A collection of terms, symbols, and key phrases for ASCII art enthusiasts.
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Welcome to our
ASCII Art Glossary
. This is where you can find out what different ASCII Art terms mean. We cover everything from basic patterns to more complex designs. Over time, we'll add more terms. If you don't see a word or phrase you know, send us an email. We'd love to hear from you and might add your suggestion to our list.7-bit ASCII
Refers to the original ASCII character set, consisting of 128 characters ranging from control codes to printable symbols. Limiting artwork to 7-bit characters ensures maximum compatibility across platforms and is often associated with “pure” or traditional ASCII art.AAlib
A software library that allows for the conversion of images and video into ASCII art. By processing visual data, AAlib transforms it into a representation using ASCII characters, enabling graphics and video playback in environments that only support text. It's a popular tool for developers and hobbyists interested in creating ASCII-based visual content.alt.ascii-art
A Usenet newsgroup dedicated to the creation, sharing, and discussion of ASCII art. It served as one of the largest early online communities for text-based artists, fostering collaboration, critique, and the evolution of ASCII as a creative medium.Amiga ASCII
A variant of ASCII art developed on Amiga computers, which had different character rendering than IBM PCs. Amiga ASCII is often narrower and more compact, making use of distinct character combinations and spacing. It represents a unique visual flavor from the European demoscene.ANSI
Short for the American National Standards Institute, ANSI art refers to graphics created using ANSI escape codes, which allow for color and cursor control in text terminals. Popular in the BBS era, ANSI art expanded the creative potential of text-based graphics with colored characters, animations, and complex layouts.ANSI art
A form of computer graphics composed of text and special ANSI escape sequences. This art style uses characters, colors, and cursor movements available within the ANSI standard. Popular in the early computer bulletin board systems, ANSI art adds color and design elements beyond typical ASCII art.ANSI Escape Codes
A sequence of characters used to control formatting, color, and cursor movement in text-based terminals. Widely used in ANSI art, these codes allow artists to apply vibrant colors, boldness, blinking effects, and positioning, adding dynamic visual flair beyond the limitations of plain ASCII art.ANSI Shadowing
A visual technique in ANSI art where a darker or offset version of a character or figure is placed behind the original to simulate depth or shadow. This method enhances readability and adds a three-dimensional effect to titles and images within ANSI compositions.AnsiView
A classic ANSI and ASCII art viewer developed for MS-DOS. It allowed users to accurately display ANSI sequences and ASCII characters as intended on early systems. AnsiView was widely used during the BBS era to preview NFO files, ANSI screens, and text art with proper color and layout rendering.Artpack
A curated collection of digital artwork, typically consisting of ASCII, ANSI, or VGA pixel art, that is released periodically by creative groups. These collections often include accompanying NFO files, embedded SAUCE metadata, and themed sets of artwork that showcase the latest contributions from the scene. Artpacks are usually distributed as downloadable archives, such as ZIP files, and were commonly shared through bulletin board systems (BBS) and later through websites and FTP servers.ASCII
An acronym for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It's a character encoding standard used for representing text and control characters in computers. ASCII art refers to images created without using traditional image editing software, but rather by arranging ASCII characters in a grid to form recognizable patterns or images.Read more at The Beginner's Guide to ASCIIASCII Art Toolkit
A collection of specialized software and utilities designed to help individuals create, convert, and experiment with ASCII art. This toolkit encompasses various functionalities, from image and text conversions to real-time webcam interpretations and dedicated drawing studios for ASCII enthusiasts.ASCII Artists
Individuals who create artwork using the characters defined in the ASCII standard. Relying on the arrangement of various printable ASCII characters, these artists craft images, designs, and patterns that can be displayed on computer screens or other digital platforms. The art form gained popularity in early computing days, especially on BBS systems and Usenet, and many ASCII artists have left a lasting impact on digital art culture.Read more at ASCII Art ArtistsASCII Borders
Decorative frames or outlines created using ASCII characters to surround text blocks, images, or interface elements. Common characters include +, -, |, and = to form boxes or separators in menus, readme files, or terminal-based layouts. ASCII borders are used to organize content visually and enhance readability in plain text environments.ASCII Comic
A form of storytelling using ASCII characters to create comic strips, panels, or full-length narratives. These works combine text and visual elements, often arranged in grids or frames, to depict characters, dialogue, and action scenes entirely in text format. ASCII comics can range from humorous one-liners to complex multi-panel stories and are typically shared via forums, plain-text files, or early web pages. They draw inspiration from traditional comic book styles while embracing the creative constraints of monospace fonts and character-based visuals.ASCII Gradient
A visual technique used in ASCII art to simulate shading or depth by arranging characters in order of visual density. For example, characters like . and : may represent lighter areas, while # or @ are used for darker regions. This method creates the illusion of smooth transitions, highlights, and shadows, adding realism and texture to monochrome ASCII designs.ASCII Logo
A stylized representation of a name or brand created entirely with ASCII characters. Often found at the top of NFO files, BBS intros, or group artpacks, ASCII logos use consistent spacing, shading, and design elements to form eye-catching titles that reflect the identity of a group or project.ASCII Ribbon Campaign
A digital movement promoting the use of plain-text emails over HTML-formatted messages. Participants often added a small ASCII ribbon symbol to their signatures as a protest against unnecessary formatting and to promote readability and compatibility.ASCII Table
A reference chart that displays the character set of the ASCII standard. It lists each character's numeric code, often in both decimal and hexadecimal formats, alongside its corresponding graphical representation. The table helps in identifying the numerical code for each character, aiding in encoding and decoding processes.Read more at ASCII Table at ascii-code.comASCIImation
A type of animation created entirely with ASCII characters, often presented as a sequence of frames shown in rapid succession. These animations are typically viewed in a terminal or through special viewers, with famous examples including ASCII versions of movies like Star Wars.ATASCII
Short for "Atari ASCII," this is a character set used by Atari 8-bit computers. It includes graphics characters and control codes that differ from standard ASCII. Artists on Atari systems used ATASCII for creating text-based art specific to the platform’s display capabilities.Banner
A long strip of material or an image bearing a slogan or design, used to represent or publicize something. In digital terms, a banner refers to a graphic or text advertisement displayed on a webpage or within software. In the context of ASCII art, a banner is a horizontal arrangement of characters, often used for titles, announcements, or decorative purposes.BBS
An acronym for Bulletin Board System. A BBS is an early form of online community where users could connect, usually via phone lines, to download software, read news, and participate in message boards. These systems were prevalent before the rise of the modern internet, and many featured ASCII or ANSI art in their interfaces or as signature designs for user identities.BBS (Bulletin Board System)
An early form of digital community where users connected via modem to exchange messages, files, and software. BBSes were a central platform for ASCII and ANSI art distribution, often showcasing artworks in welcome screens, message headers, or downloadable artpacks.Binaryia
A fictional digital nation and creative universe centered around programming, ASCII art, and tech-inspired culture. Binaryia serves both as a narrative world and a branding platform, often used in conjunction with ASCII-themed projects, webshops, or storytelling formats. Populated by AI characters and set in virtual landscapes like the Swamps of Syntax or Loop Mountains, Binaryia celebrates digital creativity through art, code, and playful world-building. It acts as a cultural framework for engaging with retro computing aesthetics and nerdy design.Read more at BinaryiaBlink Tag
An early HTML element,Block art
A form of visual art that uses distinct blocks or sections, often of uniform size, to create images, designs, or patterns. In a digital context, block art might refer to artwork made of large pixels or characters, reminiscent of early computer graphics. The emphasis is on the combination and arrangement of these blocks to convey the desired visual effect.Box-Drawing Characters
A set of graphical characters included in extended ASCII code pages, such as Code Page 437, designed specifically for constructing boxes, frames, tables, and visual layouts. Common characters include ┌, ┐, └, ┘, ─, and │. These symbols are essential in both ASCII and ANSI art for creating clean structural elements and borders.Braille ASCII
A method of representing Braille characters using ASCII text, primarily for digital storage or transmission. Each Braille cell, consisting of up to six or eight dots, is mapped to a specific printable ASCII character. This mapping allows Braille to be encoded, displayed, or printed using standard text tools. In the context of ASCII art, Braille patterns (especially Unicode Braille blocks like ⠿ or ⠶) are sometimes creatively repurposed to achieve high-resolution shading or pixel-like rendering, due to their dense and uniform dot arrangements.Carriage Return / Line Feed (CR/LF)
Control characters used to denote line breaks in text. Understanding CR/LF differences across platforms (Windows, Linux, macOS) is important when displaying ASCII art with preserved formatting.Character
A single visual symbol or mark used in writing or printing. In computing, it can represent a letter, number, punctuation mark, or any other symbol included in a character set. Characters are the basic building blocks of text and play a pivotal role in ASCII art, where specific characters are chosen for their visual appearance.Character Set
A defined collection of characters used in computing, including letters, numbers, symbols, and control codes. Different character sets (like ASCII, Unicode, or ISO 8859-1) influence which symbols are available for text-based artwork.Code Page 437
The original character set of the IBM PC, also known as CP437. It extends the ASCII set with 128 additional characters, including box-drawing symbols (such as ║, ╬), smiley faces, and other graphical glyphs. This code page became standard for DOS-based systems and is heavily used in both ASCII and ANSI art.Control Characters
Non-printable characters in the ASCII standard that perform actions rather than display symbols. Examples include carriage return (\r), line feed (\n), tab (\t), and backspace (\b). While not visible, control characters are essential in formatting, spacing, and cursor positioning in both ASCII and ANSI art environments.Courier
A widely-used monospace typeface, where each character occupies the same horizontal space. Designed in the 1950s for IBM's typewriters, it has since become a standard font in many computing contexts. Due to its clear, evenly spaced characters, Courier is frequently used in programming, screenwriting, and for displaying ASCII art, ensuring consistent alignment and readability.cowsay
A command-line program that generates an ASCII-art cow (or other creatures) saying a specified message in a speech bubble. Originally a Unix joke utility, it became popular in developer communities and is often used for humor or decoration in scripts and terminals.Email Signatures
Blocks of text automatically appended at the end of email messages, often including the sender’s name, contact info, and optional decorations. ASCII art was frequently embedded in email signatures during the early internet era to add a personal or creative flair.Emoticon
A representation of a facial expression using keyboard characters, often used in digital communication to convey emotion or tone. Examples include :) for a smile and :( for a frown. Emoticons are predecessors to the more graphically detailed emojis.Emoticons
Textual representations of facial expressions using standard keyboard characters. Common emoticons include :) for a smile or :( for a frown. Widely used in early messaging systems and emails, they serve as simple emotional cues and represent a minimalistic form of ASCII-based communication.Extended ASCII
An expansion of the original 7-bit ASCII to include characters in the 128–255 range. Extended ASCII allows for accented letters, graphical symbols, and box-drawing characters, and is commonly used in ANSI art and platform-specific styles like CP437 and ISO 8859.FIGfont
A font file format used by FIGlet to define how each letter or symbol is rendered using ASCII characters. FIGfonts enable users to generate text banners in a variety of styles and layouts, and each font is stored as a text file that contains the rules for character rendering, spacing, and alignment.Figlet
A computer program that generates text banners in various typefaces composed of letters made up of conglomerations of smaller ASCII characters. Originating from the early days of computer systems, Figlet allows users to produce visually impressive text for headers, banners, and more.Generator
In the context of ASCII art, a generator refers to software or online tools that convert standard images or text into an ASCII art representation. By processing input, these tools output patterns of ASCII characters that visually approximate the original content.GeoCities
A free web hosting service popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, where users could create personal webpages. ASCII art was commonly used for dividers, welcome messages, and decorations, contributing to the vibrant, amateur aesthetic of early internet culture.Glyph
A visual representation of a character or a part of a character in writing or printing. It can refer to a specific design or style of a letter, number, punctuation mark, or any symbol within a font or typeface. For example, while "A" is a character, the way "A" looks in different fonts represents different glyphs.High ASCII
Refers to the extended set of ASCII characters that are represented by values from 128 to 255. These characters include various special symbols, diacritics, and non-standard letters not found in the basic ASCII set. High ASCII was especially used in early computing and BBS scenes, often for creating more detailed or stylized ASCII art by leveraging these additional characters.Image to text
A process in which raster or vector images are converted into a visual representation using text characters. This transformation typically involves analyzing the brightness or color of each pixel and mapping it to a corresponding character from a predefined set, often weighted by visual density. Common characters range from light (. or ) to dark (@ or #). The result is a text-based approximation of the original image, often referred to as ASCII art. This technique is widely used in generators and tools that create artistic or functional visualizations in plain text environments.JavE (Java ASCII Versatile Editor)
A Java-based editor for creating and editing ASCII art. JavE includes tools for drawing, shading, and previewing artwork in a monospaced environment. It played an important role in modern ASCII art by providing a graphical interface for artists without needing a terminal.Joan Stark
Often known by her online pseudonym "jgs," is a prominent ASCII artist recognized for her contributions to the art form, especially in the 1990s and early 2000s. She created a wide variety of ASCII art pieces, ranging from simple designs to intricate illustrations, and her work has been shared and appreciated on numerous online platforms and forums. Joan Stark's signature, "jgs," is often found at the bottom of her works, signifying her unique style in the ASCII art community.Read more at ASCII Art ArtistsKaomoji
A popular style of emoticon originating from Japan, kaomoji (literally "face characters") use a combination of keyboard characters and punctuation to create expressive faces. Unlike traditional Western emoticons that are read sideways, like ":)", kaomoji are read upright, such as "٩(◕‿◕｡)۶". They often encompass a wide range of emotions and actions, making them diverse in expression.Line art
A style of drawing that uses straight or curved lines, without gradations in shade or hue, to represent objects or designs. It emphasizes form and outline over color, shading, or texture. In digital contexts, line art is often used as a base for coloring or further detailing, and in ASCII art, characters can be used to create line-based representations.Line Art
A minimalist drawing style that uses lines—straight or curved—to represent shapes and contours, without shading or gradients. In ASCII art, line art is created using carefully chosen characters like |, -, /, and \ to simulate outlines and structure. It's ideal for clean, lightweight visuals and works well in environments with limited character sets.Line Printer Art
An early form of computer-generated imagery produced using line printers, which could only print text characters. Artists used strategic arrangements of characters to represent shading and form, typically on wide-format paper. This technique laid the foundation for modern ASCII art by demonstrating the potential of text as a visual medium.mIRC
A popular Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client for Windows that supported scriptable automation and ASCII-style text formatting. Users often shared ASCII banners, color codes, and text effects within chatrooms, making mIRC a hub for real-time ASCII expression.Monospace
A style of font where each character occupies the same amount of horizontal space. Common in typewriters and code editors, monospace fonts ensure consistent alignment, making them ideal for ASCII art creations.MUD (Multi-User Dungeon)
A genre of text-based online multiplayer games where players interact through typed commands. MUDs often featured ASCII maps, symbolic representations of environments, and in-game banners made with ASCII characters, blending interactive fiction with visual creativity.Newskool ASCII
A modernized style of ASCII art that emerged in the mid-to-late 1990s, characterized by the use of a wider range of characters, higher visual contrast, and experimental layouts. Newskool ASCII often blends minimalism with creative shading techniques, moving beyond the rigid styles of early ASCII art.NFO
A file with the ".nfo" extension, commonly associated with "info" or "information". Traditionally, NFO files accompanied software releases, especially in underground scenes, to provide details about the software, credits, and instructions. These files often feature elaborate ASCII art designs and are viewed using specialized viewers or simple text editors to maintain their visual structure.ObAscii
A playful term describing ASCII art that is intentionally abstract, confusing, or cryptic, the point of being unreadable or difficult to interpret. ObAscii challenges traditional forms of readability and may be used to provoke, parody, or push the boundaries of the medium.Oldskool ASCII (Old School)
A traditional style of ASCII art known for its use of characters like /, \, _, |, and = to construct structured images. Originating in the early BBS and Amiga scenes, Oldskool ASCII prioritizes symmetry, clean lines, and vertical alignment, evoking a retro digital aesthetic.Outline
A line or set of lines enclosing or indicating the shape of an object, design, or text. In art and design, an outline often provides the basic form or structure, without detailed fill or shading. In writing, it refers to a plan or summary that lays out the main points or structure of a document or presentation.Overstrike
A text technique in which multiple characters are printed or rendered in the same position using backspace (\b) control characters. Overstrike was historically used on typewriters and line printers to create bolder symbols or composite characters and is considered an early form of character layering in text-based art.PabloDraw
