RuneScape Forum Archive | -=A Guide To Ascii Art=-v5

[#R8WGBMN70]

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ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Basic Structures.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
We all can make a simple rectangle,
|¯¯¯¯¯|
|_____|
But what about the circles? triangles?
This don't work,
. . . . . ./\
. . . . . /. '\
. . . . /. . . \
. . . / . . . . .\
. . / . . . . . . .\
. / . . . . . . . . '\
/_________\
Or this
. . ¸„„„¸
. ./ …. \
. | …... |
. .\ …. /
. . `ªªª´
so... how do we make a circle or triangle right?
Triangles.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Well, first you have to get an angle, let's take ,-' for an example

first start with the top of the triangle:
. . . . . . . . ,-ˆ-,
As you can see, I used ˆ for the top for a good point, but you can make it a little bigger,
. . . . . . . . ,-´`-,
But I prefer ˆ.
So we keep going...
.................... ,-ˆˆ-,
...............'. ,-' ….. '-,
............. ,-' ……….' '-,
.........' ,-' ……….…...' '-,
And at the bottom point... sorta tricky, but not that much, first start off with a normal underscore,
.................... ,-ˆˆ-,
...............'. ,-' ….. '-,
............. ,-' ……….' '-,
.........' ,-' ……….…...' '-,
... ...,-'____________"'-,
Now, there is still that little space between the edge of the triangle, so let's try a ¸ in the middle of ' and -
.................... ,-ˆˆ-,
...............'. ,-' ….. '-,
............. ,-' ……….' '-,
.........' ,-' ……….…...' '-,
..... ,-¸'____________"¸-,
And there is your triangle!
Circles
¯¯¯¯¯¯
A circle is more complicated. You have to find your long angle, and bring it down, down, and down.
Let's start with a top,
. . . . . . . . . ¸„..–•••–..„¸
Then start with a long curve at both ends, remember to do a lot of previewing if you use the forums reply screen: ¸.-·*¨
. . . . . . . . . ¸„..–•••–..„¸
. . . . . .¸.-·*¨ … … ... .. ¨*·-.¸

Then go down...
. . . . . . . . . .¸„..–•••–..„¸
. . . . . .'¸.-·*¨ … … ... .. ¨*·-.¸
. . . .¸.·ˆ … … …… … … ... ˆ·.¸
. .¸·´ … … … … … … … … .. `·¸
Now It's time for the curve, this is the tricky part...

06-May-2010 15:56:11 - Last edited on 07-May-2010 21:49:44 by [#R8WGBMN70]

[#R8WGBMN70]

Posts: 7,256 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

You have to just keep making the curve so it keeps getting smaller, and smaller,
Example,
¸.-·*´
¸.·*´
¸·*´
¸·´
¸´
ƒ
,'
. . . . . . . . . . .¸„..–•••–..„¸
. . . . . . . ¸.-·*¨ … … ... .. ¨*·-.¸
. . . . .¸.·ˆ … … …… … … ... ˆ·.¸
. . . ¸·´ … … … … … … … ….. `·¸
. . ¸´
. ƒ
.,'
.|
Now just use | or ; for your line, do it on the other side, and you are done!
Note: ƒ backwards is the same as `,
|`,|
|ƒ|
Note: Have fun!
Picture completed (Almost, still got shading to do, but if you did it right, it should look like this):
. . . . .... . .. . . . .¸„..–•••–..„¸
. . . .. . . . ¸.-·*¨ … … ... .. ...¨*·-.¸
. . . .. .¸.·ˆ … … …… … …... ... ˆ·.¸
. . . ¸·´ … … … … … … … ...… . `·¸
. . ¸´ … … … … … … … … ..… …`¸
. ƒ … …… … … … … … … ..… … ',
.,' … … … … … … … … … ….. ….. ',
.| … … … … … … … … … … .… ... |
.', … … … … … … … … … … ..… . ,'
. ', … … … … … … … … … … ..... ƒ
. . `¸ … … … … … … … … … ... ..¸´
. . . `·¸ … … … … … … … … ... ¸·´
. . . . .ˆ·.¸ … … …… … … ... .¸.-·ˆ
. . . . . . . ¨*·-.¸ … … ... ...¸,.–¬*
. . . . . . . . . . . .¨ˆª^•••^ªˆ¨
By Kentokun1

06-May-2010 15:56:19 - Last edited on 07-May-2010 21:49:59 by [#R8WGBMN70]

[#R8WGBMN70]

Posts: 7,256 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Alignment

Alignment is something that all artists have to deal with. Usually when you’re having
alignment trouble, it’s because your line is either half a space too long or too short,
demonstrated bellow. This can easily be taken care of however with the addition
of two simple characters. Alt 0145 ( ‘ ), and the apostrophe ( ‘ ).

|.......................|
|......,·'´¯¯`'·,......|
|......'·,¸__¸,·'......|
|.......................|

These two middle lines don't line up exactly with the top or bottom one. No matter
how many periods i add or subtact they wont line up right.
Apostrophes:
The apostrophe only takes up half a space. So adding an apostrophe
will, in most cases, even out the line that’s giving you trouble on
your drawing, demonstrated bellow.

|.........................|
|......,·'´¯¯`'·,......'| <-- Adding an apostrophe here evens out the line, almost.
|......'·,¸__¸,·'......'|
|.........................|

Alt 0145:
Alt 0145 is an alt code (for more on alt codes visit page 4) that takes up slightly more space that the normal apostrophe.

|'''| <-- Three apostrophes.
|‘‘‘| <-- Three Alt 0145's.
You can use this difference in length to your advantage. Based on your previous
knowledge that usually when you’re having alignment trouble it’s because your line is
half a space too long or too short, subtracting a few periods and adding 1 Alt 0145 and 1 apostrophe will even it out, demonstrated bellow.

|‘'.....................|
|......,·'´¯¯`'·,....|
|......'·,¸__¸,·'....|
|‘'.....................|

06-May-2010 15:56:25 - Last edited on 07-May-2010 21:50:18 by [#R8WGBMN70]

[#R8WGBMN70]

Posts: 7,256 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
...Perspective...
When making ASCII art, to give the picture figure, you have to look at the perspective. There are 4 main kinds of perspective.
1 Front view <----- Most common
2 Profile/ side view
3 Three quarters view
4 Quarter view
First of all perspective means the way that the artwork will be portrayed, or the way you will be looking at it. There are lots of kinds of perspectives, such as front view.
_________________________________________
_____________________#___________________
____________________###__________________
___________________#####_________________
___________________#####_________________
___________________#####_________________
___________________#####_________________
___________________#####_________________
___________________#####_________________
_________________#########_______________
____________________###__________________
____________________###__________________

This is an example of a profile view. You see the entire front of the picture. The Front view is best used if you are making some sort of weapon because you want to see the entire weapon, and not just a side of it.
The next kind of view is a profile view. A profile view is like a side view, giving you only half the actual design. It is best portrayed in faces. This is hard to master; in fact, I advise not drawing in profile as it can sometimes ruin your picture.
_________####################____________
_______#######################___________
______#########################__________
______################?????????#_________
______###############??????00???######___
______###############??????00?????????#__
______###############???????????######___
______###############??????????#_________
______##############???????????#_________
_____############?????????????#__________
____#############???????#####____________
________________#???????#________________
Here is an example of profile view.
Continued below.

