Creating artistic images with ASCII art
ASCII artists are often genuine tinkerers: With meticulous attention, they create images, and even movies, solely from letters and digits. The combination of simple means and complexity of images is always fascinating. This extravagant art form goes back to the first half of the 20th century and has been known since the 1960s as ASCII art.
The images only use character sets without non-standard characters. These Latin characters are based on the English alphabet and later on the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII). They contain uppercase and lowercase letters, basic delimiters, and control characters that come from the world of the telegraph. These characters can be found on almost any computer, allowing users to display the image in an identical manner wherever they are.
Artistic opportunities arise in particular by leveraging the amount of black in the various characters. The artist creates transitions between light and dark, and individual shapes, such as arches and curves, through different shades. The human brain's ability to abstract and recognize images using patterns assures the desired effect.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Mint 22.3 Now Available with New Tools
Linux Mint 22.3 has been released with a pair of new tools for system admins and some pretty cool new features.
-
New Linux Malware Targets Cloud-Based Linux Installations
VoidLink, a new Linux malware, should be of real concern because of its stealth and customization.
-
Say Goodbye to Middle-Mouse Paste
Both Gnome and Firefox have proposed getting rid of a long-time favorite Linux feature.
-
Manjaro 26.0 Primary Desktop Environments Default to Wayland
If you want to stick with X.Org, you'll be limited to the desktop environments you can choose.
-
Mozilla Plans to AI-ify Firefox
With a new CEO in control, Mozilla is doubling down on a strategy of trust, all the while leaning into AI.
-
Gnome Says No to AI-Generated Extensions
If you're a developer wanting to create a new Gnome extension, you'd best set aside that AI code generator, because the extension team will have none of that.
-
Parrot OS Switches to KDE Plasma Desktop
Yet another distro is making the move to the KDE Plasma desktop.
-
TUXEDO Announces Gemini 17
TUXEDO Computers has released the fourth generation of its Gemini laptop with plenty of updates.
-
Two New Distros Adopt Enlightenment
MX Moksha and AV Linux 25 join ranks with Bodhi Linux and embrace the Enlightenment desktop.
-
Solus Linux 4.8 Removes Python 2
Solus Linux 4.8 has been released with the latest Linux kernel, updated desktops, and a key removal.