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- | ======Alt-Text for Picture | + | ======Alt-Text for Children’s |
- | This section will explain how to write Alt-Text specifically for images in picture | + | This section will explain how to write Alt-Text specifically for images in Children’s Books. For documentation about formatting go to the [[public: |
- | On top of describing the images in the book, we also describe the cover. For information on how to do this please see Cover Image [hyperlink]. | + | The same [[public: |
+ | * Write descriptions based on context | ||
+ | * Write descriptions with a clear structure | ||
+ | * Aim for conciseness | ||
+ | * Use present tense / action verbs | ||
+ | * Be objective | ||
+ | * Do not censor | ||
- | ======Writing Tips===== | + | The biggest difference between Children’s Books and other types of books is the context. It is important to keep in mind the reading level of the book, and ensure that you write image descriptions that match that reading level. |
- | When writing | + | Surrounding text or even parts of the text earlier |
- | It is also important not to mention a character’s name before it is told in the text. Before this, rely on a general identifier. For example: The boy in the blue hat, the bluebird, or the mouse with a ribbon on her head. | + | Think about repeated characters. Children’s books focus on the adventures of the main characters. When we see a character over and over again we only have to describe their actions and what is different about them. Don' |
- | As with other types of Alt-Text, you only have to mention | + | Word choice and tone is also very important. Remember the reading level the book is for and try to choose your words so they are not too complex. It is also important to try and match the tone of the surrounding text so it does not break the narration. We recommend applying |
- | It is also important to describe colours and shapes accurately in order to recreate the visual storytelling in your written description. | ||
- | Note: If the image goes across two pages add ‘This illustration is the continuation of the one before’ at the beginning of the second image. | + | <note tip>Go to [[public:nnels:etext:images:writing_tip_point_form|Writing Tip: Using Point Form Technique]] |
- | + | ||
- | <note tip>Writing longer Alt-text within the Alt-Text Window can prove problematic. There is no way to track your spelling and grammar mistakes, and it can also be difficult edit. We recommend you write your description in a new document to help track mistakes and edits before copying it into the Alt-Text window.</ | + | |
- | + | ||
- | =====General Tips===== | + | |
- | + | ||
- | The following are some other basic tips to help you in you description. | + | |
- | + | ||
- | * Don’t editorialize, | + | |
- | * Be objective. You do not want to put your opinions of what is happening into the description, | + | |
- | * Be clear and concise. It is important not to be too wordy or over describe, since this can lead to confusion in the reader. | + | |
- | * Choose words that are succinct, vivid, and imaginative to convey visual images. Think about getting as much content into as few words as possible, as describers convey visual information that is either inaccessible or only partially accessible to a segment of the population. | + | |
- | * Describe colour, space and texture. | + | |
- | * Be very specific to the what the artist created. | + | |
- | * Describing is highly contextual, so bear in mind cultural significance of items of clothing, tool, instruments, | + | |
- | * Do a little bit of research to make sure you are describing the images correctly for that culture. It is important to be concise but also correct. | + | |
- | * Use third-person narrative style to show neutrality and noninterference. | + | |
- | * Use active verbs in the present tense. This is very important to keeping the flow of the narration moving. | + | |
- | * Two good resources | + | |
- | * Grammar Girl: Active vs Passive Voice | + | |
- | * Owl: Purdue University Active Voice | + | |
- | * Do not give too much information, | + | |
- | * Remember, you don’t have to describe all the details, but describe what is necessary | + | |
- | * First think about the story: What is in the image that is important to the story? | + | |
- | * Then think about what you personally see. Remember a person with a visual impairment wants to ‘see’ this too. | + | |
<WRAP center round box 80%> | <WRAP center round box 80%> | ||
- | ====Examples==== | + | The following |
- | + | {{ : | |
- | ===Cultural Details=== | + | |
- | + | ||
- | {{ : | + | |
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- | Grass dancers tread the northern earth. They dance over green grass with a large blue moon in the sky. On the left side, two dogs in traditional dancer' | + | |
- | + | ||
- | {{ : | + | |
- | + | ||
- | Sacagawea stands in the centre of the page, visible from the waist up, with her baby strapped on her back in a papoose. She has shiny, black hair in two long braids, brown eyes, and reddish-brown lips. She wears large, round shell earrings and a buckskin dress decorated at the neckline and shoulders with beadwork. The beadwork creates a light blue background, with a yellow and dark blue border, and there are two red and yellow triangular designs on each shoulder. Her baby has short, black hair, dark brown eyes, and reddish-brown lips. In the background, a light-blue river flows through a green field with tall green pine trees. | + | |
- | + | ||
- | ===Children’s Illustration=== | + | |
- | + | ||
- | {{ : | + | |
- | + | ||
- | Mona stands at the base of the tree looking up at the heart. She reaches up to it with one hand. | + | |
- | < | + | |
- | + | ||
- | ===Image Over Two Pages=== | + | |
- | + | ||
- | {{ : | + | |
- | + | ||
- | **First Image Alt-Text:** An indigenous man with long, black hair and brown eyes stands visible from the chest up. He looks up to towards the sky with a smile, his right palm open and facing upwards. Light casts a shadow to the left over his face. He wears a yellow buckskin robe with thick red squared lines and block patterns. Further back, a few feet behind him, an Indigenous woman with long, black flowing hair stands facing away from the man with her head tilted up towards the sky and her left arm held outwards with fingertips facing the ground. She wears a blue and green striped robe. In the background, there is a green field and a brown hill at the horizon. Dark blue clouds fill the sky with rain, and a single flash of white lightning. Pale blue and yellow pictographs of thunderbirds are in the clouds. | + | |
- | + | ||
- | **Second Image Alt-Text:** This illustration is the continuation of the one before. The man's left hand is held upwards towards the sky. In the background, there is brown village complex that seems to be carved out of the ground. Behind it, there is a tall cliff. Above the cliff, there are brown clouds that mix with bigger, dark blue clouds above. A bolt of lightning shoots from the left side of the dark blue clouds, while on the right side, some stars are faintly visible in the sky. Inside the dark clouds, there is a yellow pictograph of a thunderbird, | + | |
+ | [Alt-text] A great big full moon glows over the city skyline along the harbourfront. There are large city buildings in the skyline. In front of the buildings is a sparkling silver lake. On the lake are two boats, one with an orange flag flapping in the wind. Stars sparkle in the sky. | ||
</ | </ | ||
- | =====Character Description===== | ||
- | You only have to describe a character in full the first time they appear, after this you can identify them by their name, or another feature such as an item of clothing, or a physical feature unique to that character (e.g. the boy in the blue hat, the girl with the curly hair). | + | It is also good to take some extra time to find out the illustration style. This is an example of how beneficial it is to have the author and illustrator write the image descriptions. If you can not do this, don’t fret! Simply do a little bit of research. The illustration style can often be found on the copyright and publication information page, or in interviews with the illustrators, it can also be clear from looking at the image itself. |
- | Terms for describing skin colour: | + | < |
- | * brown | + | |
- | * dark brown | + | |
- | * fair complexion | + | |
- | * light brown | + | |
- | * light tan | + | |
- | * olive | + | |
- | * pale pink | + | |
- | * ruddy complexion | + | |
- | * tan | + | |
- | * white | + | |
- | <WRAP center round box 80%> | + | ======Different Types of Image Spreads in Children' |
- | ===Examples=== | + | |
- | {{ : | + | * [[public:nnels: |
+ | * [[public: | ||
+ | * [[public: | ||
+ | * [[public: | ||
+ | * [[public: | ||
- | The top half of this image is a photograph of a little black girl and her mother and father sitting together on a couch and looking at an iPad. They are all smiling. On the bottom half of this image, there is an illustration of a little white girl with red, braided hair and glasses. She is wearing a yellow dress with a yellow and red pattern across it over top of a blue, long-sleeved shirt. She is holding one finger in front of her face as if she is about to ask a question, and in the other hand she holds a cell phone. | + | <note>Same rules for [[public: |
- | + | ||
- | </WRAP> | + | |
- | + | ||
- | =====Scene Description===== | + | |
- | + | ||
- | Begin a scene description from biggest details to smallest details. What is in the background, mid-ground, and foreground? Remember you don't have to describe everything in the scene, just what is important to the story. Also, if the scene is the same over more than one page, you only have to describe it once. | + | |
- | + | ||
- | <WRAP center round box 80%> | + | |
- | ===Examples=== | + | |
- | {{ : | + | <note tip>For more on Writing go to the [[public:nnels: |
- | A large pink blanket sits in the grass near the river surronded by bushes. A group of young First Nation boys and girls sit cross-legged in a circle on the blanket. | + | <note tip>If you have any questions, post your question on the [[public: |
- | {{ :public: | + | [[public: |
- | Two young children sit on a kitchen counter and help their Grandmother cook. The walls of the kitchen are white. On the far wall, to the left, is a small glass pane window with short dark blue curtains decorated with small white triangles. Outside the sky is a pale yellow. A small bird sits on the window sill. It has a pale blue chest and tail with a black head and wings. Below the window, on the pink counter top, is a blue pot with red flowers growing out of it. Beneath the counter are cabinets that are painted red. The two children sit further down on the counter top with a large white and green bowl between them. One is a young Cree girl with pigtails, a yellow dress, and black leggings with blue shoes. The other is a young Cree boy with a red T-shirt over a white long-sleeved top, blue jeans, and black shoes. The girl stirs what is in the bowl with a big wooden spoon, and the boy pours in some more ingredients. They look up at their Grandmother with big smiles and bright pink cheeks. The Grandmother stands over them, and she also stirs with a big wooden spoon. She has short grey hair and wears a pale blue dress with a white apron that is trimmed with pink triangles. She looks down at the children with bright pink cheeks and a small pink smile shaped like a heart. | ||
- | </ |