Ellipse Tool
The Ellipse tool lets you draw elliptical and circular shapes on the canvas. It creates rounded shapes using your selected character.
Quick access: Press O to activate the Ellipse tool from anywhere in the application.
Basic Usage
Select the Ellipse Tool
Click the ellipse icon in the toolbar or press O.
Choose Your Character
Select the character you want to use for the ellipse from the Character Palette.
Set Colors
Choose foreground and optionally background colors from the Color Palette.
Draw the Ellipse
Click and drag on the canvas to define the ellipse. The drag creates a bounding box, and the ellipse fits within it.
Ellipse Options
Filled vs Outline
Control whether the ellipse is filled or just an outline:
Outline Only draws just the border of the ellipse.
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Perfect Circles
Hold Shift while drawing to constrain the ellipse to a perfect circle.
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Drawing in ASCII
Because ASCII art uses a character grid, ellipses appear as approximations. Larger ellipses look smoother because there are more cells to work with for the curve.
Size Considerations
| Size | Result |
|---|---|
| Small (5-10 cells) | Blocky, rough curves |
| Medium (15-25 cells) | Reasonable curves |
| Large (30+ cells) | Smooth curves |
Drawing Preview
While drawing, you'll see a preview of the ellipse before committing:
- Drag to adjust the size and shape
- The preview updates in real-time
- Release the mouse to finalize the shape
Tips & Techniques
Creating Orbs
Layer multiple ellipses with different shading for a 3D orb effect:
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Spotlights
Use filled ellipses for spotlight or focus effects:
- Draw a filled ellipse in a light color
- Overlay with darker ellipses at the edges
- Creates a radial lighting effect
Combining with Gradients
Use the Gradient tool to add shading to ellipses for more depth.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
O | Select Ellipse tool |
Shift (while drawing) | Constrain to circle |
Escape | Cancel current ellipse |
Cmd/Ctrl + Z | Undo last ellipse |