Thread by @IvaCheung

Today I'm attending the symposium "Adapting Comics for Blind and Low Vision Readers" and will try to live-tweet. (At my in-laws' where the internet isn't super reliable, so I may be fading in and out.)

I'll be using the hashtag #ComicsA11y, so mute or follow along as desired!

Nick Sousanis (@Nsousanis), who wrote his dissertation in comic book form and aimed to make his work as accessible as possible but knew that there were people he was still leaving out. He began collecting resources on making comics more accessible. #ComicsA11y

Ting Siu (@TVI_ting) is an educator of people with low vision. "My dream is to have my students walk into a classroom and not encounter any barriers to their education." #ComicsA11y

Opening keynote panel: A pre-recorded video of a discussion moderated by @Nsousanis and featuring:
•@_GinaGagliano, publisher of Random House Graphic
•Matthew Shifrin, comic book #A11y advocate
#ComicsA11y

Matthew, who is blind, became fascinated by the action in comic books, which his father described to him. But on his own, he couldn't access them. He realized that comic books had to have scripts, and he found them and produced audio adaptations. #ComicsA11y

He attended comic book conventions and made publishers aware of this opportunity to make their publications available to a wider audience. #ComicsA11y

.@_GinaGagliano, getting requests from college classes for accessible materials, provided scripts but realized that the script alone wouldn't give people the same emotional, evocative experience as having the text together with the visuals. #ComicsA11y

We need to describe the images to give all readers the full effect.

Comic books are just entering the audiobook space. #ComicsA11y

Matthew says there are no laws or standards for what a script or description must be. So some are very thorough, with narration and a full explanation of the visuals. Others are more bare-bones. #ComicsA11y

Matthew says that most comic book artists are under deadline and just want to get the book out, and accessibility isn't a priority or a major consideration. #ComicsA11y

.@_GinaGagliano acknowledges that there's a need for publishers to think about how to make audio adaptations profitable—and that involves cultivating audiences. #ComicsA11y

Next panel: audio description approaches! Includes:
•Chad Allen (@chadallenmagic)—artist who is blind, creator of Unseen, audio-drama abt blind assassin
•Charity Pitcher-Cooper (@birthchazz)—trains ppl to create audio descriptions…
#ComicsA11y

•Walei Sabry (@CorruptedSight)—NYC Digital Accessibility Coordinator, identifies as blind
•Thomas Reid (@TSReid)—host & producer of Reid My Mind Radio
(•one more member yet to join—I'll get their info when they are available.)
#ComicsA11y

Walei's experience was interested in comics but couldn't access them. A friend who was really into comics started reading them to him, including the classics. "That was such a wonderful experience to be able to consume that content in an accessible way." #ComicsA11y

Learned about a company called GraphicAudio that was creating audio adaptations of DC comic books. They were on CDs at the time. They have a full cast, so each character has a unique voice. They have music, sound effects. #ComicsA11y

Unfortunately they don't have the rights to DC Comics anymore. After 2010, Walei started getting into podcasts, some of which were fully produced dramas, some recordings of live performances. #ComicsA11y

Chad Allen talking about his approach to making comics. "We all start as consumers and eventually get inspired to come up with a way to have your own ideas expressed." #ComicsA11y

He remembers getting a comic book, *Spiderman Meets the Wolf Man*, that was accompanied with a record that would beep with every panel change and all scenes were played by actors. #ComicsA11y

He slowly lost his vision and became connected with the blindness community. He remembered that comic book and applied many of those principles to his own art and work. #ComicsA11y

Rick Boggs (@boggsblogs) is the final panellist, an accessible media expert and video description producer. He has been totally blind since 1968.

#ComicsA11y

Rick: "A person's relationship to their blindness impacts their relationship to audio descriptions in general." His brother would describe comics to him when he was young. #ComicsA11y

"People with disabilities were getting short shrift," which affected how he ran his audio description company. What's hard in descriptions, and how do we make it work? Adheres to standards from American Council of the Blind, but they must be adapted based on medium. #ComicsA11y

It's not enough to say what's happening. Need 3 elements:
•Voices reading the text on the page
•Audio description—could be fragments, stylistic, artistic
•Soundscapes—effects to convey tone of the images portrayed
#ComicsA11y

Charity: Most of their work is on educational content. But *requests* for content are almost exclusively for entertainment—like internet cat videos, movie trailers (hard to describe because they are rapid-fire, heavily scored). #ComicsA11y

While the movie will be audio described, the trailer often isn't, and people want to get excited about the movie, too. #ComicsA11y

Charity: There's a huge demand for some kind of nonvisual translation of comics, and every kind of comic you can think of, people want access to. #ComicsA11y

What are some suggested techniques for getting started?

Pick things that are manageable. Start with a video no longer than 2–3 minutes. Because at this stage, you are doing all 3 tasks:
•script
•voice talent
•editing

#ComicsA11y

Describe content that excites you, that you are interested in. That makes for thoughtful, meticulous descriptions. Your personality, your love for the content will shine through. #ComicsA11y

Walei: There's more tools available to us now that weren't available 5, 10 years ago. There's digital audio production software that people can use to create audio descriptions. Also resources blind people can turn to for descriptions and interpretations. #ComicsA11y

But start simple: make sure your images on websites and social media have alt text. People could go on platforms like Clubhouse, which is audio only, and read comic books to other folks. #ComicsA11y

TikTok can let you add voiceovers to other people's videos. So you can add audio descriptions to existing content. #ComicsA11y

It is possible to make an accessible PDF or ebook, so publishers could consider creating a born-accessible comic book. #ComicsA11y

Chad: People read captions to understand dialogue, People read transcripts of podcasts instead of listening. Sighted people will listen to audiobooks. Diversity of available formats is good for everyone. #ComicsA11y

Rick: Most important best practice: respect the audience. Whatever principle you follow to provide a comparable experience, don't insult them, don't talk down to them. Become familiar with what blind people can already glean without description. #ComicsA11y

What would be impossible for a blind person to know without description? Don't provide redundant information. #ComicsA11y

I don't remember who suggested this resource (Sorry! Might have been Rick?), but I didn't want to lose it: dcmp.org #ComicsA11y

Charity: Be very clear on your audience. Who is viewing it? What do they already know? What can you leave out to avoid overexplaining it. #ComicsA11y

Another best practice: inclusion. As we build this community around comics and graphic novels, that we remember to reflect diversity: accented voices, quirky voices. Include the blind community, of course, but also queer community, kink community, etc. #ComicsA11y

Chad: tech is moving so quickly that we are gifted with new tools, new opportunities on a regular basis. AI, for example, is now making image-based documents more accessible. Need to talk about these and explore them more. #ComicsA11y

Walei: The only way we can get better is to keep making audio descriptions and asking for feedback from the community, perhaps offering people a platform to rate descriptions. #ComicsA11y

Rick: Can often figure out how long someone's been blind based on their preferences for description. He prefers minimalist description—just what he wants to know. Newly blind people want everything described. #ComicsA11y

Rick: Good practice to have the same voice for the same series or same character to lend consistency and continuity. #ComicsA11y

No principle of audio description is one-size-fits-all. You have to be adaptive. #ComicsA11y

Charity: It takes about 1.5 hours to do your first audio description. The people who get good at it do more than 10. Because you're going to make mistakes and you're going to need feedback. #ComicsA11y

You/Describe users rate descriptions on volume, sound quality, over/under-description, etc. Also has YouTube videos on audiodescription dos and don'ts.

#ComicsA11y

Walei: Not a fan for text-to-speech for comic books. Prefers a human voice. Delivery and inflection are important. TTS has advanced, but still not the same as a human voice. #ComicsA11y

Chad: Goal of any description or narration is immersion. Anything that takes you out of the experience is a problem, whether it's a computer-synthesized voice or a change in the human voice that consumers have to get used to. #ComicsA11y

Next panel: Tactile Approaches (2.5D and 3D) to Accessible Comics
•Georgina Kleege (@GeorginaKleege), moderator—writer, English professor, arts access activist. Has been blind since age 10. Interested in touch access to information.
#ComicsA11y

•Frank Welte of @lighthouse_sf: produces accessible media for blind people and people with low vision.
•Ann Cunningham: is a sighted tactile artist. Wondered if her pictures could be interpreted by blind people. Began teaching at Colorado Center for the Blind.
#ComicsA11y

•Ilan Manouach (@IlanManouach): Conceptual comics artist, PhD media researcher. Used tactile language Shapereader to create a comic narrative that was all tactile.

#ComicsA11y

Frank: The work we do include Braille and large print ut also tactile graphics, including tactile maps. Has produced tactile comics for the Disney museum, Marvel Comics, and others.

#ComicsA11y

Not just a matter of adding raised lines to the image. Many more visual textures, colours, etc. than what can be accessed by touch.

Simplify, simplify, simplify

#ComicsA11y

Congenitally blind person will not understand visual metaphors like light bulb = idea.

Braille characters are larger than printed characters: fixed size, consistently spaced.

#ComicsA11y

Have your tactile work proofread by a blind person! #ComicsA11y

Most of the MAD Lab's designs are done on Adobe Illustrator but some are also done on Tiger Designer. Works are printed as embossing on paper or on other substrates like acrylic. #ComicsA11y

Ann: Comics takes a 3D world and distorts them into a 2D page. Raised-line drawing boards support comics because it feels natural. #ComicsA11y

We can break tactile pictures into 3 types of images:
1. raised line drawing (up or down). Textures can clarify what they are (circle = ball or ring or coin?).
2. collage: Different materials can add a lot more information.
3. bas relief or sculpted relief pictures. #ComicsA11y

Images use textures and heights to distinguish different elements.

Ann showing a bas relief image that can be used to show movement—a rabbit at various stages of hopping. #ComicsA11y

Underneath the soft foam exterior of the rabbits was a hard plastic skeleton, so the complete experience of the work is accessible only by touch. #ComicsA11y

For an illustration in a book, Ann used old technique used by greeting card companies to create embossed effects on cardstock. #ComicsA11y

Ilan: Understanding of tactile comics comes from experience as a conceptual artist.

Saw that the snowscape outside his window changed every morning—reflected what happened during the night. Challenged himself to understand these stories through these traces.

#ComicsA11y

We are floating in a world of stories and narratives that are captured in textures. Do we have the language, grammar, etc. to understand these narratives? #ComicsA11y

Not just about raising the letters or images to make comics tactile. We have to *translate* the work. #ComicsA11y

Shapereader is based on an index of different shapes broken down into different semantic categories. Shapes about characters, plot, their feelings, settings. #ComicsA11y

Tiles of textures are laser cut onto square plates.

Was a very intimate experience at the beginning. Quite intense workshops to familiarize people with the vocabulary.

Shapereader installation had to be experienced in a tactile way, over a long period. #ComicsA11y

Has moved from laser cutting to vacuum-forming to create the work, which reduces the cost and allows for easier shipping and sharing. #ComicsA11y

Georgina now asking panellists about sequence and temporality. In visual media, there is something that draws they eye first. What about tactile media? #ComicsA11y

Ann believes you can experience a work differently with different parts of your hand. Art draws on the visitor's experience as well.

Artists may have an intent, but they have to be aware that visitors cannot be forced to have a particular experience. #ComicsA11y

How is a single tactile shape made legible?

Ilan: Touch involves many movements and factors—pressure to assess resistance, lateral motion to discover contours. When we open a comic book page, we have to localize ourselves in the spread before focusing on details.

#ComicsA11y

We can do the same with touch, allowing people to use different gestures to explore a larger, broader area before moving to smaller sections. #ComicsA11y

Frank: We're in a place of evolution in tactile graphics because of technology that we've never had before. The difficulty and expense of creating tactile graphics has meant… #ComicsA11y

…there are large segments of the blind community that don't have the experience and therefore literacy with tactile graphics. We have to build education systems to introduce those literacy skills. It's an exciting time—like the invention of printing press. #ComicsA11y

Work directly with people in the community to get feedback on what works and what doesn't. Need more research in this area. #ComicsA11y

Ilan: Interesting to work on a catalogue of tactile shapes and structures and how they work together. Is it possible to create something akin to the Pantone system? #ComicsA11y

Frank: MAD Lab has a "please touch" gallery, but sighted people are initially reluctant to touch because they're not socialized to do this. Interesting to think of the way different cultures might approach a tactile artwork. #ComicsA11y

Panel 4: Emerging Technologies: Haptics and Screen-Based Approaches

Moderated by Joshua Miele (@BerkeleyBlink), creator of YouDescribe.

