            .  .           .__              ,   .  .      .     _
            |__| _ .    ,  |  \ _  _  __  *-+-  |  | _ ._.;_/  ' )
            |  |(_) \/\/   |__/(_)(/,_)   | |   |/\|(_)[  | \   ;

                          ==============================+
                         ||        a'    `8888888####a:f|
                         ||    .a:8'      `888888888####|
                         || .a8:P'     /   `888888888###|
                         ||a8P'       / __= `888888888##|
                         ||'       _____     Y8888888###|
                         ||   >--''  /        88888888##|
                         ||_   \ aa /         `8888888##|
                         || \   `88P /   _____ Y88888###|
                         ||  \    =-'_.-'   , \ Y88#####|
                         || a/            ,'/  |`888####|
                         ||^           _-'|/     8888###|
                         ||        _.-: | /     d8888###|       _
                         ||  __,.-| | | ,'      d8888###|      ( `\
                         ||"'| |  | | ,'       d8888####|     (  ? )
                         ||  | |  L.-'       .d8888#####|     (`,-'
                         ||__|.J-'          ,888888#####|   _ o
                   []    ||              _oo88888#######|  ( )_
                         ||             d88888888#######|  (  `\
          .--.            '-----------------------------'   \\//
          )  (                                              )`")
    ____  |==| ___________________________________________  |  ( ____
         /__/|                                              |J |
         | | '                                               `"'
         ` '
      Resources: ->  Forums, Tutorials, FAQs, Other Stuff
# Where to go There are several forums in which ASCII art is presented, created and shared or discussed. The most traffic and from my point of view the most creativity lives in the Usenet group alt.ascii-art. Please read the FAQ for alt.ascii-art! Also quite interesting for those that speak the language are the German group de.alt.rec.ascii-art (FAQ for dara-a) and the Polish group pl.rec.ascii-art (FAQ for pra-a). After a long time rec.arts.ascii is back again. It is a moderated group (read the posting guidelines) with a robo-mod doing the filtering. It is still rather empty. You have not done your good deed of today? Post some Ascii to rec.arts.ascii! Another place to visit is probably Veronica's ASCII art chat. Veronica Karlsson (aka VK) is a well known ASCII artist and hosts her own private ASCII chat in which sometimes a creative joint effort erupts into a flow of diddles and re-diddles. There are some IRC or mIRC channels about ASCII art or at least with ASCII art too. But I have never tried those.
# Tutorials How to create ASCII art? Members of the Usenet groups alt.ascii-art and rec.ascii-art have not only created many pictures but also compiled a number of How-Tos, FAQs and Tutorials. Especially in the early nineties the Ascii Art community in Usenet must have had a very productive time. The following documents explain very many aspects of making Ascii pictures and also are examples of how the styles of the pictures have changed during the last ten years. The tutorials are named after their author. The order follows my personal preferences:
+ Hayley Jane Wakenshaw (external link) (1999) A very nice tutorial for beginners. It shows step by step how to draw a picture of Gromit (the dog). Unfortunately Hayley is not doing Ascii any more and the links in this may be all dead but it is still the best start into making high quality pictures.
+ Rowan Crawford (Row) (1994) Advanced Ascii! Rowan Crawford describes how his rather unique Ascii style works. The advanced Ascii artist will find many useful tips on how to improve lines and shapes.
+ Normand Veilleux (1994) A very extensive tutorial on how to draw smooth Ascii pictures with a lot of 888 and Y8P in it. A very fine version of Mona Lisa is created step by step.
+ Daniel Au (1995) Make a Start in Ascii Art! Daniel C. Au (aka dcau) tells you how to draw a giraffe. Can you do it?
+ Targon (?) A short beginners tutorial.
+ Jonathon R. Oglesbee (2000) A more recent very basic introduction.
+ Susie Oviatt (?) Susie Oviatt has created many good pictures in the past. This tutorial tells you how they were created.
# FAQs The newest FAQ for alt.ascii-art is very informative and provides up to date links. However, there are older FAQs that might still be of interest for some people. (And do not forget the German and Polish FAQ mentioned above.)
+ Matthew Thomas' alt.ascii-art FAQ (1998) The previous version to the current FAQ for alt.ascii-art. Very similar.
+ Jorn Barger's Ascii Art FAQ (1993) More like a tutorial than a FAQ. Old stuff but still interesting.
+ Bob Allsison's Ascii Art FAQ (1996) Bob Allison aka Scarecrow was the moderator of rec.arts.ascii during its best times. Lots of dead links and some information. More history than useful information, I think.
# Other Stuff (coming soon)
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