getting to know the text canvas

Text mode artwork is an evasive medium, and partly this is due to the limitations of how it is created. Textmode artwork is created on a textual canvas of characters, with limited or no colors. The characters are very low resolution (think legos) and thus it is very difficult to trick the eye into seeing a higher-resolution photographic effect that is easily produced with high resolution mediums such as, VGA or SVGA, using programs like Adobe Photoshop or 3D Studio Max/Maya. The closest relation any textmode work has to a higher resolution graphic is to think of textmode as drawing with the Zoom tool locked and turned on at about a 4x or 8x factor.

There are no such wizard programs or magic plug-ins for textmode artwork. Indeed, every character must be drawn and every color must be applied by hand, so it takes a significant amount of time and energy to complete a work of art in textmode.

However, that is also the reason so many artists who draw textmode love it. The limitations really force one to be creative about things. Great artists have been breaking down the barriers and reinventing the medium for years. But even the best artists had to start somewhere.

This chapter will introduce you to the text canvas and will teach you every thing you need to know to draw some of your own textmode artwork within Tundradraw.

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