advices
(c) jashiin//mimic

Tips for beginners and experienced artists: How extravagant methods can help to achieve tremendous success in ascii art and get advantage comparing to those who isn't too brave or sensible to follow these tips.

Tip #1:

You must have 17 bread crumbs of various sizes: 9 from gray bread and 8 from white bread (preferably white with bran). 17 is a number which serves for every artist (more exactly - for subconsciousness of the artist) as a symbol of separation and individual disintegration of Galaxies. Separation, as you possibly know, is conformable to the artist's inspiration; meanwhile the individual disintegration, which comes straight after the separation, indicates that it's time for the artist to finish the work on the picture (it is obviously the time for us to finish the work on the ascii).

Adjust the monitor's inclination so the crumbs will be holding on it. Put all you crumbs in the left hand (even if you are a right-handed person), and then carefully put them to the monitor's surface. Put away those crumbs which have gone too far, and write down position of other crumbs (use the fact that most of text editors display the cursor's position) - or it will be even better if you mark dots on the monitor itself; but don't put too small dots or they will be erased quickly.

When you have put the dots (or some symbols at appropriate positions), you may start drawing. If you use Aciddraw, choose bright white colour; gray colour makes the impression dim while you're drawing it. You must AVOID, in any means possible, the bread crumbs, use only $ symbol for the first time.

When the sketch is made, concentrate on the bread crumb which is the closest one to the monitor's center. The distance from it to any other ascii dot must be constant for any dot - move the sketch until you achieve it. The moment you successfully adjust the sketch - you will feel it at once - you suddenly see the seldom harmony your work is full of. This harmony, which is incorporated in your work by means of proportions, suggested by works of French gunner, writer and mathematician De Lacleau, will be felt by spectator.

Now you can proceed. Keep just the bread crumb which was the most distant from the monitor's center; when you notice that it is exactly where you want to add something to your work (e.g., you need the $ symbol at that point) - it's time to stop doing ascii.

The work you have made isn't spoiled by measure sense, and it's full of proportions you didn't even dream of. The bread crumbs' method can be obviously used for realistic works too, for portraits etc. - everything but logos.

Tip #2:

Start catching mosquitoes in summer - by a net, or turn off the light in the evening - they will fly straight to the monitor. The moment when the miserable insect lands to the monitors case (not the screen!!) - slap the damn creature quickly by the English Dictionary (German or Ukrainian will also do) in your hand. In most cases the dead body of mosquito will remain on the dictionary, and only a few legs on the monitor. Keep hit mosquitoes until you get the regularly allocated pattern of the mosquitoes' remains on the monitor's surface.

When the pattern is ready, you can choose any of two ways. You can either parts of the pattern (those patterns made of dead bodies become expressive in almost a magic way to compete with best works of Iron Lung!), or start erasing those mosquitoes' legs slowly. The sense of disgusting you will feel must be developed (so don't stop until there will be nothing left to erase) - and it will be expressed in work you will make right after the pattern is removed - and don't even think about washing your hands! The power within dead mosquitoes (mosquito females, to be exact) - the insects which drain your lifepowers - will enforce you and your heart will start beating in rhythm with the work you're drawing. Feel free to laugh skeptically; but will you be still laughing, when those ascii artists who believe those lines will create hundreds times more impressive works than you! And it's all due to mosquito power.

Tip #3:

To learn once and for good to paint correctly those of your works which were originally made in two colors (black and white respectively), you must have one simple exercise fulfilled. Make a foamy bath for yourself (get a bathroom foam somewhere, and follow the instruction on the package). When the bath is ready, put off the light in bathroom and get inside the bath. The light will still get to the bathroom, under the door for example - so you will still see something. You must see as the miserable light remainders, miraculously getting to the dark room, refract in the foam bubbles - and you must remember tones that emerge, because they are the basis of the colouristic, they will do instead of number of essays about this topic.

Tip #4:

How to look for inspiration? Through the sweetheart's fingers! The mosquito legs can be taken from the monitor and put to her nails, they must be covered with a luxury varnish with a juicy red tone - but not too juicy or small mosquito legs will be completely captured by the red color. Let she sit next to you and hug you, so her nails and mosquito legs will constantly flash in front of your eyes. This method won't do for purely abstract patterns, because the red tone acts as a warning (DON'T DRAW! DON'T DRAW!); only for realistic works.Mastering Exercises:

(1) Draw the meat grinder from the front and behind, with some white bread pieces inside; then ask somebody to mill the bread by rotating the grinder's lever slowly, and draw the grinder while the bread crumbs are moving - feel the difference!

This exercise will give you almost unlimited reserve of bread crumbs.

(2) Hit (with a book) 15 _fed-up_ mosquitoes.

(3) Draw the mosquito leg the way you imagine it (NOT from the natural one). Compare with one of the Iron Lung's works and analyze the differences.

(4) Ask your relatives to put off the light in the bathroom by surprise every time you are inside.

(5) Paint the nails of your sweetheart and your with a varnish. Compare results. Which one of you is more annoyed? If it's you then keep practicing until the annoyance disappear.