A modern, cross-platform application for creating and viewing ANSI and ASCII art. It supports multi-user collaboration, live drawing, color editing, and accurate rendering based on Code Page 437. PabloDraw is a popular choice among contemporary ASCII artists for both editing and showcasing their work.Pattern
A repeated or regular arrangement of elements, often forming a design or sequence. In ASCII art, patterns are made by positioning characters in specific layouts to create recognizable images or designs, leveraging the visual weight and shape of different ASCII characters.PETSCII
The character set used by Commodore 8-bit computers, such as the Commodore 64. PETSCII includes graphical symbols, borders, and block characters, enabling users to produce visual compositions directly in BASIC or screen editors. It’s considered a cousin to ASCII art, specific to Commodore machines.Pixel
The smallest individual unit or dot of a digital image or display. Pixels can represent a specific color or intensity. When viewed together in large numbers, they form an image that is discernible to the human eye. In digital art, the arrangement and color of pixels are manipulated to create visuals, while in ASCII art, characters play a similar role to represent imagery.Plain Text
A text format without any markup, fonts, colors, or images, just raw characters. ASCII art thrives in plain text because it preserves spacing, line breaks, and character alignment, ensuring consistent appearance across different systems and devices.Pre tag
An HTML tag used to display preformatted text. Content inside a <pre> tag is shown in a fixed-width font (usually monospace) and whitespace, like spaces and new lines, is preserved. It's commonly used for displaying code snippets, ASCII art, or any text where maintaining the exact spacing and line breaks is crucial.Print Art
Artistic creations made using printing techniques, such as lithography, woodcut, or screen printing. The art is transferred from a template or matrix onto a surface, like paper or fabric. In a digital context, "print art" can also refer to designs and images specifically created for printing purposes, ensuring clarity and quality in the printed result.Printable ASCII characters
A subset of the ASCII standard that comprises characters which are visually representable when displayed. These range from values 32 to 126 in the ASCII table and include letters (both uppercase and lowercase), numbers, punctuation marks, and various symbols. Excluding control characters that serve functional purposes, printable ASCII characters are the ones commonly used in text, coding, and ASCII art.Read more at ASCII printable characters at ascii-code.comRetro
Referring to or imitating styles, trends, or designs from the recent past, typically from the mid-20th century. In a digital context, "retro" often describes software, graphics, or interfaces reminiscent of earlier computer eras, capturing a sense of nostalgia. ASCII and ANSI art are sometimes seen as retro art forms, harking back to early computing aesthetics.REXX Art
ASCII or text art created or manipulated using the REXX scripting language, which was commonly used on IBM systems like OS/2 and VM/CMS. Although niche, REXX Art demonstrates how scripting tools could be used to programmatically generate or process text-based visual content.SAUCE Metadata
Short for “Standard Architecture for Universal Comment Extensions,” SAUCE is a metadata format embedded at the end of ASCII and ANSI files. It stores information such as the title, author, group, date, and file type, helping organize and catalog digital artworks from the BBS and demoscene eras.Shift-JIS Art
A form of Japanese ASCII art (often used on forums like 2channel) that leverages the Shift-JIS character set. This style uses a wider variety of symbols compared to standard ASCII, enabling more detailed images.Shrug Man
Used to convey a sense of indifference, confusion, or playful resignation, Shrug Man (¯\_(ツ)_/¯) became one of the most recognizable text-based emoticons on the internet. It combines standard keyboard characters with the Japanese katakana symbol ツ, creating a unique expression that spread widely through forums, chatrooms, and social media in the early 2000s.Signature
A distinctive mark, characteristic, or sound indicating identity. In digital contexts, a "signature" often refers to a unique sequence of characters or design, especially at the end of emails or forum posts, that denotes a specific user or provides additional information about them. In ASCII art, signatures may be stylized representations of a user's name or alias.Signature block
A predefined section at the end of an email or electronic message that contains the sender's details, often including their name, contact information, and other pertinent details. In online communities, especially in BBS and forums, signature blocks often contain personalized ASCII or ANSI art, quotes, or other identifiers unique to the user.Solid art
A style of digital art, including ASCII and ANSI creations, where designs or images are made using continuous blocks of characters or colors, without breaks or spaces. This technique gives the artwork a "solid" appearance, with dense and filled-in visuals, as opposed to designs that rely heavily on outlines or sparse character placements.Solid Art
A visual style in ASCII and ANSI art characterized by dense, compact arrangements of characters to create bold, filled-in shapes. Unlike line art, which emphasizes outlines, solid art relies on heavy character placement to produce the illusion of mass or shading. This can be achieved with block characters like █ or with ordinary symbols such as @, 8, g, and b, carefully arranged to maximize visual density. Often used in logos, headers, and character portraits, solid art is prized for its impact and detail despite the constraints of text.Teletype
An electromechanical typewriter used in early computing to send and receive typed messages over communication lines. Teletypes (often abbreviated as TTY) printed output directly onto paper, using monospaced characters. The limitations of these devices influenced the development of ASCII art, as early digital imagery had to be created using only text characters and precise alignment.Terminal
A hardware device or software interface used to enter commands and receive outputs from a computer system. Originally, terminals were physical devices connected to mainframes, but modern terminals are typically software-based, like command-line interfaces or shell windows on personal computers. They often display text in monospace fonts, suitable for ASCII and ANSI art.Text Art Compression
A technique used to reduce the file size of ASCII or ANSI art by applying specialized compression algorithms. This was particularly useful in distributing large artpacks or storing artwork on limited disk space, such as floppy disks or BBS file sections. Compression preserved the visual structure while minimizing data usage.Text Mode
A display mode where the screen is rendered using characters rather than pixels. Many early operating systems and art tools operated entirely in text mode, making it the native environment for ASCII art.Textmode Scene
A subculture within the computer demoscene that specializes in producing visual art using only text characters. Active since the 1980s, the textmode scene has created a rich library of artwork and tools, with community-driven releases such as artpacks, text-based demos, and zines.TTY
Short for "teletypewriter," TTY refers to the text-only interface of early computing systems. In modern contexts, it often describes terminal emulators or shell environments. TTYs display monospaced characters, making them ideal platforms for ASCII and ANSI artworks.Typewriter
A mechanical or electromechanical device used for writing text by pressing keys that correspond to characters. Each key strike imprints a character onto paper. Popular before the widespread use of computers, typewriters produce text in a monospace font, where each character takes up the same width.Typewriter Art
Artistic creations made using typewriters by positioning letters, numbers, and symbols in patterns to form images or designs. Since typewriters use monospace fonts, each character occupies the same amount of space, enabling the artist to achieve precise alignments. This form of art can be seen as a precursor to ASCII art, with both relying on character placement for visual representation.Underground Groups
Refers to collectives or communities that contributed to the creation and distribution of ASCII and ANSI art, often through BBSes or online artpacks. These groups developed tools, styles, and standards that defined the evolution of text-based art across decades.Unicode
A computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. Unlike ASCII, which uses 7 bits for representation and is limited to 128 characters, Unicode can represent a vast array of characters from various languages, symbols, and ancient scripts, making it more versatile for global communication and documentation.Unicode
A universal character encoding standard that supports over 140,000 characters from most of the world’s writing systems, including symbols, mathematical operators, emojis, and various blocks for visual composition. In the context of ASCII and text art, Unicode expands creative possibilities beyond the 128-character limit of traditional ASCII. It includes box-drawing characters, Braille patterns, geometric shapes, and block elements, which allow artists to create more detailed and expressive works while still using pure text. Unicode enables multilingual support and more precise visual alignment across modern platforms.Usenet
An early Internet system that enabled users to post and read messages in categories called newsgroups. Established in 1980, it was a precursor to modern forums and bulletin boards. Users exchanged text messages, and over time, binaries (like images or software). ASCII art, among other forms of digital expression, often found its way onto Usenet, becoming a part of the platform's rich culture.VT100
A video terminal developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) that became the standard for many text-based interfaces. It introduced features like cursor movement and screen control via escape sequences, which influenced the design of ANSI art and text-mode interfaces used in ASCII creation.Zine
Short for “magazine,” a zine in the textmode scene is a digital publication distributed within artpacks or as standalone files. Zines often feature ASCII/ANSI layouts, scene news, interviews, tutorials, and opinion pieces, contributing to the documentation and growth of the community.