#on alt text and image descriptions

[cosmereplay]

I want to start doing Alt Text for my art—specifically my cosmere fanart—but I don’t know where to begin.

Any suggestions?

Anon I have stars in my eyes!! I'm so happy you asked, so I kind of went overboard with my answer!

Literally how to add alt text:

On desktop, click on the kebab menu button in the bottom right corner of the image after you upload it into the editor. That gives you the option to "update the image description". You can even edit it after it's been posted! On mobile, it's basically the same: add the image to the editor, click the kebab menu button in the bottom right, and tap "add alt text".

Figuratively, how to write alt text:

So alt text is first and foremost an accessibility tool. In my experience, the people who rely on alt text the most are people who are visually impaired or blind, faceblind, can't understand facial expressions, and those who have spotty internet.

Let's do some examples! I'll put all the IDs in each image's alt text. (To view alt text without a screen reader: On desktop, hover over the lower left corner to find the alt text button. On mobile, the alt text button should always be in the lower left corner of the image.)

What's important to know about this image?

It's a meme. Please do not just say "It's the X meme" because chances are very high that the meme has never been described. DO describe the image as though the person doesn't know the meme!

Who's in it? If you want to go lighter on detail you can just say "Rlain". If you want to go heavier on detail (like I did in this alt text) you can describe his uniform, the fact that he's in Warform, the fact that this warform has two shoulder spikes, carapace on the back of the hands, and skull carapace. The level of detail here is up to you. Considering this is a meme and generally people take it in pretty quickly, you might go light on the detail to focus on the humour. I didn't in this one, but you could, haha! I tend to err on the side of overly detailed with my IDs.

What's the facial expression? I simply tell the reader that Rlain looks disappointed because that's helpful info for those who can't read expressions.

Who's the artist? This is generally pretty easy, as chances are you'll be describing your own art. Put your name on the art, and put your name in the description!

Here's another example:

This one's a little more abstract, a little more artsy, so in my alt text I spend a little more time with the detail. You might notice I describe the vibes of Jaxlim's style of speech rather than what they look like literally. So I say "the lines lose their rhythm and falter" rather than something like "flowing jagged lines that start around Jaxlim's head and wander in front of Venli and over her head". For me, I feel the first version makes it easier to get across the meaning of the piece, which is more what the conversation will be about. I didn't mention Venli's form or the colours of the room or the vague map on the wall because they don't give relevant information about the meaning of the piece.

All that being said, those are mostly style tips. At its most basic and most meaningful, alt text is simply saying what's in the image. If you're describing what you see, you're doing it right!

If you are interested in improving your skill at image descriptions/alt text and you'd like feedback or help, you can always send an ask to @cosmere-described or even join the Cosmere Described discord! It's open to anyone who's interested in improving the amount of alt text in Cosmere fanart!

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---

[Update] David Tennant continues his trend of being a trans ally respectful & supportive of non-binary people & gender neutral pronouns in the Doctor Who Special: The Star Beast (2023)

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