Citizendia
Your Ad Here

The phrase computer art scene or artscene for short, refers to a community of individuals and groups, that are both interested and active in the creation of computer-based artwork. A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. The visual arts are art forms that focus on the creation of works which are primarily Visual in nature such as Painting, Photography

Contents

Early computer art

The history of computer art predates the computer art scene for several decades, with the first experiments having taken place in the early 1950s. Devices like plotters and teletypewriters were commonly used instead of video display screens. A plotter is a Vector graphics printing device that connects to a Computer. A teleprinter ( The earliest precursors to ASCII art can be found in RTTY art, that is, pictures created by amateur radio enthusiasts with teleprinters using the Baudot code. History Typewriter art Since 1867 typewriters have been used for creating visual art Radioteletype ( RTTY) is a Telecommunications system consisting of two or more Teleprinters using Radio as the Transmission medium. Amateur radio, often called ham radio, is both a Hobby and a service in which participants called "hams" use various types of Radio communications The Baudot code, invented by Émile Baudot, is a character set predating EBCDIC and ASCII, and the root predecessor to International Telegraph

In the early days of microcomputers, 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. microcomputer is a Computer with a Microprocessor as its Central processing unit. A visual display unit, often called simply a monitor or display, is a piece of Electrical equipment which displays images generated from the Video American Standard Code for Information Interchange ( ASCII) In the early 1980s, users of IBM PC compatible computers 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. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. The term extended ASCII (or high ASCII) describes Eight-bit or larger Character encodings that include the standard seven- Bit A character encoding consists of a code that pairs a sequence of characters from a given character set (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Code page Code page is the traditional IBM term used to map a specific set of characters to numerical Code point values. IBM PC or MS-DOS Code page 437, often abbreviated CP437 and also known as DOS-US, OEM-US or sometimes misleadingly referred International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology 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. Modem (from mo dulator- dem odulator is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode Digital information A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a Computer system running software that allows users to connect and login to Sysop (ˈsɪsɒp is short for " System operator " It is a commonly used term for an administrator of a multi-user website such as a Bulletin board system History Typewriter art Since 1867 typewriters have been used for creating visual art The common user interface or video mode shared by all systems was plain text. TUI short for Text User Interface or Textual User Interface (and sometimes Terminal User Interface) is a Retronym that was coined sometime As a result, a "scene" of artists arose to fill the need for original art to distinguish one BBS from another. The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of Activities to do with creating Art, practicing the Arts and/or demonstrating

Evolving technology

At Home

A 4,096 color Amiga picture
A screenshot of ANSI art
A screenshot of ANSI art

The home computers of the late 70s and early 80s were capable of displaying 16 colors in 320x200 or 640x200. At a time when IBM PCs were limited to monochrome (2 colors) or CGA (4 colors), the Atari 800 and Commodore 64 were being used at home to create 16-color art (see image at right). The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit Home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992

In 1985, the Commodore Amiga arrived with the ability to display 640x480 near-photorealistic 4096-color graphics that could be exported via the NTSC standard. The Amiga is a family of Personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. Eventually this capability was used by Disney animators in movies such as the Little Mermaid and by TV producers in shows such as seaQuest and Babylon 5.

Online

As computer technology developed, the American National Standards Institute X3 committee invented a standard method of terminal control using escape sequences called "ANSI X3. This article refers to codes used as commands for computing devices 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. History Typewriter art Since 1867 typewriters have been used for creating visual art Quite simply, this is what is commonly referred to today as "ANSI art" that is used in many scene nfos. ANSI art is a computer artform that was widely used at one time on BBSes.

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 graffiti "crews. Graffiti (singular graffito; the plural is used as a Mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched scrawled painted or marked in any manner on property " The first ANSI group was called Aces of ANSI Art (AAA). Other groups like ACiD (ANSI Creators in Demand) and iCE (Insane Creators Enterprises) quickly began to spring up. ACiD Productions ( ACiD) is an underground Digital art group Founded in 1990 the group originally specialized in ANSI artwork for BBSes. iCE Advertisements is a Digital art 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. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks

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. The Remote Imaging Protocol (RIP also referred to as RIPscrip (and frequently yet incorrectly as RIPscript) was an early Vector graphics protocol created RIP was still basically text, but the text referred to the positions of lines, curves, fills, and other steps in drawing graphics on an EGA display of 640x350x16 colors. The Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA is the IBM PC Computer display standard specification located between CGA and VGA in terms of graphics While RIP never caught on in the BBS world, the art scene embraced it as a form of expression, if not a viable method of displaying art on a BBS.

