Dissecting a Snake (Plissken)
contact: discgator@protonmail.com
I made this as a txt a little bit ago. Here is a gemini version of that :)
_,,----.._
_ ,-' . ...... `.
.' ,____ .... `.
,,.. ../ __ `-..... .
,-..... .. /888cCb \..... \
-'....... - C8OO8888CCc\..... `
,';,.......cc| Ccc`. qcc::c |
=========== / ;;; ..ccc|c: :ccc..\ :::cc \
|discGator| ,' ;._`-.____.,|ccCoccCCCc\ `._ Cocc /
=========== .'c.___,,c ,.\__ \cc. 8 `cc\. 8`Coc |
2022/02/27 ~' c8bCd/dP... ...\`CCcc8.`;cc`. q8PCoo \
' c8bd/8P_.,--'''--._.ccC`.,;;,\ \\Coc \
/co\cd8./8P ```_,,___ \-_\@\;;;;. 88booc |\
/ccc P.:/cP ``` ___===' |cc|@|;::| 88PCoo | \
`ccCCP:/CC|`` ``.(@`> /;;;|.';:.@b 8Coocc. \/
(ccccC ..CC::` /,'; ,',' ",@@@ 88Cocc:. \
)c/cC :..C::: - ,' @@'@@@' 8PCoccc:. \
`|ccCC`-'|::::::::. `@@@@@P'\88Coccccc |
/ oc88888:::::::::' ,'( |88Cooccc::. |
/ ocC/q888:::::::' .....` '_ /` .888bCoccc::./.
| cq8/cd888::::::: /''''''::::..\ .:;88888CCCoc' |
c8/Ccd888:::::::. (```-..__ `:: :::;d8888CO8Ccc: /
-;:cd8888b::::::::.``-.____/ ' ::;8888CCCCooocc \
/:/c888888b::::::::::.. .::::;88888CCcccco _ /
`/ O8888888@:::::::::::::::::::;;d888PC. ccccco (
,|d8888: OO@@b:::::::::::::::; 8888CC;:`.cco |`
C|q8888:OOdP0@@b`:::::::::;;';, PCCCC`.::'. _/
,,/;C\____:8OO@00@@@@@@@@@@P;;;;;d88b^cCCc...._/
;;;;;//;;;d888 `.O *OOOOOO0@@P*;;;::d88/88`.__,'`'
..;;;;;;;/;;;d888@P .OOOOOOOOOC;;;;;;::d88/888888...
,....d888bndP;;d888_ OO8OOOOCCCc;;;::...'d88/888//88,`,..-
'....88888888___ ,-'@OOO8CCCCCCC;;;;:::'d88//88///88/888b;.`.
' c...888888/ --'@@@@@COO8CCOOOOc:::::/ \qP//88///P/'8888b;...`.
' c..@_,___.,@@@@@@@@@qOOq...`OO;:::d@`. \88888/8/,88888888Cc:___`.
| c:.@''@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ ';..ccc::.d@@@@@\_\888/P/888888888P.:'' `.
; cc:.@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 'cc'd@@@@@@@@@@\`q88|d88888/8P.:::::, . \`.
:.ccc;@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@`.`q|88888/8'.::::::::, .. `
:ccc;@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@`_`q8888P'.:::.....::;, \
;;cc;@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@,'d@`.8888'.:::::. ..::;;ii ...
\;cc@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@( @@@`_'@P.:::::::. .::;;iiii...
\ccq@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@\\@@@@@@,.:::::::....;;;iiii ...
;occ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@\\@@@@@..::::::::....::;iiii;:,.
;..oc@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@\\@@@@..;;::::::...:;::;iii;:,.
:..ocq@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@..;;:::::::..:;;:ii;i::,.
.cooo@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@.:::::::::::.;;; i;:i::,.
I got started on a big breakdown of how to shade in ASCII, but it is taking quite a while. So here's a much more focused thing, explaining the logic behind this piece.
To start, I generally work in 80 columns. Sometimes I go a little narrower, but this piece is 80 columns. The wider a piece is, the more detail you can fit in, but if it gets too wide you may start having issues with line breaks or just the art scrolling offscreen, which is a bit annoying.
However the reason I work in 80 columns isn't to avoid that necessarily (My work does actually break on some smaller displays) but simply because I was thinking about 80-column text modes when I got started and have found it to be a nice resolution to work in. You are free to be as simple as this with your resolution!
So let's start with... Snake's left arm!
8888888Cc:___`. 888888P.:'' `. 88/8P.:::::, . \`. 8/8'.::::::::, .. ` 8P'.:::.....::;, \ 8'.:::::. ..::;;ii ... P.:::::::. .::;;iiii... ,.:::::::....;;;iiii ... ..::::::::....::;iiii;:,. ..;;::::::...:;::;iii;:,. ..;;:::::::..:;;:ii;i::,. .:::::::::::.;;; i;:i::,.
There is a bit going on here. That patch of "i" right there is, in the reference image, blood. It stands out from the skin, so I wanted to pick a different character to represent it than is used for the area around it. "i" is a nice letter for this purpose because it is a short line and a dot, good for that sort of oozy, broken line look.
Escape from New York is a movie with a lot of very dramatically lit scenes and the particular scene this is from is one of those, with some bright white highlights showing on Snake's skin. This means I really want to reserve blank spaces aside from his face for those super bright highlights. So, a period "." is what I use for the midtone.
You can make a fairly nice gradient this way, which we see a bit more on the neck-- it does not paste as well as the arm does so please glance up at the full image for reference :)
The full gradient, from dark to light is something like this--
@8OCoc;:,.
Although this is not generally used in full-- the semicolon-colon-comma-period pattern in particular has a sort of staggered look so it's not great for smooth transitions but you can still use it in some spaces. You can see an example of that in the left arm.
Now let's talk about Snake's shirt.
;;;;;//;;;d888 `.O *OOOOOO0@@P*;;;::d88/88`.__,'`'
..;;;;;;;/;;;d888@P .OOOOOOOOOC;;;;;;::d88/888888...
,....d888bndP;;d888_ OO8OOOOCCCc;;;::...'d88/888//88,`,..-
'....88888888___ ,-'@OOO8CCCCCCC;;;;:::'d88//88///88/888b;.`.
' c...888888/ --'@@@@@COO8CCOOOOc:::::/ \qP//88///P/'8888b;...`.
' c..@_,___.,@@@@@@@@@qOOq...`OO;:::d@`. \88888/8/,88888888Cc:___`.
| c:.@''@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ ';..ccc::.d@@@@@\_\888/P/888888888P.:'' `.
; cc:.@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 'cc'd@@@@@@@@@@\`q88|d88888/8P.:::::, . \`.
:.ccc;@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@`.`q|88888/8'.::::::::, .. `
:ccc;@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@`_`q8888P'.:::.....::;, \
;;cc;@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@,'d@`.8888'.:::::. ..::;;ii ...
\;cc@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@( @@@`_'@P.:::::::. .::;;iiii...
\ccq@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@\\@@@@@@,.:::::::....;;;iiii ...
;occ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@\\@@@@@..::::::::....::;iiii;:,.
;..oc@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@\\@@@@..;;::::::...:;::;iii;:,.
:..ocq@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@..;;:::::::..:;;:ii;i::,.
.cooo@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@.:::::::::::.;;; i;:i::,.
His tank top is quite dark, with a zipper on each shoulder. I use a field of @ for the entire chest area-- there's not a lot going on there, and @ is a nice dark character. # is a similarly dark character in most fonts but @ is much softer and rounder which makes it more suitable for this.
Both muscle and fat are fairly round, and can be quite soft in appearance as well. The shirt doesn't have much form of its own, so not only would using a # look less round than it should, it would make the shirt look stiffer than it should.
Going up, on both sides there's a bit of an odd, broken outline. This is my approximation of the zippers on his shirt, plus a bit of wrinkling below the left zipper. If I were to re-type this, I would likely represent that wrinkle with lighter characters instead of lines, but it is what it is.
Above the zippers, we start to get a pattern of mostly the number 8. 8 is a fairly dark character, but it's a bit lighter than @ in most fonts. That said, similar to how @ is a round, soft character, 8 is also nice for a rounded look.
We have some other characters here though. 8 takes up most of the space in a fairly even fashion-- pinched in the middle, but it's not particularly heavy in any direction. On the other hand, letters such as d, b, P, and q have the bulk of the letter in one corner. This can be useful for breaking up edges of lines like so--
d88b d8888b 888888 q8888P q88P
q is a bit of an odd one out of the four, so it can't be used in every situation where the other three can. Lowercase p is similar-- the loop is a bit closer to the center and the stem extends a bit low. Sometimes this is the effect you want, and sometimes it works better when next to other lowercase characters.
I also represent wrinkles on the shoulders with lines, but I still would do these in about the same way. Sometimes single lines work very well when breaking up a shape, and sometimes they don't.
The backlight is on Snake's left, viewer's right, and while there's a bit of rim light on his right side, it's more dramatic on the left. So on the right I use lighter characters but not quite white space or the lightest characters, and the left side uses just a bit of white highlights. When those are on the very edge of the shape, I will represent it by using an outline. You can see this on the shoulder as well.
Going up a bit, let's talk about his head.
_,,----.._
_ ,-' . ...... `.
.' ,____ .... `.
,,.. ../ __ `-..... .
,-..... .. /888cCb \..... \
-'....... - C8OO8888CCc\..... `
,';,.......cc| Ccc`. qcc::c |
/ ;;; ..ccc|c: :ccc..\ :::cc \
,' ;._`-.____.,|ccCoccCCCc\ `._ Cocc /
.'c.___,,c ,.\__ \cc. 8 `cc\. 8`Coc |
~' c8bCd/dP... ...\`CCcc8.`;cc`. q8PCoo \
' c8bd/8P_.,--'''--._.ccC`.,;;,\ \\Coc \
/co\cd8./8P ```_,,___ \-_\@\;;;;. 88booc |\
/ccc P.:/cP ``` ___===' |cc|@|;::| 88PCoo | \
`ccCCP:/CC|`` ``.(@`> /;;;|.';:.@b 8Coocc. \/
(ccccC ..CC::` /,'; ,',' ",@@@ 88Cocc:. \
)c/cC :..C::: - ,' @@'@@@' 8PCoccc:. \
`|ccCC`-'|::::::::. `@@@@@P'\88Coccccc
/ oc88888:::::::::' ,'( |88Cooccc::.
/ ocC/q888:::::::' .....` '_ /` .888bCoccc::./
| cq8/cd888::::::: /''''''::::..\ .:;88888CCCoc'
c8/Ccd888:::::::. (```-..__ `:: :::;d8888CO8Ccc: /
-;:cd8888b::::::::.``-.____/ ' ::;8888CCCCooocc
/:/c888888b::::::::::.. .::::;88888CCcccco _
`/ O8888888@:::::::::::::::::::;;d888PC. ccccco (
,|d8888: OO@@b:::::::::::::::; 8888CC;:`.cco |`
C|q8888:OOdP0@@b`:::::::::;;';, PCCCC`.::'. _/
,,/;C\____:8OO@00@@@@@@@@@@P;;;;;d88b^cCCc...._/
;//;;;d888 `.O *OOOOOO0@@P*;;;::d88/88`.__,'`'
The shading combines a lot of things I mentioned earlier, with the gradients, angles, and the way outlines are used. Hair is really a bunch of very thin, well, hairs! So you can throw in some lines where it feels appropriate to represent the shape and consistency of it. You can really see that in the chunk of hair that goes over his eyepatch, it makes the hair-y nature of the... hair clearer to the viewer.
His facial hair is represented with mostly colons, with a few periods, apostrophes, semicolons, and tick marks for shape and shading. This creates an issue-- this makes those characters very difficult to use on other portions of the face. Darker shading can look weird, and lighter shading is too difficult to read. Fortunately it doesn't really stand out compared to his arms, so we can just politely ignore that.
The eyepatch, or what we can see of it anyway, is all @ symbols. It's already a dark object, but also using the darkest character in our set helps to distinguish it from his hair.
Now let's take a close look at his eye.
___ ``.(@`>
I originally tried just using one character for the iris/pupil but it looked just wrong. I tried various combos after that, which I would list but in isolation from the rest of the face it can be difficult to see exactly what is wrong. so, we have (@ which does a fairly decent job at representing what's going on in there.
Next the shape. It's a bit awkward in isolation, once again, but when you stick it on his face it looks pretty good!
The eye again, but with his eyebrow
_,,___ ___===' ``.(@`>
The eyebrow lends some of the expression, and his mouth does (most of) the rest of the job. This is a part of the movie where he is looking a bit sad, and you have to get creative in representing this. You may notice I didn't use any shading for the mouth. Adding it within the outline looks awkward, and making it a fully shaded part makes it blend in with the beard weirdly.
Actually though let's talk about his nose.
:' ,'( .....` '_ /` /''''''::::..\
The nose is pure outline, but we also see some creases around it. This is the final piece of representing the emotion. Looking sad just isn't the same without some face muscles creasing!
And wraps it up! If you like this breakdown and haven't watched Escape from New York please do. I love that movie.
/ascii-log/