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1 Early Computer Art

In the early days of computers, what could be shown on a typical video display screen was limited to plain and simple text, such as that found in the ASCII code set. In the early 1980s computer users began to experiment with ways of forming simple pictures and designs using only the 255 characters within the Extended ASCII character set, specifically known as code page 437, created by IBM. Modems and networking technology allowed computer users to communicate with each other over bulletin board systems (BBSes); the operators of these BBSes used ASCII art to enhance the aesthetic appearance of their systems. The common user interface or video mode shared by all sytems was plain textTUI Text User Interface is a retronym that was coined sometime after the invention of graphical user interfaces to distinguish them from text based user interfaces. TUIs only use text and symbols available on a typical text terminal, while GUIs typically. As a result, a "scene" of artists arose to fill the need for original art to distinguish one BBS from another.

2 Evolving Technology

Later, as computer technology developed, monitors were available that could display color. The American National Standards InstituteThe American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private, non-profit standards organization that produces industrial standards in the United States. It is a member of ISO and IEC. ANSI's standards fall in many areas. In computing, ANSI standardized t X3 committee invented a standard method of terminal control using escape sequenceAn escape sequence is a series of characters used to trigger some sort of command state in computers and their attached peripherals. It is commonly used when the computer and the peripheral have only a single channel in which to send information back ands called "ANSI X3.64-1979". This protocol allowed for text and cursor positioning as well as defining foreground and background color attributes for the text.

Eventually, text artists began incorporating this new level of flexibility to the existing medium of ASCII Art by adding color to their text-based art, or animating their art by manipulating the cursor control codes. Quite simply, this is what is commonly referred to today as " ANSI artTheDraw editing an ANSI art picture of a shuttle; the purple text blinks ANSI art is a computer artform widely used at one time on BBSes. It is similar to ASCII art, but constructed from a larger set of 256 letters, numbers, and symbols — all codes found".

A decade later, the popularity of ANSI art had increased significantly (largely due to the similarly increasing interest in the BBS) and ANSI artists began to form into "groups", not unlike graffitiSee also Graffiti (PalmOS) for the PalmOS handwriting system. Gainesville, Florida, has been set aside for use by graffiti artists and passerby. The term graffiti in its modern day use, refers to deliberate human markings on property. Graffiti can take th "crews." The first ANSI group was called Aces of ANSI ArtAces of ANSI Art or were the first organized body of artists formed for the sole purpose of creating ANSI art. The group was founded by Zyphril and Chips Ahoy and operated from 1989 to 1991. In 1990, a small number of key members splintered from Aces to f (AAA). Other groups like ACiD (ANSI Creators in Demand) and iCE (Insane Creators Enterprises) quickly began to spring up. These groups would release their work in "artpacks," which were collections of ASCII art by various group members, typically released on a monthly basis akin to a trade magazine. These artpacks were then spread far and wide by BBS users. Some of the same groups from the 1990s still exist today; their art is now primarily distributed using the internet.

A later method of transmitting graphics over a BBS was developed called Remote Imaging Protocol or RIP, which required special software on both the BBS and the terminal end. RIP was still basically text, but the text referred to the positions of lines, curves, fills, and other steps in drawing graphics on an