#ComicsA11y

•Aaron Rodriguez, doctoral student working with VisLing (I think that's the spelling/styling? Correct me if I'm wrong!) that translates text and images to audio and touch.
•Darren DeFrain (@darren_defrain), professor of English at Wichita State University
#ComicsA11y

•Sile O'Modhrain, professor at the University of Michigan, working on the project the Holy Braille
•Matthew Shifrin, speaking on motion-simulated technology—a helmet that conveys motion
•Ed Summers, on Reach for the Stars, a born-accessible astronomy textbook
#ComicsA11y

Some definitions: haptics—feedback that you can touch or feel (like phone vibrating). One might argue that using Braille is a haptic process.

#ComicsA11y

Haptics vs. tactiles: tactiles use fingers to feel textures on a surface. Haptics more general way of feeling the world (think of sloshing a cup to feel if it has liquid). #ComicsA11y

Sonification: the art & science of representing data using sound. Subclass of auditory display. #ComicsA11y

Ah, sorry—it's Vizling. 3 reading modes in the app. Can use these separately when navigating comics.
•Global narrative mode
•Narrative grammar mode—describes panel to panel
•Free exploration mode—identifies individual items on the page #ComicsA11y

Allows reader to interact with the document at different levels. If you're just reading for pleasure, you may not care about all of the little details. If you're studying it for school, you might need a more in-depth description. #ComicsA11y

What are the requirements for comics to be accessible for blind people?

Ed: Absence of barriers—to the information in the story, who are the characters, etc. Another important part: social dynamics of comics, as shared social experiences with your peers. #ComicsA11y

Matthew: Need to know the essence of the story and characters but also environment that they're in. Sometimes this information in the script but sometimes the script changes from storyboarding to final product. #ComicsA11y

Sile: Narrative has to be clear, but you have to have the opportunity to discover the narrative. Part of the enjoyment of a comic is connecting the dots yourself, getting the thrill of getting the joke. Being able to do that unassisted is important. #ComicsA11y

Darren: As sighted person, first impression of a comic is that there are many things competing for your attention. Conveying this experience as different from text-only document is part of comic accessibility. #ComicsA11y

Aaron: Accessibility accommodates a reader asking questions and being able to find answers to those questions themselves. #ComicsA11y

Why can't we just turn comics into touchable images and be done with it?

Sile: Tactile system is less tolerant being overlapped or close together or cluttered. Must leave plenty of white/empty space around components of the image so they can be uniquely perceived. #ComicsA11y

In thinking about communicating things like emotion, we don't have to rely on tactile elements, but we can incorporate audio. The issue is how we can make these things work together. #ComicsA11y

Blind people can learn how to interpret perspective, but it's not something that necessarily comes naturally. #ComicsA11y

Matthew: Developing a haptic helmet that incorporates motion into the experience. Can induce motions like falls and jumps, rapid switches in direction. #ComicsA11y

Can't we just transform comics into radio dramas?

Darren: We want to give readers agency. Readers can pause, go back and re-read, etc. Giving readers the control to do this is part of the comics experience. #ComicsA11y

Ed: You can engage with music by listening or by looking at a score (or access the Braile version of the score). But these are fundamentally different experiences.

People should have access to the whole workflow, universe of the comic. #ComicsA11y

Sile: Some people are spatial thinkers and some people are not. True for sighted as well as blind people.

Blind people should be able to author their own comics, too. Tech to allow authoring is equally important.

#ComicsA11y

Sile: Comics not just for satire, entertainment now. There are textbooks and other important information that have been published as graphic novels, but these have been inaccessible. #ComicsA11y

Matthew: In current iteration of the haptic helmet, it is first person—you are the main character. The helmet includes sound, so having the person experience standing still and have someone else swing by could be conveyed through haptics and sound. #ComicsA11y

Joshua: We will never run out of accessibility problems to solve. This one is important because the way people are getting information is changing. Shifting into more video, visuals, and the policies and standards haven't caught up yet. #ComicsA11y

I missed out on a bunch of information about Comic Book Markup Language, because it's very new to me and I didn't want to get anything wrong. I need to read up on it more! dcl.ils.indiana.edu/cbml/ #ComicsA11y

Whoops—I said that the previous panel was Panel 4. I can't count. NOW we're at Panel 4: Depictions of Blindness in Comics. #ComicsA11y

Moderated by Anil Lewis (@anillife), Executive Director of blindness initiatives for the National Federation of the Blind.
Other panellists:
•Sabine Rear (@michaelsabine), a blind cartoonist—primarily autobiographical comics in short forms and zines
#ComicsA11y

•José Alaniz, prof of Dept of Slavic Languages & Dept of Comparative Literature at the University of Washington
•Joe Strechay (@jstrechay), blindness consultant for, Apple+, Netflix, Scholastic, and other publishers & platforms
#ComicsA11y

Sabine: Her work centred on her own experience, so she is free from the expectation that her work represents all of the blind community. As with all marginalized communities, blind people are not monolithic.

#ComicsA11y

Sabine makes high-contrast comics—reflects her relationship with the sight that she does have as well as her experience as a blind person. She binds her zines by hand and there's a tactile experience there as well. #ComicsA11y

Joe on 4 stages of representation of marginalized populations
1. nonexistence
2. ridicule
3. regulation (represented in professions that confer respect)
4. full range of roles and respect
In the disability realm, we're not there yet. #ComicsA11y

Getting blind people leading their own shows is what will get us to stage 4. #ComicsA11y

José says the four stages don't necessarily progress linearly. They can progress and regress.

José talking about the character Alicia Masters from the Fantastic Four, who is blind and a romantic interest of a major character. Introduced in 1962.
#ComicsA11y

Not represented as a powerful figure—she defeats the villain but is depicted as bumbling into her success. #ComicsA11y

These early depictions are the sighted person's representation of blind people, which is the problem. #ComicsA11y

Joe, in his consultation work, incorporates not only his lived experience but also on research and on experiences from other blind people he knows. The age of vision loss contributes a lot to a person's perspectives. #ComicsA11y

Sabine: It's very important to her to identify as blind. No blind person has consumed her work and told her that she's not really blind—that kind of gatekeeping is something sighted people do. #ComicsA11y

In fiction in particular, the symbolic absence of a sense is used as a literary device, which is why Sabine focuses on nonfiction. #ComicsA11y

José explaining how the depiction of Alicia Masters has changed with younger writers in the past twenty years or so. She is independent, wealthy, but there are still some carryover visual markers of her blindness—namely, blank irises. #ComicsA11y

Contrast this with depiction of Matt Murdock, whose blindness is signalled with dark glasses. Some gendered influences there. #ComicsA11y

Final talk of the day is by Chancey Fleet (@ChanceyFleet) of NYPL's Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. #ComicsA11y

As we've seen in the panels today, accessible comics do have the potential to be as diverse and impactful as comics in their traditional medium. Unique tropes and conventions of the comic medium are recognizable in accessible comics. #ComicsA11y

One reason accessible comics are important: access is joyfully achievable!

Why do blind people need comics? The comic medium offers some unique superpowers that we all need to experience. #ComicsA11y

Frame-by-frame progression works well in educational texts, breaking down complex trajectories into absorbable moments. #ComicsA11y

This medium is capable of reinforcing and strengthening spatial literacy skills.

The medium gives life to stories, often from marginalized or underrepresented groups.

#ComicsA11y

The power of accessible comics is so compelling, it's already changing how sighted people experience the medium. #ComicsA11y

We need to rely on each other to amplify the work being done in this field and make it more discoverable.

Most blind children haven't read a comic. Most educators may not understand why visuals have to be described.

#ComicsA11y

THANK YOU to Emily Smith Beitiks @LongmoreInst & @Nsousanis & @TVI_ting for a thought-provoking, engaging symposium on #ComicsA11y! So grateful I could join you from Canada.