different typefaces assign 
significantly different shapes to some characters, for example: 

"|" (C7)  is sometimes drawn as a continuous line, sometimes broken 
in the middle.  
                              ...@...     ...@...   (So this becomes a
"^" (5E) may be anything from ..@.@..  to ..@.@..   'Pinocchio' smiley:
                              .......     .@...@.        { ;^)
Similarly with "<" and ">".   .......     @.....@       (...doesn't it?))

Depending on your character set, any of these may be the blackest 
black: @#%* (I'm often seeing people choosing "#", which on my 
screen looks totally blotchy.) 

Any of these may display at different heights: ~^*-=+

Lettershapes may have serifs or not, and ascenders and descenders 
may be straight or curved. (Proportionally-spaced fonts, as opposed 
to monospaced, are of course *hopeless*.  On the Mac, I favor Monaco 
9, for its simplicity.  Courier is another normally-monospaced 
family.) 

Even monospaced fonts may display with different aspect ratios 
(v:h), at least within GUIs, which can turn circles into ellipses 
and squares into rectangles.  Different newsreaders may space the 
lines differently, too, with the same outcome. (What was the IBM-
monochrome aspect-ratio?) 

For Internet transmission, you can assume the display is 80 
characters wide, although if you trim this a bit it will allow 
images to be e-quoted without wrap-around. (If you use all 80, can 
the CR cause wraparound in some pagers?) 

Normal screen height is 24 or 25 lines, but when you're laying out a 
page you should assume you'll use a control-L before and after each 
screenful of text, to maintain the alignment, and this turns out to 
limit the height to 22 lines.  

Line-draw vs. greyscale character palettes

Most ascii art so far has leaned almost entirely on less than twenty 
of the available characters-- what might be called the 'line-draw' 
character palette: 

           / \ | - _ =
           . : ' ` " ~
           < > ( ) [ ]

Here's a cute example of the potential of this palette, a pastiche 
that re-combines an incredibly cool self-portrait by Jonggu Moon and 
a state-of-the-art dragon (off rec.games.mud, I think, but I got it 
2ndhand and missed the credit).  Notice, though, how the lines are 
mostly the same weight, creating a flatness: 

                                      _   __,----'~~~~~~~~~`-----.__
                                   .  .    `//====-_             ___,-' `
                   -.            \_|// .   /||\\  `~~~~`---.___./
             ______-==.       _-~o~  \/    |||  \\           _,'`
       __,--'   ,=='||\=_    ;_--~/_-'|-   |`\   \\        ,'
    _-'        '    |  \\`.   '-'~7  /-   /  ||   `\.     /
  .'    //// ||     |   \\ \_    /  /-   /   ||      \   /
 / ____  O-O--=     |     \\.`-_/  /|- _/   ,||       \ /
,-'     ( ^ _/\_ --_ \     `==-/  `| \'--===-'       _/`
        /\~-\/  \   `-|      /|    )-'\~'      _,--~'
       /|`/ _ \_ \    '-~~\_/ |    |   `\_   ,~             /\
      / | : U_/  /         /  \     \__   \/~               `\__
      \(__:__ \_/      _,-' _/'\ ,-'~____-'`-/                 ``===\
        =@=====       ((->/'    \|||' `.     ~`-/ ,                _||
       |       |                 \_     ~\      `^---|__i__i__\--~'_/
      /   |   |                 __-^-_    `)  \-.______________,-~'
     /   /|   |                //,-'~~`__--^-  |-------~~~~~'
     |  | |  |                        //,--~~`-\
     |__| |__|
     /#_)  |#\


Tools for pasting clip-art *with appropriate 'hidden-line removal'* 
do not exist, so one must settle, for now, for a word processor with 
rectangular cut and paste. (Nisus on the Mac, MS Word in recent 
upgrades?) 

The animation sample at the beginning of this FAQ uses mostly 
linedraw, but also a bit of greyscale in the foreground (darker 
lineweight) and in the far-background (lighter weight).  *Greyscale 
ascii art normally assumes you're displaying dark letters on a light 
background*.  This won't be true for many pc-monochrome monitors.  

(Here's a page, again.  Notice also how a degree of 'random noise' 
adds to the sense of realism, like avoiding using too-straight lines 
or too-symmetrical shapes.) 


==========================================================================
                       .
                       ::
                       :: .. :
                  .  .::::.: ::
               -  :. :':::::.::::           /-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/-\_/
              |   :':'::.::::::.:         - .   ,       .      .     .
              |  \- - :''::':':::  ... _/  |  .  .   <^o^o^^o^>   .     .
              |   ]   \- -::'::'::.::/     |  .    <^o^^o^^o^^o^>     ,
              |       : ..\:::':'::/       | . .  <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> .
              |   ]   : .. _ -=_           |    ,  H.:.//... ..:H   .   .
              |   ]   : ./       \         | . . . I://.//. //::I      ,
              |   ]   :/           \       | .     H:.://.//...:H ..
                  ]  / /           \ \     |    :. I.:/./ .//..:I  .:   .
           _+m"m+_ /  /               \    | .  ,  H:../////./::H  . ..
          Jp     qh        J888888888888h  | ., .  I./:/../ //.:I  ,  . ,
   ______ O       O  /    88 \\\  \ \ \ 88 |____;__H:.// //:/./:H_________
          Yb     dY      88 \\\\\\ \\\ \ 88
           "Y5m2Y"  /    8 \\\\\\\\\\ \\  8
 _________________  /   J888888888888888888h                    __________
    ______"______      8OO8XX [YBNNDY] XX8OO8 ==_======_====_===__________
==========================================================================

ASCII fonts (linedraw)

Here's some ascii fonts that use only the linedraw palette.  (I'd 
like to collect full alphabets for these.)  Notice that they all use 
the underscore for the topline of the letters, so an almost-full 
line of blank must be left above them: 
 ___  _           _  _             _       _____
|   || |_  ___  _| ||_| ___  __  _| |_    /  ___\  ___  __ ___   ___
| | ||  .\/ ._\/.  || |/ ._\|  \|_   _|   | / __  / _ \ | /   \ / _ \
|___||___/\___/\___||_|\___/|_|_| |_|     | \_\ \ | __/ |  /\ | | __/
                                          \_____/ \___/ |_| |_| \___/
 _  __  __      __  _     __   ___  __  __  ___  _  _
| |/ / / _|    / _|| |   /  \ | __|/ _|/ _|| __|| \| |
|   ( ( (_    ( (_ | |_ | __ || __|\_ \\_ \| __||    |
|_|\_\ \__| [] \__||___||_||_||___||__/|__/|___||_|\_|
  ___  __ __  ___  ____   ___    ____ _____  ___  _____  ___  ____
 /   \|  |  |/   \|    \ /   \  / ___|  ___|/   \|_   _|/   \|    |
| =+= | =+= | =+= | =+= | =+= | \__ \|  ___| +=+ | | | | +=+ | +=+
 \___/|__|__|__|__|__|\_\__|__| |___/|_____|__|__| |_| |__|__|____|

                             /\
  ___/\___      ___   __  __(__) __  _______
_/  __/\  \/\  /   \ |  |/  ___\/  \/   ___/
\___ \_/     \/ _/\ \| _/  /|  |    \  / ____
_/  | \   \/  \ \_/  / \_  \|  |  |  \ \/  _/
\  ___/\__||   \____/|  |\__/__|__|   \_   |
 \/        |____/    |__|         |____/|__| /\
                                    ___     (__)_____________  ___________
                                    \  \/\  |  |____  \____  \/   \_____  \
                                   _/     \ |  | _|/  / _|/  / _/\ \__|/  /
                                   \   \/  \|  | \_   \_\_   \_\_/  /\_   \_
                                    \__||   |__|  |\___/ |\___/____/  |\___/
                                        |____/ |__|   |__|         |__|

Here's an especially readable box font (in tumbling-dice mode):
       __     ____         __   ____         __   __
      /\ \   /  \_\       / /\ /  \ \       / |\ / /\
     /  \_\ / /\ |_|     / / /| /\ \ \     /  ||/ / /
    / /\ | |\ \/ /_/_   / / / \ \/  \ \   /   |/ / /
   /  \/ |_| \  __ \_\ /_/ /   \  /\ \_\ / /|   / /
  / /\ ./_/   \ \ \/_/_\_\/     \ \ \/_// / |  / /
  \ \/ |_|     \ \_\ /_/\        \ \_\ /_/ /|_/ /
   \__/_/       \/_/ \_\/         \/_/ \_\/ \_\/

And an impressively tiny one:
  ________    ________
 / /_  __/\  /\ \__  _\
/___/_/_/\/  \ \___\_\_\
\___\_\_\/    \/___/_/_/

Warlorders call most ascii fonts "BUAFs", for butt-ugly ascii font. 
(buaG substitutes G-for-graphic.)  I'm on the lookout for fonts that 
might pass for butt-beautiful, and I'll settle for butt-bearable... 
:^)  Here's my new favorite (anybody know Jules?): 

     _|  _|  _|  _|     _|_|_   _|_|_
     _|  _|  _|  _|     _| |/   \|_
 _|  _|  _|  _|  _|     _|/         \|
 \|_|_/  \|_|_/  _|_|_| \|_|_|  \|_|_/

For page-layout, the linedraw palette is useful for making boxes and 
frames, which adds to a screen's 'page-appeal' in the same way a 
picture-frame sharpens the look of a wall-poster.  

Texture and gesture

I experienced a personal ascii-art epiphany last winter, on seeing a 
few signatures where people used this: _/ as a tile, which provides 
an amazing sense of *texture*: 

            _/
         _/  _/
      _/  _/  _/


Another (flatter) sort of
       texture:                    The same, randomized:

    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        ::*:::::***:::::::::::
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        :::::::**::::::*::::*:
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        :*::*:*::*::::*::::*::
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        :::*::::::*::*:*::::::
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        ::*:*::::*:*::::::::::
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        ::::::*:*::::*::::::::
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        *::::::::**:::::::::**
    *::*::*::*::*::*::*::*        ::::*::::::*:::::*::::

If your wp's macro-language includes a random-number function, you 
can generate textures by writing a 'Spatter' macro that fills a 
rectangle with the letters of any string, randomly scattered.  


                      _/ _/
                      _/  _/
                   _/      _/
                  _/        _/
                _/          _/            _/ _/
             _/         _/ _/           _/      _/
                       _/               _/       _/
                      _/              _/_/       _/     _/
                      _/                         _/     _/
As far as I know,      _/                        _/    _/
the first appli-             _/  _/ _/ _/     _/ _/   _/
cation to allow            _/ _/        _/ _/_/_/    _/
the use of a mouse      _/            _/             _/
to draw ascii         _/            _/_/ _/        _/
*gesturally* will    _/              _/     _/   _/_/
be Matt Mora's       _/              _/      _/  _/
AsciiPaint (for Mac), _/            _/
now in beta. (Watch    _/
for announcements.)    _/_/
It made this easy:         _/ _/ _/


ASCII greyscale

ASCII art has its roots in the technology of *mosaics*.  Most 
mosaics use small elements with a single, solid colorshade.  By this 
standard, ASCII offers 95 shades of grey!  (When I was small, a 
design firm in my town built a hi-tech mosaic mural for the Wright 
Brothers museum in Dayton, Ohio, a wall-sized version of that 
classic b&w photo of their first flight, built out of inch-square 
tiles in about eight shades of grey-- only instead of solid greys, 
they used (fractally) tiny black-and-white 'icons', which 
represented other scenes from the Wrights' career, covering a scale 
from very light to very dark...) 

Here's an approximate, partial greyscale ascii palette (still 
assuming white background): 

      .'`,^:";~
     -_+<>i!lI?
     /\|()1{}[]   (I'm looking for feedback about where this doesn't work,
     rcvunxzjft   for non-Mac-Monaco displays.)
     LCJUYXZO0Q
     oahkbdpqwm
     *WMB8&%$#@

(If an eighth bit were available to toggle the background color 
between black and white... would this help a lot?) 

Of course, more than eight shades of grey is probably overkill, not 
least because the lettershapes contribute so much distracting 
'noise' that fewer is probably better.  