VGA to present day

An example of a VGA image. Dithering is used to overcome the format's 256-color limitation.
An example of a VGA image. Dithering is used to overcome the format's 256-color limitation.

In 1987 IBM introduced the VGA card. Early VGA graphics were "high resolution" images, generally using an 8-bit depth (256 colors) and a resolution of 320x200 or 640x480, or a hacked Mode X video graphics mode such as 360x480 in 256 colors. The term Video Graphics Array ( VGA) refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread Mode X is an alternative video graphics display mode of the IBM VGA graphics hardware that was popularized by Michael Abrash, first published in July 1991 VGA was not intended to be displayed via a BBS and the vast majority of the early works in the IBM PC artscene were distributed as coded executables called "loaders" or "intros" rather than raw bitmap images. In Computing, an executable (file causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instructions," as opposed to a file that only contains A crack intro, also known as a cracktro, loader, or just intro, is a small introduction sequence added to cracked software, designed to In fact, it was considered to be "lame" to release an uncoded VGA work of art from the early- to mid-1990s, a sure indication that your group was not skilled enough to retain a worthy programmer. Lamer is a Jargon or Slang name originally applied in cracker and Phreaker culture to someone who didn't really understand what he or she

The advent of custom image viewers developed by groups within the artscene, such as ACiD View and iCEView, began to shift the perception of how VGA art should be distributed and what the accepted practice should be. A coded VGA which did not take any of the advantages of being an executable, like special effects or music, became viewed as an impractical use of disk space -- all of this in turn spawned a number of competing image viewers, and even "Viewer Wars" between rival art groups. Talented underground artists such as CatBones continued to help pioneer and define what is now referred to as the "hirez artscene", further championing the move away from coded VGA to stand-alone imagery with his impressive artwork. Hirez today implies higher resolutions than before, such as a 1024x768 pixel canvas or larger, greater depth of color, and is created with much more sophisticated and modern software.

Underground Status

Despite the fact that contributors to the artscene can be found worldwide, the scene continues to remain detached from mainstream bbs and internet culture. This can be seen as a result of the artscene's early affiliations with hacker and software piracy (warez) organizations. As early demoscene groups were organized by cracktros coders, artscene members were often found designing the .nfo files detailing warez releases. The demoscene is a Computer art Subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in A crack intro, also known as a cracktro, loader, or just intro, is a small introduction sequence added to cracked software, designed to "Warez" refers primarily to Copyrighted works traded in violation of Copyright law. In addition much of the ansi art provided for warez bbs's were drawn by future members of the artscene. ANSI art is a computer artform that was widely used at one time on BBSes. Prior to the popularity of the internet in the 1990s, the most efficient way to distribute software and files across bbs's was via a courier system. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 Both the warez scene and the artscene utilized this system, and in many cases warez couriers could be found distributing monthly artpacks. An artpack is an archive of computer artwork which is distributed in a compressed format such as ZIP or RAR.

In addition to connection that the various underground groups had, a common attitude and relationship between scene members developed. The general belief that "newbies are lame" and "veterans are elite", as well as the use of leetspeek, created an environment that was sometimes difficult for new members to affiliate with. Newbie (also said as nooby or newby is a slang term for a newcomer to Online gaming or an Internet activity Leet or Eleet (sometimes rendered l33t, 1337, or 31337) also known as Leetspeak, is an Alphabet used primarily on the Leet or Eleet (sometimes rendered l33t, 1337, or 31337) also known as Leetspeak, is an Alphabet used primarily on the In particular, many artsceners' distrust and bitterness towards new America Online users in the 1990s may have eroded the possibility for a wider membership base and audience for the artscene. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999

Artscene lexicon

See also

References

External links

An artpack is an archive of computer artwork which is distributed in a compressed format such as ZIP or RAR.
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic