A Creature Made of Punctuation
Build a tiny digital creature from punctuation marks.
- 5–15 minutes
- No setup
- Easy to pause
- Seated friendly
- No cleanup
- Very low effort
What you need
Use a basic text editor you already have. A row of symbols can become a surprising little personality.
- computer
Make it
Use a basic text editor you already have. A row of symbols can become a surprising little personality.
- 1
Open a blank document and type a few marks, such as parentheses, dots, slashes, or underscores.
- 2
Rearrange them into a creature. Try parentheses for a body and dots for eyes; alignment does not have to be perfect.
- 3
Copy your creature onto a new line and change one mark to give it a new mood. Save if you want to keep it.
Short on energy? Make one face with three marks.
A good place to stop: Two versions with different moods make a tiny character study.
Make it work for you: Zoom in and use fewer symbols. An on-screen keyboard can replace a physical keyboard.
Another route: Make a tiny robot or plant instead of an animal.