history of ASCII art

The idea of using text to create visual imagery predates the digital age by over a century. In 1865, two notable examples emerged:

• A calligraphic portrait of Abraham Lincoln, composed entirely of words from the Emancipation Proclamation, demonstrated how typography could form powerful visual symbolism.
• The first edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland included a mouse’s tail poem shaped like an actual mouse’s tail, blending text and layout into a visual pun.

These early works exemplify what ASCII artist Joan Stark later described as “Text as Pictures – Typography”: the use of letters not just as carriers of meaning, but as building blocks for images.

In 1867, Christopher Latham Sholes, along with Carlos Glidden and Samuel W. Soulé, patented the first practical typewriter. This groundbreaking invention transformed written communication and paved the way for a new form of visual expression using typed characters, known today as typewriter art.

Sholes' machine also introduced the QWERTY keyboard layout, which continues to be the standard on modern keyboards around the world.

Flora Stacey, a British stenographer, creates a detailed image of a butterfly using a typewriter. Her work is considered the earliest known example of typewriter art, showing that text characters could be used not just for writing, but for visual expression as well.

This moment marks a key milestone in the evolution of ASCII and text-based art forms, long before digital displays.

In the early 20th century, artists and hobbyists began using typewriters not only for writing but as tools for creating visual compositions. Building on earlier typographic experiments from the 1800s, they used overtyping, precise spacing, and creative arrangements of characters to produce portraits, patterns, and poetry.

This period saw the emergence of dedicated typewriter artists like Floriane Saint-Pierre, Paul Smith, and Alan Riddell, who pushed the medium toward recognizable visual art. Their works were often painstakingly crafted line by line, using the limitations of the machine as a form of artistic constraint.

Typewriter art became both a personal form of expression and a precursor to computer-based ASCII art that would emerge decades later.

Teletypewriters (TTY) and especially RTTY (Radio Teletype) were widely used by the military, news agencies, and amateur radio operators to transmit text across long distances. These machines relied on early character encoding systems, most commonly the Baudot code, which was a 5-bit system that served as a forerunner to ASCII.

While these systems were not originally designed for artistic use, text-based images and patterns occasionally showed up in TTY printouts. These were often made for fun, experimentation, or informal decoration. Such examples represent some of the earliest connections between technology and visual text, emerging well before ASCII art became a defined form.

Before computer monitors became widespread, researchers at universities and research laboratories used IBM 1403 line printers to create images by precisely arranging characters on paper. These printed works formed spirals, portraits, wave patterns, and other visual designs. Often humorous or decorative, this early form of digital art became known as line printer art and is widely regarded as a forerunner to ASCII art.

At Bell Labs, Kenneth Knowlton was among the pioneers who explored the artistic potential of printed character output, helping bridge the gap between technical computing and visual creativity.

As access to mainframe computers increased, researchers began exploring how computer code could be used to generate visual patterns. Using programming languages like FORTRAN, they wrote algorithms that printed structured images — such as waves, spirals, or geometric forms — directly to line printers. This early form of generative ASCII art demonstrated how logic and creativity could intersect through code.

Rather than manually composing art character by character, these pioneers used punch cards and mathematical formulas to automate the creation of text-based visuals. It marked a foundational shift in ASCII art — from mechanical typing to computational generation.

Famous algorithmic examples include spirals, waveforms, and even early text-based portraits such as the ASCII Mona Lisa. These works helped inspire generations of artists and programmers to explore the artistic potential of text and code.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) publishes the X3.4-1963 standard, defining a 7-bit character system for electronic communication. This code, called ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), became the foundation for all text-based art and communication in the Western world. Each character’s unique binary value made it possible to create images with text, as each symbol functioned like a "pixel-like" element.

Pioneer Kenneth Knowlton, working at Bell Labs, creates some of the earliest computer-generated images using characters. He used an IBM 7094 to convert photographs into images made up of symbols. Among his works is a portrait of his wife. These are now considered precursors to what would later be known as "ASCII art."

Knowlton and Leon Harmon publish the artwork "Studies in Perception I", where a photograph is transformed into a character-based image of a nude woman. The piece uses carefully chosen characters to represent varying tones and is exhibited in 1968 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, marking a milestone in computer-generated art.

One of the earliest techniques for creating character-based shading and gradients was surprinting. This method involved printing multiple characters in the same position to produce darker tones or textured effects. It worked particularly well on line printers and early terminals that allowed backspacing and overstriking.

A notable example of this innovation was the PLATO system (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations), developed at the University of Illinois. By 1972, PLATO featured graphical capabilities that included character graphics and overstrike rendering, laying foundational concepts for later text-based art and animation.

ANSI releases X3.4-1977, a revision that confirms and refines the ASCII standard. This version increases stability in how characters are interpreted across terminals and systems, paving the way for more artistic usage.

The introduction of digital terminals such as the VT100, along with the ANSI X3.64 standard, brought support for color, cursor movement, and visual effects through escape codes. These capabilities made it possible to create colorful and dynamic text art, forming the basis of what would later become known as ANSI art.