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J.............@@@@@@JJJJJJ@@@@@@@@@@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J..................@@JJJJ@@@@JJ@@@@
@@@@@@..@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ............@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ@@@@
@@@@@@J.JJJJ@@@J@@@@@@@@J.........@@.JJJ..@@@@JJJ.JJJJ@@  The more you squint,
@@@@..JJ....@@JJ@@@@@@@@J.........@@.J..JJ@@@@@@J...JJ@@  the better this
@@@@JJ....J.J.....J.@@@@............JJJ.JJ..........JJ@@  looks!  Notice that
@@@@JJ....J.J.....J.@@@@.............JJJ............JJ@@  it uses only three
@@JJJJ..J..........J@@@@................JJJJ........JJ@@  greys (or a 'black',
@@JJJJ..J..........J@@@@...................J........JJ@@  a white, and one
@@JJJ..............J@@@@J...........................JJ@@  grey).
@@JJJ.............JJ@@@@J...........................JJ@@
@@JJJJ.........J.J@@@@J............................JJJ@@  [This example is
@@JJJJJ.......J.JJ@@@@J............................JJJ@@  far from being
@@JJJJJ.......J.@@JJ@@....J.........................@@@@  optimized, even
@@JJJJJ.......JJ@@JJ@@..JJJ.........................@@@@  at this low res...]
@@JJJJJ.........JJ@@...............................J@@@@
@@JJJJJJ...J.JJJJJ@@..............................JJ@@@@  (Aren't the J's
@@@@@JJJJJJJ@@JJJJ@@@JJJ@@@JJJ...................J@@@@@@  annoying?)
@@@@@@JJJJJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJJJ.J......JJ@@@@@@
@@@@@@@@JJJJJJJJ.J@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ................@@@@@@@@
@@@@@@@@JJJJJJJJJ.JJ@@@@@@@@J.................@@@@@@@@@@
@@@@@@@@@@JJJJ.J.JJ.........................@@@@@@@@@@@@

               ....................J@@@@@@@@@@@@@......JJJJJJ..........
               .....................J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@..JJJJ....JJ....
               ......@@.............JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@..............JJ....
Here's the     ......J@JJJJ...J........J@@@@@@@@@..@JJJ@@....JJJ@JJJJ..
same image     ....@@JJ@@@@..JJ........J@@@@@@@@@..@J@@JJ......J@@@JJ..
in negative,   ....JJ@@@@J@J@@@@@J@....@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ@JJ@@@@@@@@@@JJ..
for pc-monos:  ....JJ@@@@J@J@@@@@J@....@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ..
               ..JJJJ@@J@@@@@@@@@@J....@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJJ@@@@@@@@JJ..
(The whites    ..JJJJ@@J@@@@@@@@@@J....@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J@@@@@@@@JJ..
just aren't    ..JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J....J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ..
very white!)   ..JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ....J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ..
               ..JJJJ@@@@@@@@@J@J....J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ..
               ..JJJJJ@@@@@@@J@JJ....J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJJ..
               ..JJJJJ@@@@@@@J...@..JJ..@@@@J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@....
               ..JJJJJ@@@@@@@JJ..JJ..@@JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@....
               ..JJJJJ@@@@@@@@@JJ..@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J....
               ..JJJJJJ@@@J@JJJJJ..@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@JJ....
               .....JJJJJJJ..JJJJ...JJJ...JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@J......
               ......JJJJJJ.......................JJJJJ@J@@@@@@JJ......
               ........JJJ...@J...........JJJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@........
               ........JJJJJJJJJ@JJ........J@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@..........
               ..........JJJJ@J@JJ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@............

ASCII anti-aliasing

The oddities of the ascii lettershapes, though, need not be purely 
noise.  One can also view ascii as a palette whose elements combine 
both linedraw and greyscale effects.  This might be thought of as 
anti-aliased greyscale, and ought to allow at least doubled 
resolution, both horizontally and vertically.  (I wonder how this 
works on other screens?): 


(((&(&(&(&(&(((&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(((((((((((((((((((((((@
((&(((&((&(&((@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&(((((((((((((((((((((@
(&(&((&(&&((@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&((((((((((((((((((@
((&(&(@&@&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&&(((((((((((((((@
&(((&&&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(((((((((((((((@
(&(&(@@@&&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@5::""=@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&((((((((((((((@
((&(&&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@:::::::m88CCC8@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&(((((((((((@
(&(&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@#88@@88b_::::::mm@9998C8@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@((((((((((@
((@&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@#L""#58@@@)::..8<"_@@9>"C@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&(((((((@
(@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@3::))::)@@:::  :Yh":::::C@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@m(((((
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@33:)::::(@@:::.   :"?::::C@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@((K((((
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@3)::::::d@@|::.    ..::::C@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@((@(((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@3J)::::/J@@|::..   ..:::(C@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@((@@&((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@3J)::::6@C8:=)..   .:::::@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&((((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@33J):;;cO8::::.... :::::_@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&((((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@833O8mm@@m888mme_=;:::_@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&@(((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@88OOOO:@@@88P":::::::w@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@@@(@((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@88OOJJ):::::::::::_@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@@@(&((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&&88888):::::__wm@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@@@@((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&&88888 @@@@@&&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@(@@@&((@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&8@888883 888888@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&@&8&8888833 88888&@@&@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@&@@

