Internet, Networking, & Security Home Networking What Is ASCII Text Art? ASCII art consists entirely of carefully placed computer text by Paul Gil Writer Paul Gil, a former Lifewire writer who is also known for his dynamic internet and database courses and has been active in technology fields for over two decades. our editorial process Paul Gil Updated on December 13, 2019 Tweet Share Email Home Networking The Wireless Connection Routers & Firewalls Network Hubs ISP Broadband Ethernet Installing & Upgrading Wi-Fi & Wireless The American Standard of Coded Information Interchange (ASCII) is the most common text character set used by English-language computer keyboards. ASCII art images are generated entirely by computer text characters. The process involves the clever placement of typed characters to form a visual shape that is usually spread over multiple lines of text. You see these ASCII text art pictures in email signatures, online discussion forums, and online game chats. Lifewire / Grace Kim ASCII Art Examples The level of ASCII art sophistication can be as simple as these single-line emoticons: (''')>^,.,^<(''') <---angry kitty t('.'t) <---fists up to fight @>-->---- <---a rose ASCII art can also be sophisticated multiline ASCII text art shapes like these: ()()( '.') <--- bunny!!(('')('')(\__/)(='.'=) <-- different bunny(")_(")_______________|^^^^^^^^^^^\||____ | A UPS Truck |||""'|""\__,_ | _____________ l||__|__|__|) |(@)@)"""""""**|(@)(@)**|(@)................_@@@__..... ___//___?____\________...../--o--POLICE------@} .... `=={@}=====+===={@}--' Creating and displaying simple ASCII text art is not difficult. With a little practice and experimentation — and using the keyboard shortcuts CTRL+C and CTRL+V on your keyboard to copy and paste — you could be a beginning ASCII artist within 30 minutes. Some ASCII art is extremely complex. These creations are generated by software made especially for this purpose. Examples of complex ASCII text art include: Patrick Stewart portraitFashion model portraitCat portraitMr. Spock portraitGallery of famous people portraitsShark ASCII Art Software If you want to make complex ASCII art, you need to research ASCII software choices. These software packages convert digital photographs into complex ASCII portraits that consist entirely of text characters. By using an ASCII software package, you can create spectacular ASCII images quickly. ASCII Art software programs include: Magic ASCII Studio WorldGlass GiantSmartcode ASCII ArtEmail Effects by Sig Software Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit