Draw in a different format: IGS for Atari ST
category: general [glöplog]
I'm looking for anyone willing to try drawing in a different format: IGS for the Atari ST.
What's IGS? Glad you asked. "Instant Graphics and Sound" was a text protocol for drawing vector graphics on Atari ST BBSes. It's similar to RIPscrip on the PC -- except that IGS predates RIP by 4 years, and it supports animation, music, and sound effects.
However, unlike RIP, IGS was never embraced by the artscene and is almost entirely forgotten today. Thousands of RIP pieces were produced in the 1990s and live on in archives like 16colors. In contrast, fewer than 100 IGS pieces have survived.
I've been trying to raise awareness of this format, and I recently published a six-part history, with screenshots and videos of old art, on my website, Break Into Chat.
Spurred by my interest, the creator of IGS, Larry Mears, unexpectedly resumed development of IGS three decades later. His latest versions include a new editor ("IGDEV") and many new features, such as more robust support for the ST's 16-color low-resolution mode.
My hope is to get four or five IGS pieces from other folks. I'll add those to six or seven that I already created and release them as the world's first all-IGS artpack.
There are two ways to draw in this format:
Most contemporary IGS art from the early 1990s was drawn in the ST's 4-color medium resolution, since it supported 80 colums of text and was commonly for calling BBSes. But IGS also supports the ST's 16-color low resolution (320x200), and that's the mode I'm really hoping to see.
I'm happy to help you get started, answer questions, etc. Contact me at josh (at) joshrenaud (dot) com if you want to participate!
What's IGS? Glad you asked. "Instant Graphics and Sound" was a text protocol for drawing vector graphics on Atari ST BBSes. It's similar to RIPscrip on the PC -- except that IGS predates RIP by 4 years, and it supports animation, music, and sound effects.
However, unlike RIP, IGS was never embraced by the artscene and is almost entirely forgotten today. Thousands of RIP pieces were produced in the 1990s and live on in archives like 16colors. In contrast, fewer than 100 IGS pieces have survived.
I've been trying to raise awareness of this format, and I recently published a six-part history, with screenshots and videos of old art, on my website, Break Into Chat.
Spurred by my interest, the creator of IGS, Larry Mears, unexpectedly resumed development of IGS three decades later. His latest versions include a new editor ("IGDEV") and many new features, such as more robust support for the ST's 16-color low-resolution mode.
My hope is to get four or five IGS pieces from other folks. I'll add those to six or seven that I already created and release them as the world's first all-IGS artpack.
There are two ways to draw in this format:
- Run the "IGDEV" drawing program on a real Atari ST or in an emulator. You can get the latest version on AtariAge.
- Use my experimental browser-based too. It supports only a subset of IGS commands, the most common ones for drawing. I can't post links on Pouet yet, but I'd be happy to email you the link.
Most contemporary IGS art from the early 1990s was drawn in the ST's 4-color medium resolution, since it supported 80 colums of text and was commonly for calling BBSes. But IGS also supports the ST's 16-color low resolution (320x200), and that's the mode I'm really hoping to see.
I'm happy to help you get started, answer questions, etc. Contact me at josh (at) joshrenaud (dot) com if you want to participate!
i'm guessing you are refering to this tool on 2)?
https://breakintochat.com/atari/igs.js/
and this article about it's history?
https://breakintochat.com/wiki/Instant_Graphics_and_Sound_(IGS)
just posting the link for people who are lazy to google.
seems interesting, i suck at drawing though. But i'll mention your "call" on next demoscene report.
https://breakintochat.com/atari/igs.js/
and this article about it's history?
https://breakintochat.com/wiki/Instant_Graphics_and_Sound_(IGS)
just posting the link for people who are lazy to google.
seems interesting, i suck at drawing though. But i'll mention your "call" on next demoscene report.