06-May-2010 15:56:32 - Last edited on 07-May-2010 21:50:31 by [#R8WGBMN70]

[#R8WGBMN70]

Posts: 7,256 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Continued above.
The next view is Three Quarters view. Most artists draw this way without even realizing it. It looks like you are looking at something to your far right or left with your peripheral vision. It is also difficult to draw in Three quarters view if you are just starting out, but once you develop more skill, it will be easy. It also works best in aligned pictures or unaligned with thick shading.
___________#___________________
_________#_____#_______________
_______#__________#____________
_____#_______________#_________
___#_____________________#_____
___#??#________________#_#_____
___#??????#__________#___#_____
___#?????????#_____#_____#_____
___#????????????#________#_____
___#????????????#________#_____
___#????????????#________#_____
________#???????#_____#________
____________????#______________
This is an example of three quarters view. As you can see the slant that is required, isn’t easy to make, and could be challenging for even the best ASCII artist. It is easier seen if you shade the side closest to you with something lighter and/or darker than the object.

Quarter view is just the same as three Quarter view, except that it is shaded differently by shading the farthest side instead.
_______________________________
___________#___________________
_________#_____#_______________
_______#__________#____________
_____#_______________#_________
___#_____________________#_____
___#__#________________#?#_____
___#______#__________#???#_____
___#_________#_____#?????#_____
___#____________#????????#_____
___#____________#????????#_____
___#____________#????????#_____
________#_______#?????#________
________________#????__________
Other perspectives include up-close and far away. You can show close up by making the object larger and shade either to its back right or back left. While far away can be portrayed by shading either the upper right side or upper left side.
Guide by: Lubu 239

06-May-2010 15:57:54 - Last edited on 07-May-2010 21:50:42 by [#R8WGBMN70]

[#R8WGBMN70]

Posts: 7,256 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
•Guide to adding Text into your drawings:
Part I:When you want to Copyright a picture, you have to add © and your name. But how do I do this without unaligning my Picture? It's simple.
Say your username is VeracsPwn.
You want to Copyright a picture.
Here's the amount of "Space" a Letter takes up.
Uppercase= Two Periods
Lowercase= One period to two periods(w is larger than l)
Part II:
See the Difference?
Incorrect:
......©VeracsPwn...............
...............................
Correct:
...©VeracsPwn....
...............................
Whenever you put a letter in, delete the period amount it takes up so the Drawing stays Aligned. It may look incorrect in the Message Box, but it is perfect when you add the Message.
Instead of using the Forum Message Box, you can use Notepad. When you use Notepad, make sure you set the font to Arial size 9. Trust me, Notepad is much easier.
By: Eddie/Chicken 424, DLU Artist.

06-May-2010 15:58:01 - Last edited on 07-May-2010 21:50:58 by [#R8WGBMN70]

[#R8WGBMN70]

Posts: 7,256 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Whenever I make logos now, I like to see what they look like on the forums. A lot of times logos just look a lot better in that white text on that black background. But I don't always wanna do the whole thing and enter forums...So here's what you do:
On Wordpad/Notepad/Wherever, scroll up/down until you get a clear view of your picture. Hit the "Print Screen" button some where on your keyboard. Then, open up paintbrush.
Hit Ctrl + V/Paste. You will now see the screenshot of your picture. Move it around on paint to get a clear view of it. Now here comes the great part...
Hit Ctrl + I (Invert Colours)! It reverses the normal black text to white, and normal white background to black!
By: Dock*wa

06-May-2010 15:58:08 - Last edited on 07-May-2010 21:51:28 by [#R8WGBMN70]

[#R8WGBMN70]

Posts: 7,256 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Shading
¯¯¯¯¯¯
I shade differently to most people. Most unalligned artist shade with the same pattern
eg. ;;:;:.:.:.. .
|;;:;:.:.:.. . |
|;;:;:.:.:.. . |
|;;:;:.:.:.. . |
|;;:;:.:.:.. . |
|;;:;:.:.:.. . |
which works very well, however for rougher objects, and to add a touch of excitement i alternate my patern eg.
|;;:;:.:.:.:. .|
|;::.:.. .. . |
|;;:;::.:.. .. |
|;;::.:.. .. . |
|;:::..:. .. . |
notice that each line of shading is different to the others.
Types
I believe that ascii art can be split into 4 categories. the two obvious ones are Mixed and Alligned. However Unalligned cannot be shoved into one category. Unalligned art can be split into Unalligned-Alligned and Unalligned-Unalligned, It sounds stupid but can be very helpful when creating Unalligned art.
Unalligned-Alligned
This is the type of Unalligned drawing that i use. It uses characters which are almost all the same size, which makes lining up your picture and borders ALOT easier.
Characters the same size ¨ ` - . , ¸ ; : ´
Characters double the size = ~ ¬
Character Half the size '
Those characters have an even number of pixels, which makes them good for drawing with.
Unalligned-Unalligned
These characters have an Uneven number of pixels, which makes it hard to line up drawings. I almost Never use these in my drawings
| i ! ¦ º ° • " * ^ ¤ _ ¯ – ) ( ] [ { } \ /
_ and ¯ are the exclusion for my rule as theyre very usefull in creating angles.
Instead of using | for the edge of a sword use ; which is still very good and makes the drawing alot easier to controll.
Conclusion
I'm not saying that by following my section you'll be able to draw better than with the proper guide. I'm saying that drawing like that is easier for me.
As you progress in Ascii art and you begin to draw better things you must find your own style that suits you and your drawings.
~Toz

06-May-2010 15:59:26 - Last edited on 07-May-2010 21:51:43 by [#R8WGBMN70]

[#R8WGBMN70]

Posts: 7,256 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:
~Line Shading~
Note: This technique is fairly advanced, and is recommended for more experienced artists.
By now, those reading this should know how certain characters are "brighter" or "darker" than others. A common example is the semi colon ( ; ), the colon ( : ), and the period. ( . ) However, it is also possible to change the brightness of your line art. Look at the examples below:
Bright:
………..¸„‹-¬³°˜¨¯¯¨˜°³¬-›¸
……¸,-´……………………`-¸
….¸-'………………………….'-¸
...¸´……………………………...'¸
...|………………………………..|
Dim:
………...„..-.."..¨.¨¨¨¨.¨.".-.„
……..,-´…………………..`.-,
…..,.'………………………….`,
…,'……………………………...',
...:………………………………..:
Both of these arcs are the same shape. Most of us will draw lines like the Bright example, since we tend to use all characters that we know of in a line. By simply using only light characters such as ( , „ - ' ` ´ ¨ ), you can make a line dimmer than normal. You can also intentionally create gaps in between these characters to further darken the line. This technique is useful for making lines that contrast less with the normal shading surrounding it. You can also use it to make less distinct lines, such as wrinkles in clothing that you do not wish to stand out from the normal lines.
©Rhombo

06-May-2010 15:59:34 - Last edited on 07-May-2010 21:51:59 by [#R8WGBMN70]

[#R8WGBMN70]

Posts: 7,256 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Artist Spotlight
Unusual characters - Advanced (kinda)
Often you see many pieces of art made up of the standard ascii set. Often it can be beneficial to use stranger ones, letters can often be helpful.
Some are more obvious, like o or O, in which you would place these where a very small circle is needed. However, looking at the structure of different characters can give you a good idea of where you can use them.
For example:
•Don't see the 'W' as a random letter, see it as a jagged edge to something, maybe a part of a monster's teeth, same as 'w'.
•The 'Y' is three lines connecting at a point, perhaps in a sword. Same with 'T'
•'U' and 'c' are ends to things like fingers, metal poles, tentacles etc.
The most important thing is to not overdo them, because an unusual character won't fit into many situations. Always keep an eye out for places where it would work.

Superant1. . . ¸__
_¸¸¸_,..-~•""¯¯. . . . ¯"-,
. . . . . . . . . . . . ..,•"¯"¸. .}
. . . . . . .. . . . . .. '•-,,_,,-'

06-May-2010 15:59:42 - Last edited on 07-May-2010 21:52:26 by [#R8WGBMN70]

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-=A Guide To Ascii Art=-v5