A        A        A        A        A        A        A
       SSTE     S STE    S  STE   S   STE  S    STE S     STES
       CREO     C REO    C  REO   C   REO  C    REO C     REOC
       IGRA     I GRA    I  GRA   I   GRA  I    GRA I     GRAI
       IMS?     I MS?    I  MS?   I   MS?  I    MS? I     MS?I


        Notes on making ASCII Stereograms
        by -=( Tommy )=-

         - There must be at least two copies of each image to make a
           stereogram, but in ads and logos, it's usually better to have
           more than two.  THC's ANSI stereograms have 4 or 5 copies of
           each image element.

         - Depth is controlled by the spacing of the elements.
           Elements spaced closer together appear to be closer in to
           the viewer, while elements spaced further apart appear
           further away.

         - In order for there to be a 3-D effect, there must be at least
           two "levels".  In other words, you must have two different
           kinds of image elements, and each kind of element must be
           spaced differently from the others.

         - Unfortunately, ASCII stereograms with more than three levels
           are quite difficult for most people to converge.  Stick to
           two or three levels for a sure winner.

         - If there is an overlap between elements, the object that is
           supposed to appear closer overlaps the more distant object.
           This is just common sense, but I have seen it neglected in a
           few of the poorer examples of ASCII stereograms.

        ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄExamplesÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ


             Here is an image element.          Here is another.

                      ÜÜÜ
                       Û                               Ý
                       Û                              ÞÞ
                      ÞÛÝ                             Ý Ý
                      ÛÛÛ                            ÞÜÜÞ
                     ÞÛÛÛÝ                           ÝÝ ÝÝ
                     ÛÛÛÛÛ                          Þ ÞÞ Þ
                     ßÛÛÛß                          ÝÜÜÛÜÜÝ

          Let's put 16 spaces between copies of the first element.

            ÜÜÜ             ÜÜÜ             ÜÜÜ            ÜÜÜ
             Û               Û               Û              Û
             Û               Û               Û              Û
            ÞÛÝ             ÞÛÝ             ÞÛÝ            ÞÛÝ
            ÛÛÛ             ÛÛÛ             ÛÛÛ            ÛÛÛ
           ÞÛÛÛÝ           ÞÛÛÛÝ           ÞÛÛÛÝ          ÞÛÛÛÝ
           ÛÛÛÛÛ           ÛÛÛÛÛ           ÛÛÛÛÛ          ÛÛÛÛÛ
           ßÛÛÛß           ßÛÛÛß           ßÛÛÛß          ßÛÛÛß

        ...and 17 spaces between the second element.

                    Ý                Ý                Ý
                   ÞÞ               ÞÞ               ÞÞ
                   Ý Ý              Ý Ý              Ý Ý
                  ÞÜÜÞ             ÞÜÜÞ             ÞÜÜÞ
                  ÝÝ ÝÝ            ÝÝ ÝÝ            ÝÝ ÝÝ
                 Þ ÞÞ Þ           Þ ÞÞ Þ           Þ ÞÞ Þ
                 ÝÜÜÛÜÜÝ          ÝÜÜÛÜÜÝ          ÝÜÜÛÜÜÝ

        Now let's put them together...
            ÜÜÜ             ÜÜÜ             ÜÜÜ            ÜÜÜ
             Û      Ý        Û       Ý       Û        Ý     Û
             Û     ÞÞ        Û      ÞÞ       Û       ÞÞ     Û
            ÞÛÝ    Ý Ý      ÞÛÝ     Ý Ý     ÞÛÝ      Ý Ý   ÞÛÝ
            ÛÛÛ   ÞÜÜÞ      ÛÛÛ    ÞÜÜÞ     ÛÛÛ     ÞÜÜÞ   ÛÛÛ
           ÞÛÛÛÝ  ÝÝ ÝÝ    ÞÛÛÛÝ   ÝÝ ÝÝ   ÞÛÛÛÝ    ÝÝ ÝÝ ÞÛÛÛÝ
           ÛÛÛÛÛ Þ ÞÞ Þ    ÛÛÛÛÛ  Þ ÞÞ Þ   ÛÛÛÛÛ   Þ ÞÞ Þ ÛÛÛÛÛ
           ßÛÛÛß ÝÜÜÛÜÜÝ   ßÛÛÛß  ÝÜÜÛÜÜÝ  ßÛÛÛß   ÝÜÜÛÜÜÝßÛÛÛß

        Can you see which is closer?  We can make it a little more dramatic
        by increasing the difference in spacing.  We'll make the triangles
        further back, by spacing them 18 characters apart (from center to
        center).  The paddles will remain spaced at 16 characters.

            ÜÜÜ             ÜÜÜ             ÜÜÜ            ÜÜÜ
             Û     Ý         Û       Ý       Û         Ý    Û
             Û    ÞÞ         Û      ÞÞ       Û        ÞÞ    Û
            ÞÛÝ   Ý Ý       ÞÛÝ     Ý Ý     ÞÛÝ       Ý Ý  ÞÛÝ
            ÛÛÛ  ÞÜÜÞ       ÛÛÛ    ÞÜÜÞ     ÛÛÛ      ÞÜÜÞ  ÛÛÛ
           ÞÛÛÛÝ ÝÝ ÝÝ     ÞÛÛÛÝ   ÝÝ ÝÝ   ÞÛÛÛÝ     ÝÝ ÝÝÞÛÛÛÝ
           ÛÛÛÛÛÞ ÞÞ Þ     ÛÛÛÛÛ  Þ ÞÞ Þ   ÛÛÛÛÛ    Þ ÞÞ ÞÛÛÛÛÛ
           ßÛÛÛßÝÜÜÛÜÜÝ    ßÛÛÛß  ÝÜÜÛÜÜÝ  ßÛÛÛß    ÝÜÜÛÜÜßÛÛÛß

        Notice how one of the paddles overlaps the rightmost triangle?
        It's closer so it gets overlap priority.  Of course, most people
        don't look at the far edges of repetitive stereograms like this
        example so it's hardly going to be noticed anyway.

        Now let's add a third element:

                 T    F
                 H I  U
                 I  S N
                 S    !

        We'll space this at 17 characters, so that it appears "between" the
        other two levels.

            ÜÜÜ      T    F ÜÜÜ       T    FÜÜÜ        T   ÜÜÜ
             Û     Ý H I  U  Û       ÝH I  U Û         H I  Û
             Û    ÞÞ I  S N  Û      ÞÞI  S N Û        ÞI  S Û
            ÞÛÝ   Ý ÝS    ! ÞÛÝ     Ý S    !ÞÛÝ       ÝS   ÞÛÝ
            ÛÛÛ  ÞÜÜÞ       ÛÛÛ    ÞÜÜÞ     ÛÛÛ      ÞÜÜÞ  ÛÛÛ
           ÞÛÛÛÝ ÝÝ ÝÝ     ÞÛÛÛÝ   ÝÝ ÝÝ   ÞÛÛÛÝ     ÝÝ ÝÝÞÛÛÛÝ
           ÛÛÛÛÛÞ ÞÞ Þ     ÛÛÛÛÛ  Þ ÞÞ Þ   ÛÛÛÛÛ    Þ ÞÞ ÞÛÛÛÛÛ
           ßÛÛÛßÝÜÜÛÜÜÝ    ßÛÛÛß  ÝÜÜÛÜÜÝ  ßÛÛÛß    ÝÜÜÛÜÜßÛÛÛß

        Ta-Dah!  That's about all there is to making ASCII stereograms.

        -=( T )=-

This file originated on:

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p.s. Can you see what the elements are in the BBS ad above?  The vertical
"THC" is one, and it is spaced differently from the triangles, which in
turn are differently spaced from the starfield.  Yes, the stars are
repetitive so that they are added to the 3-D effect!  Except for two, can
you find them?

                                        -=( Tommy )=-