|@@@@@@@^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^@@@@@@@@|
|@@@@@@^     ~^  @  @@ @ @ @ I  ~^@@@@@@|
|@@@@@            ~ ~~ ~I          @@@@@|   Here's a superb white-on-black
|@@@@'                  '  _,w@<    @@@@|   anti-aliased image I just got
|@@@@     @@@@@@@@w___,w@@@@@@@@  @  @@@|   in the mail.
|@@@@     @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@  I  @@@|
|@@@@     @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@*@[ i  @@@|
|@@@@     @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@[][ | ]@@@|
|@@@@     ~_,,_ ~@@@@@@@~ ____~ @    @@@|
|@@@@    _~ ,  ,  `@@@~  _  _`@ ]L  J@@@|
|@@@@  , @@w@ww+   @@@ww``,,@w@ ][  @@@@|
|@@@@,  @@@@www@@@ @@@@@@@ww@@@@@[  @@@@|
|@@@@@_|| @@@@@@P' @@P@@@@@@@@@@@[|c@@@@|
|@@@@@@w| '@@P~  P]@@@-~, ~Y@@^'],@@@@@@|
|@@@@@@@[   _        _J@@Tk     ]]@@@@@@|
|@@@@@@@@,@ @@, c,,,,,,,y ,w@@[ ,@@@@@@@|
|@@@@@@@@@ i @w   ====--_@@@@@  @@@@@@@@|
|@@@@@@@@@@`,P~ _ ~^^^^Y@@@@@  @@@@@@@@@|
|@@@@^^=^@@^   ^' ,ww,w@@@@@ _@@@@@@@@@@|
|@@@_xJ~ ~   ,    @@@@@@@P~_@@@@@@@@@@@@|
|@@   @,   ,@@@,_____   _,J@@@@@@@@@@@@@|
|@@L  `' ,@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@|

Here's a playful anti-aliased ascii font (3*3):

    !  i-, ,=_ :\  = - --= ,-, i i !   i ! / i   \  /
   i=: :=\ :   | ) |-  |-  | _ :_: :   | =:  :   !""!
   j t |_) Y_- :=' o-= o   Y-) ! ! i \-Y i \ =-- +  +

  = : ,-, i-  ,-, :-, ,-> ==- i i i i !  ! \ / i i <-=
  |\| [ ) :_) [ ) i_; "-,  |  | | \ / :/\:  =  ':'  /
  : + "=" |   "=t ! \ o_)  !  "="  +  !  ! j t  !  o-=

An anti-aliasing character palette should include these 'diagonals': 
    JhjtY 


A new anti-aliasing algorithm!

Happily, as I was working on this faq, I ran across Rob Harley 
(rob...@vlsi.cs.caltech.edu), who had some handy code for converting 
b&w bitmaps according to a mapping like this: 

  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..
  ..  ..  ..  ..  .@  .@  .@  .@  @.  @.  @.  @.  @@  @@  @@  @@
  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@
      ,   .   _   -   i   v   g   -   c   i   s   =   e   z   m

  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@  .@
  ..  ..  ..  ..  .@  .@  .@  .@  @.  @.  @.  @.  @@  @@  @@  @@
  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@
  '   !   /   2   !   ]   /   d   /   (   /   K   Y   4   Z   W

  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.  @.
  ..  ..  ..  ..  .@  .@  .@  .@  @.  @.  @.  @.  @@  @@  @@  @@
  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@
  `   \   |   L   \   \   )   G   !   t   [   b   +   N   D   W

  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@  @@
  ..  ..  ..  ..  .@  .@  .@  .@  @.  @.  @.  @.  @@  @@  @@  @@
  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@  ..  .@  @.  @@
  ~   T   7   X   V   Y   Z   8   f   5   P   K   *   M   A   @

The most important factor in these assignments is not the letter 
shape alone, but the overall pixel density.  On my Mac, these rows 
form an approximate greyscale, from 2 pixels per char, to six: 

2 _ivc=!/|\~
3 gjez2]/(YL\)t[+T7Vf
4 mdK4ZGbNDXY5P*
5 W8KMA
6 @           <-- remember, this choice varies widely: @#%&*

Theoretically, these substitutions could turn 22*80 ascii resolution 
into 66*160.  See rec.misc for the sourcecode and further details.  
Here's the output: 

i`it)v|[[[[(//s+)`(-\\/JJgbdd@@@@@@@dmKK(c!(/-[2=/cct/!-v\!_L\)|
]-!/(!-)\L\)v|c5(!,!Ldd@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@dK/]!c\\\v|i\/cT\v((c-
]!`/v\//(-|t\VvcL!m@@@@@M@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@bLt\\|)c/2-vv)/it\.
--/-,\,\v\,|)/v/m@@@@@@K@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@bK!v!-( )-!.[/cT
//.\--'--|-/c(e@@@@@@@DD@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@s\\\\-||/v!c\.
-,-|\`||\-\/id@@@@@@@@N@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@b.),`-,-/c-`i
!,\!-!-!'!-!d@@@@@@@P[+~**AAA@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@b/./`c-/.\7-
--'.-- -/,id@@@*P!`          \'Z8@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@i.\\'.\.c
',`,`\'-,-J@@5`-           -- `-iYA@@@@@@@@@@b@@@@@@@@@_\-|-\c-
'. -.,`/.G@@K- `               - )7KM@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@c-----/
- `-  --i@@Ai                    -!ZZ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@b! \`|-`
 `-,'- G@@@[,                    '.D8K@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@[/-,-/.
-` .-/v@@@A)                      -)ZdMd@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@\' _\
- ` ,iVJ@@@!                     '-!(K5K@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@[(/s[.
  - i\G@@@Z-                    ' ! -i55ZZ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@)(4)`
 , -|b@@@@!\                     '  ` |-tYG@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@XNYZ-
   tt@@@@A-,                        '  `)(d@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@D)8A[
   )8@@@@@\                         ,-'-/Kd@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@KD@[
  ]]Z@@@@d|-              ,ii.c,, -.icLZKK@@@@@@8@K@@@@@@@@@(@8[
  KN8@@@@@( .i!vGG_      J4Kb8ZKb@bbK@d@88@@@@@@@b@@@@@@@@@@dK@-
 )/8K@@@K@b@dP~~~T4(    Jd@@7`___s@M@@@@MM8d@@@d@@@@@@@@@@@@LM8[
\!48@K@@@@8@@d*@@@bVi   bAKLY~~@@@@@@*ff/\NM8@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@db@[
,\\Kb@@@d@.~t` !*~!`.  -MA)    '~'.).` `,'K@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@AKb[
,`8M@@@@@@ -`,,gvZ``    A//-  ..c\+\`    i]d@@@@@@M@@@@@@@@@@@8[
i\@8@K@@@D              \!'             !iZ8@@@8A@@@@@8d@b@@@8M[
e8d5@@@@@@             '!-             '-)8@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@M8i
8dZ8@M@@@@-             v  ,          ,\tK@@@@@@@@@@@@A@@@@@@Z2|
@b@AK@@@b@[              //           cctbA@@@AK@@d@@d@@@K@@@bmi
@@8@M@8@@@P-            -=/.         /iD8d@@@@@@@@@@@@@@A@@@d@@[
@8@@@MA@@@@\-      .   _)g2i        -((dKK@@@@@d@@@@d@@K@@@@@@K[
@@@bAK@@K@@)i     'c,,Kb@@bK       )X)Kb@M@@d@@@Mb@@A@d@@@@@@8@[
@K@b@@@@A@AA/i-     ~M@@@@Mc    .,\c=)D8d@@b@@@d@@@@@@@@@@8d@@A[
@@@@Mb@@@@@@('c\`     PPK((,i]v|-\-v)8XNAdMK@@@@@@@b@@MK@A@@@@@[
@@8@@MK@d@A@L!--c)s_, ,(ZsbLb@\`- .-N]/KM@@@@@@@d@@@A@@@@@@@@d@[
@@Kb@@@K@b@@@/-  !''~~Vff*N5f -` -,\))KK@@@@@@@MK@@d@@@M8d@b@@@[
@b@@@KAK@@@@@@2--    ,,_JJ/i)/- |/v)NK@8d@@@@@@@@@@8@@@@@@@@M@K[
@@8d@K@@@b@@@@@d!,   'VV\)\\)\7(-)4Jb@8@A@@@K@d@@@@@@@8@@@@@@@@[
M@@@@8@@K@Kb@@@d@v.       `-\\/v)88b@M@A@K@@M@@@A@@M@8@@A@d@8@M[
Zb@d@M@K@@@@@@@@@@m       -)!/stbb@b@@A@b@@@@@Kb@@@@@@@b@@@K@@@[
K@@d@@@@@d@M@8@@@@@Ks   ,-/vJD@@8d@K@@@@@@8@@@@@@@@@@MK@@@b@@M@[
tN@b@@d@d@M@@@@@@@@@@LL4JKd@A@@d@@K@@@@MK@@@@8@@@@@@@@@@@b@@@@@[
)NM@8b@@A@@@A@@@@@@@@@@@@@@A@@A@@8@@K@d@@@@M@@K@@K@A@@@8@@M@@@@[
(tMM@@@d@@M8@@@@A@@@@A@@@A@@@@@@@@@A@@@@8b@@8d@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@M[
tNZ@@K@@@d@@@@A@@@@@8@@@/4N@@8@b@@d@@M@8@MK@M8@K@@@@@@d@@@@@@@@[
M/KA8@@@MA@@@M@@@@@@@@@@[|t*Z@N@@@@8@@M8ZAZZ@M@@@A@d@@@@@K@@@d@[
bYJ4M@@@@@@A@@@@@@@@@@@@D.\'(YKKZD@8dK@5A84YZ@dM@@@@@@@@@@@@d@@[
K5dM8@8d@d@@@@@@@@8@@@@@@..-!/))ZK5AK4)AY(/XY/Z@@@A@@@d@@@M@@@@[
Y8dNA@@AK@@d@@@b@@@@@@@@@L,-,\!]]\X(5)Z/7c\\t5/K@@@@@@@@b@@@@@@[
8M8@@@A@@@A@@8@@@@@@@@@KDLt! !,-|t'(-\\!,\/,\!ZJG@@@d@Md@@@G@@@[

