| How to Make Pictures out of Text Jan 13th 2013, 08:00 Have you ever wondered how people make pictures out of different text characters? It can look really effective when the image chosen is well represented by the text. In this article, you'll learn how to do this using "Ascii Art" (pronounced ask-ee). You can base the text image off a photograph, or create the entire image from scratch.
- Find an image that you would like to reproduce as text.
- Open Microsoft Word or another word processor (see Tips below). On most PCs, you can do this by going to Start > Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Word.
- Insert the image into a blank document in Microsoft Word.
- If you found the image on the Internet, right-click it and select Copy. Then go to your MS Word window, right-click again somewhere on the page, and select Paste.
- If you have the image saved on your hard-drive, in your MS Word window, go to Insert > Image > From File. Find your saved image and press Insert to complete the process.
- Resize your image. Click on the picture, then place your cursor on one of the corners. Click and drag. The more complicated the picture is, the larger you'll want it to be. However, if you need the Ascii image to be a particular size for something, resize it now.
- Insert a text box by going to Insert > Text Box. Click on the page and drag. The text box needs to be a tiny bit larger than your image. Move the text box if necessary on top of the image by clicking and dragging the border.
- If, when you insert the text box, it doesn't go on top of the image but pushes the image to the side, then right click on the border of the text box. Select Format Text Box, then click on the tab called Layout at the top. Choose the option In Front of Text.
- Make the text box transparent. Right-click on the border of the text box (not the inside of the text box!) and select Format Text Box. Make sure you're on the Colors and Lines tab. Change the fill colour to No Fill and the line color to No Line. Now you should be able to see the image underneath.
- Fill the text box with text. It doesn't really matter what you write, but the text should not have any formatting (for example,, bolding, underlining, indentation, etc.). Use only single spacing. It's also best not to use long words as this can often leave large gaps at the end of a line. Quick ideas for acquiring text include:
- Copy information from the Internet. (for example, for a picture of the Eiffel tower, copy a paragraph about the history of France).
- Copy and paste the same word. This can often be the most effective. Write one or two words about the picture (for example, "cow," if the picture is a cow, "Eiffel Tower" if your picture is the Eiffel Tower) or a phrase ("Happy Birthday" on a picture of a cake). Then highlight and press CTRL + C to copy the text. Now press CTRL + V repeatedly to paste the word over and over again.
- Change the font size. Press CTRL+A to select all of your text, and then change the font size on the formatting toolbar (usually already at the top of the page). Smaller fonts are necessary for detailed images, but a larger font will save you time for large images.
- You can also change the font, but simple fonts like Times New Roman or Arial tend to work best.
- Stop the spell check (optional). Depending on your text, your work may be covered in red and green squiggles, even though it's how you want your text to appear. Go to Tools > Spelling and Grammar > Options, and then check the box next to Hide Spelling Errors in this Document.
- Change the text color to the color you want the background of your picture to be. White may be the obvious choice but it doesn't look best for all images, especially if there is a lot of white on the object. The same goes for black. Try to choose a color that doesn't feature prominently in the main focus of the image, but does complement the image's color scheme.
- To change the color, press CTRL+A to select all. Then find the font color button on the formatting toolbar (it looks like an A with a rectangle underneath).
- Click the small arrow to the right of the symbol and then select a color. By going to More Colors > Custom, you can create virtually any color.
- Change the color of the text over the object. Highlight by clicking and dragging your cursor; to select more than one area at a time, press ALT while clicking and dragging. Change the color in the same way as the previous step.
- If necessary, try to use different shades of colors to show shadow etc. In the best images, your text will become practically invisible by the end because it is the same color and the image behind it.
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- Once you think you have completed step 11, move the text box away from the image beneath. Now you can easily see if you've missed anything. If you have, then press CTRL+Z once to undo moving the text box. Once you have definitely completed step 11 and you text has been moved from the image, advance to the next step.
- Change the background color of your text box (optional). You may like your image as it is, in which case you can skip this step. However, many text images look better with a background other than white. Change the color of the text box's background by right-clicking on the border and selecting Format Text Box. Make sure you're on the Colors and Lines tab, then change the fill color to whatever you want. You may need to experiment to find the best color.
- Save your work. You should be saving your work regularly in Microsoft Word as computers can be unpredictable. However, at this point you should save your work as you've practically finished your image. Go to File then Save As and choose a suitable file name. For this document, leave the file type as it is (i.e., .doc or .docx). Once you have saved it once, you only need to click File then Save (or CTRL+S).
- Make your picture into an image rather than a word file by taking a screenshot. Make sure you can see your whole picture on the screen and then press the Print Screen key. It's usually located toward the top-right above the insert key. (For Macs, press COMMAND+SHIFT+4). Now go to any image-editing program––even Microsoft Paint will do. Press CTRL+V and a screen shot should be pasted. Crop it so that there is only your text image there and then save in a similar way as in the previous step (see Tips below about "file" for more help).
- Make sure extraneous characters like your cursor are moved out of the way of the image, or they will appear in your screenshot.
- This allows it to be uploaded onto the web (if you want) among other things. Technically this step is optional but it's probably necessary for most things you want to do with your image.
- Show off the finished artwork!
- Don't be afraid to use a fun font, such as Broadway or Curlz MT, for different parts of the image. Try using Curlz MT for hair for a more flouncy look or a stiff font for a shirt for a uniform look.
- If you're using Microsoft Word, use the "Format Painter" button to pick up your color and drop it in other places. Click on the color you want on your picture and then double click on Format Painter. Now drag your cursor across the area to color next.
- While you may look at your picture and not think it's very good, try standing back a bit. This way your eyes are focusing on the image as a whole and not distracted by the text.
- When choosing a file type (for an image), .bmp is the largest (takes up most memory) but has the best quality, so it's good for prints. However, if you want to put your image on the web, it is better to choose .png, .gif or .jpg because they are compressed (they take up less memory and take less time to load, but have a lower quality for printing).
- Try doing this with the family portrait. Print it out and then compare it to the real one.
- Make sure you save your work as a text document file in case you want to edit or print it. Saving the picture as an image file is useful for many things, but editing is only possible in a text document and printing tends to be better.
Edit Warnings - If your image is selected while you insert the text box then it won't work properly. To unselect an image, click the left, right or down arrow key. Alternatively you can click on the gray space to the right of the page.
- While this should work for any image, the quality of the result will vary from picture to picture. If you don't get it right the first time, then keep trying using different images.
- Different font styles and sizes may be less pleasing for different images, so keep experimenting in Microsoft Word until you get something that is suitable. If you want to preserve many details in your image, you should go with a smaller size.
Edit Things You'll Need - Microsoft Word
- A picture
- An image editing program (optional)
- A keyboard
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