With the release of Digital Equipment Corporation’s VT100 terminal in 1978, programmers gained access to ANSI escape codes for cursor control and screen manipulation. This made it possible to update characters dynamically, laying the foundation for early terminal-based animations. These sequences, created entirely with text, would later be known as ASCIImation.

With the rise of home computers in the late 1970s, manufacturers introduced custom variations of ASCII, including ATASCII on Atari systems and PETSCII on Commodore machines. These extended character sets allowed developers and hobbyists to use a wide range of symbols for games, demos, and graphical effects. This innovation played a key role in shaping the text-based visuals that became iconic during the 1980s home computing era.

In the late 1970s, animated ASCII art began to appear as developers discovered ways to simulate motion using text alone. By combining cursor commands with rapid clearing and redrawing of characters, they were able to create simple animations on text terminals. This technique, which later became known as ASCIImation, opened the door to storytelling and visual effects entirely within the constraints of a monospaced grid.

Following the introduction of the first BBS in 1978, Bulletin Board Systems exploded in popularity during the mid-1980s. With the rise of IBM-compatible PCs and ANSI-capable terminals, BBSes became fertile ground for text-based graphics. Sysops decorated menus and login screens with vivid ASCII and ANSI art.

By the late '80s, dedicated art groups like ACiD (1990) and iCE (1991) began releasing monthly artpacks, distributing elaborate artworks through BBS networks. This era transformed ASCII art from a personal craft into a collaborative digital subculture, paving the way for modern text art communities.

During the 1980s, Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) emerged as the first online multiplayer games, built entirely with text. These virtual worlds used stylized text, symbols, and ASCII-like layouts to represent rooms, players, monsters, and objects.

While not originally intended as “ASCII art,” MUD interfaces often included character-based visuals, such as menus, health bars, and in-game maps. This practical use of ASCII characters enhanced immersion and helped bridge the gap between plain text and interactive environments. It also laid important groundwork for the development of later graphical MMORPGs.

Researcher Scott Fahlman at Carnegie Mellon University proposes using ":-)" and ":-(" to mark jokes and serious comments in discussion forums. This is considered the origin of emoticons and minimalist ASCII-based expressions.

Glenn Chappell and Ian Chai begin developing FIGlet, a program that transforms plain text into large banner-style ASCII art using custom fonts. It becomes a foundational tool for creating stylized text in terminal environments and remains widely used in programming and digital art communities.

Around the same time in Japan, the first kaomoji began to appear on ASCII NET. These expressive emoticons, created using text characters such as (＾_＾), marked the beginning of a uniquely Japanese style of digital communication. This form of expression quickly gained popularity and became a defining element of online culture in Japan and beyond.

One of the first organized ANSI art groups, Aces of ANSI Art (AAA), is founded and pioneers organized distribution of text art in "artpacks."

During the 1990s, ASCII art became increasingly popular through Usenet, email, and text-based forums. Users often added ASCII banners, characters, and decorative elements to their signatures as a way to express creativity in a world limited to plain text.

Another iconic group, ANSI Creators in Demand (ACiD), was founded and quickly grew into a leading force in ANSI art and the broader digital art scene throughout the 1990s.

Digital art collectives like ACiD, iCE, and Dark Illustrated create and distribute ANSI and ASCII art in monthly "artpacks" via BBS and FTP. These packs include logos, posters, characters, and themes all made from text.

With the rise of mIRC and Internet Relay Chat in the 1990s, ASCII art found a new home in live online conversations. Users often shared pre-made or hand-typed ASCII logos, characters, and banners as a form of identity and humor. ASCII became a part of IRC culture, with “ASCII spam,” greeter bots, and mIRC scripts that generated animated text patterns or stylized names.

IRC also served as a meeting point for ASCII/ANSI art groups, connecting creators from the BBS scene in real time.

Joan Stark, known by her signature jgs, launches one of the most influential ASCII art websites of the 1990s: the ASCII Art Gallery on GeoCities (SoHo/7373). Featuring hundreds of original artworks, kaomoji collections, categorized galleries (including seasonal and greeting card art), and instructional material, the site quickly becomes a cornerstone of the web’s early ASCII art scene.

Beyond her prolific output, Stark also documents the history of ASCII art, bridging the gap between typewriter art, online communities, and modern web aesthetics. Her work popularizes ASCII art during the dawn of personal webpages, and her contributions influence countless hobbyists and emerging artists online.

During the late 1990s, GeoCities emerges as a key platform for ASCII artists to share and publish their work. Its free, accessible web hosting attracts hobbyists and creators from around the world, who build personal galleries filled with ASCII art, tutorials, and signature files. The SoHo “neighborhood,” in particular, becomes a hotspot for text-based creativity and early digital expression.

Simon Jansen launches Star Wars Asciimation, a project that recreates scenes from Star Wars Episode IV using animated ASCII characters streamed in terminal format. Hosted at asciimation.co.nz, it becomes a cult classic and showcases the creative potential of plain text as a cinematic medium.

The ASCII Ribbon Campaign was launched in 1998 as a grassroots internet movement promoting the use of plain text emails over HTML-formatted messages. Supporters included a small ASCII ribbon in their email signatures along with slogans like:

ASCII Ribbon Campaign | Against HTML E-Mail and MS Word

The campaign emphasized internet neutrality, simplicity, and compatibility, particularly within tech and open-source communities.

As ASCII art became more popular through email and personal homepages, users started sharing ASCII greeting cards in plain text. These included birthday wishes, get-well messages, and anniversary notes. Artists such as Joan Stark helped organize these artworks into themed collections for holidays like Halloween, Christmas, and New Year’s. This turned ASCII art into a creative way to celebrate and express seasonal greetings in the digital world.

Tony Monroe releases cowsay, a command-line utility where an ASCII-style cow "speaks" a user-defined message inside a text bubble. Originally created as a lighthearted Unix tool, it quickly becomes a cult favorite among Linux users, IRC communities, and developers. The program is often used to add comic relief to terminal sessions.

On November 1, 2000, Markus Gebhard launches JavE (Java ASCII Versatile Editor), a Java-based graphical ASCII editor. With tools for freehand drawing, line styles, mirroring, and an Image2ASCII converter, JavE quickly becomes the go-to application for ASCII artists worldwide.

JavE continues to evolve, reaching version 6.0 RC2 by 2009, and expanding into unexpected areas like KiCad electronic component generation. Although active development ends around May 2010, JavE remains one of the most beloved tools in ASCII art history.

In early 2000s Japan, the anonymous message board 2channel (2ch) became a central place for creative ASCII expression. Users began crafting detailed and humorous Shift_JIS art, a Japanese variation of ASCII art, featuring characters like Mona who quickly became a mascot for the site. This distinctive subculture combined memes, artwork, and internet anonymity, leaving a lasting influence on internet aesthetics around the world.

During the 2000s, ASCII art thrived in both retro-inspired gaming and online culture. Games like NetHack, Dwarf Fortress, and ADOM used text characters not only as a stylistic choice but as a functional and imaginative tool for rendering entire game worlds. These titles demonstrated how minimal graphics could still offer rich, complex experiences. At the same time, ASCII-based memes, copypasta, and emoticons spread rapidly across internet forums, blogs, and early social platforms, shaping digital humor and communication. For further reading, the article “ASCII and Gaming: The Rise of Text Graphics” on ascii-code.com explores the continued use of ASCII in modern game design and its cultural significance.

With the rise of Unicode in the early 2000s, artists gained access to a much larger set of symbols beyond the limits of standard ASCII. This expansion led to the development of modern Unicode art, a form of text-based creativity that makes use of thousands of characters, including mathematical symbols, diacritical marks, and box-drawing elements.

A notable trend within this space is the creative use of combining characters, which are layered on top of base characters to create “glitch” effects or stacked text illusions. This style has become especially popular online, where users generate elaborate Unicode-based visuals for memes, messages, and decorative text.

Modern platforms like GitHub, Reddit, and YouTube have helped spread Unicode art, with some creators even producing animated sequences using wide character sets and terminal emulators.

Portuguese artist Joaquim Gândara creates and publishes the ASCII-based webcomic The Adventures of Nerd Boy. Released regularly between 2001 and 2007, the series gained international attention for its creative use of ASCII characters in storytelling and remains one of the best-known examples of ASCII comics online.

ASCII art takes a creative leap as it appears in music videos. A notable example is the video for "Black Tambourine" by Beck, which features animated ASCII characters and scenes synchronized to the music. This fusion of text-based visuals and mainstream media showcases ASCII's artistic potential beyond tech culture.

Iconic ASCII-based characters such as Mona, Yaruo, and Densha Otoko (Train Man) gain widespread recognition through the Japanese textboard 2channel. These characters become central figures in Japanese internet culture, blending ASCII art with storytelling, memes, and online identity.

On October 26, 2009, Yahoo! shuts down GeoCities, resulting in the loss of countless digital artifacts – including many classic ASCII art pages. However, Joan Stark’s gallery is rescued by archival efforts and survives through Wayback Machine snapshots and mirror projects on GitHub and other platforms.

ASCII art saw a resurgence with the rise of platforms like Reddit, Discord, and GitHub. Automated bots began posting creative ASCII messages, while viral “copypasta” texts—often humorous or absurd—spread quickly across threads and online communities. Well-known symbols such as the Shrug Man ¯\(ツ)/¯ and complex text-based macros became iconic elements of modern internet culture.

The longstanding ASCII art archive previously hosted on ascii-code.com is relaunched on its own dedicated domain: asciiart.eu. This marks a new chapter focused on modern usability, an expanded gallery, mobile-friendly design, and broader accessibility for a global audience.

During the 2020s, web-based ASCII converters became increasingly popular. While most rely on traditional image processing rather than AI, a few experimental tools began exploring machine learning to generate stylized ASCII art. These tools made it easier for users to transform images into text-based designs for creative or nostalgic purposes.

ASCII Draw Studio is introduced as a web-based drawing tool for ASCII art. The platform targets artists, hobbyists, and educational use, offering features like figlet text, shapes, brushes, and real-time editing.