=----------=-   ,!.   --=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=
Jorn Barger     j't   Anon-ftp to genesis.mcs.com in mcsnet.users/jorn for:
  <:^)^:<   K=-=:: -=->  Finnegans Wake, artificial intelligence, Ascii-TV,
 .::.:.::..  "=i.: [-'  fractal-thicket indexing, semantic-topology theory,
jor...@mcs.com  /;:":.\    DecentWrite, MiniTech, nant/nart, flame theory &c!
=----------= ;}'   '(, -=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=----=

============================================================================


Bye,
 

Gordon Fairbanks <gor...@newtown.demon.co.uk> wrote in article
<845...@newtown.demon.co.uk>...
: I will appreciate it if anyone can create my name in an art for
: a signature.  
: Gordon Fairbanks
: 
   __   __   ___   ___    __   _  _    ___   __   __  ___   ___   __   _  _
 _ _   ___ 
  / _) /  \ (  ,) (   \  /  \ ( \( )  (  _) (  ) (  )(  ,) (  ,) (  ) ( \(
)( ) ) / __)
 ( (/\( () ) )  \  ) ) )( () ) )  (    ) _) /__\  )(  )  \  ) ,\ /__\  )  (
 )  \ \__ \
  \__/ \__/ (_)\_)(___/  \__/ (_)\_)  (_) 
(_)(_)(__)(_)\_)(___/(_)(_)(_)\_)(_)\_)(___/
 
 
 You might want to trim it up, it is kind of long, How about Gordon, or G
Fairbanks?
-- 
         /|\
         @ @
-----oOO-(_)-OOo-----
Stolen - but easy enough
 to say I did it myself
 AMH...@teleweb.net 
 

Adam <AMH...@teleweb.net> wrote in article
<01bbbdd3$4ae82ea0$1ec...@adam-home.com>...
: 
: 
: Gordon Fairbanks <gor...@newtown.demon.co.uk> wrote in article
: <845...@newtown.demon.co.uk>...
: : I will appreciate it if anyone can create my name in an art for
: : a signature.  
: : Gordon Fairbanks
: : 
Sorry about the mess gordon, Save it and open it
up in an editor and you'll make sense out of it.
:          /|\
:          @ @
: -----oOO-(_)-OOo-----
: Stolen - but easy enough
:  to say I did it myself
:  AMH...@teleweb.net 
:  
: 
: