The computer art scene, or simply artscene, is the community interested and active in the creation of computer-based artwork.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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. The common user interface or video mode shared by all systems was plain text. As a result, a "scene" of artists arose to fill the need for original art to distinguish one BBS from another.
Evolving technology
At home
<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: right|320px|A 16 color Commodore 64 picture -->
thumb|A 4,096 color Amiga picture
<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: thumb|320px|A screenshot of ANSI art -->
At a time when IBM PC compatibles were limited to monochrome graphics or the four preset colors of the Color Graphics Adapter, the Atari 8-bit computers had a palette of 128 colors and could display 4-8 of those at once—or many more with custom programming. The Commodore 64 could display 16 fixed colors.
In 1985, the Amiga arrived with the ability to display 640x480 4096-color graphics that could be exported via the NTSC standard. 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 X3.64-1979". 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. This is what is commonly referred to today as "ANSI art" that is used in many scene nfos.
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." The first ANSI group was called Aces of ANSI Art (AAA). Though no official founding date can be established for this group, its earliest surviving tribute packs are dated December 1991 and includes art dated back to 1989.
Other groups like ACiD (ANSI Creators in Demand) and iCE (Insane Creators Enterprises) quickly began to spring up. Beginning in June 1992, these groups would release their work in monthly "ARTPACKS,"