#tactilegraphics — Public Fediverse posts

I had the privilege of being on Dave William's Raising the Dots podcast, talking about the origins of #BlindSVG, how I got into #TactileGraphics, what our little organic collective of #Blind creatives is up to in teaching drawing and art, the TADA curriculum, and more! Listen to our journey here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raising-the-dots/id1824662653?i=1000740867328

Worked on a fun little update to #BlindSVG today! I added a little Google Translate widget to the site header, kept the vertical select menu and hid the rest of the widget elements I didn't need, and now folks can translate all the pages into their preferred language when learning how to handcode #SVG for #TactileGraphics. Hoping this will help spread this skillset to even more #Blind designers around the world. https://blindsvg.com/

If you'd like to hear about what @ChanceyFleet and I have been up to in the world of #TactileGraphics, our backstories, tactile drawing and art exploration, how #BlindSVG came to be, and where we hope to take all of this, check out our interview on the #ATBanter podcast! https://atbanter.com/2025/11/19/at-banter-episode-444-getting-a-feel-for-art-with-blindsvg/

Feelin' groovy! Hand-coded a lava lamp just for fun using #SVG, and this is the colorized version. The main version uses colors best suited for #TactileGraphics using multiple dot heights. The lava swirls and the gradient behind them make for a very fun tactile exploration experience! Check out the file here: https://marconius.com/svg/lavaLamp.html

For anyone creating #TactileGraphics either visually or nonvisually, I've posted hex color values up on #BlindSVG which you can use to set specific dot heights when outputting on a ViewPlus embosser, or potentially any other embosser that has multiple dot heights, or even a tactile display like the Graffiti. Thanks to Naomi Rosenberg from the MAD Lab at the Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco for these values! #Blind #SVG https://blindsvg.com/pages/styling/#tiger

This fun little test scene is using #SVG textPath elements to make an arching caterpillar, some bees, and a trail of ants coming out of an anthill. Except all the bugs are made out of #braille that spells out the type of bug it's making up. Using the Braille36 Tiger font and using Unicode Braille Pattern characters for the braille itself to be visifle and embossable. It's really fun reading the braille in a non-standard way around the paper! #Blind #TactileGraphics #BlindSVG

It's been a few weeks, but #CSUN was a blast! It was fantastic meeting and networking with folks in person who I've only ever interacted with virtually. I made a lot of AeroPress coffee for those that visited our suite, had a lot of great conversations about #TactileGraphics and #Design while showing off my work, played with some cool tech, and came to the realization that I should have started coming to this event earlier in my #a11y career. Looking forward to it again next year!

Come register for this event to check out a lot of great talks regarding #accessible #coding and #TactileGraphics curricula! I'll be demoing #SVG coding and giving a BlindSVG.com walkthrough; we'll be releasing our Tangible Art & Design Adventures (TADA!) curriculum from CATT-NW; @ChanceyFleet will be giving a keynote on the second day; lots of activity to get folks excited about coding and digital creativity! https://aphconnectcenter.org/coding-symposium-3-0/

https://aphconnectcenter.org/coding-symposium-3-0/#h-program-day-1-focus-on-student-instruction-nbsp-nbsp

So I gave #ClaudeAI a try to see how well it handled #SVG education, and sure enough it finally helped me wrap my brain around how the viewbox attribute works. I wrote up a new section on BlindSVG.com to show how you can leverage both that and the width/height attributes to control the overall scale of your #TactileGraphics when outputting them! Viewbox actually defines the canvas size,, and width/height defines how big or small the actual output will be: https://blindsvg.com/pages/setup/index.html#viewbox

If you are attending #NFB23 in Houston and would love to learn #SVG coding as a non-visual way to build #TactileGraphics and #TactileArt, come swing by the tactile art and picture book Room (Hilto Americas Room 344), on July 1st and 2nd from 6pm-7pm CT! I'll be teaching a crash course for us #Blind creatives and anyone else interested. Will be going over tips and tricks that I also have up on BlindSVG.com and go over bestpractices. Bring a laptop and let's create together!

A brilliant article by @ChanceyFleet on the importance of #TactileGraphics and how they can be used to combat image poverty for #Blind people everywhere. Being able to touch, understand, and create design, art, data, conceptualizations, layout, and more helps us all understand and participate that much more in the world, and work like this is making that outreach and education possible. #A11y https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/06/15/1074036/ending-image-poverty/

If you missed our #AxeCon talk about #AstroAccess and building #TactileGraphics for zero-G space flight, and are interested in learning more about how #Blind people can draw and create their own digital graphics and designs through #SVG code and Sensational Blackboards, come check us out again at the Bay Area #Accessibility and #InclusiveDesign Meetup talk! https://www.meetup.com/a11ybay/events/294149681

I just launched a new site devoted to teaching how to create #TactileArt and #TactileGraphics using #SVG code. The focus is on #accessibility and opening up creativity to #blind and #low-vision folks who want to participate in building graphics, iterate on ideas, and use SVG for projects ready for embosser, swell-form, 3D print, and CriCut output. Come check it out! https://blindSVG.com

It's been a while since I've written something for my blog, and just posted about my journey into #TactileGraphics and #TactileArt after having gone #Blind almost a decade ago. I never thought I'd draw again, and here I am helping to teach other blind and low-vision folks how to create drawings both physically and digitally! https://marconius.com/blog/index.php/2023/04/16/on-drawing/

The #TactileDrawing Teach-In at the NYPL Andrew Heiskell branch this week was absolutely brilliant, and it couldn't have happened without @ChanceyFleet, Ann Cunningham, and the rest of our instructional team that came together to teach art and drawing techniques, different methods of building #TactileGraphics, and connecting or reconnecting #blind and low-vision folks to these mediums. Check out my #SVG study guide for coding these graphics here: https://tinyurl.com/BlindSVGStudyGuide

The #TactileDrawing Teach-In at the NYPL Andrew Heiskell branch this week was absolutely brilliant, and it couldn't have happened without @ChanceyFleet, Ann Cunningham, and the rest of our instructional team that came together to teach art and drawing techniques, different methods of building #TactileGraphics, and connecting or reconnecting #blind and low-vision folks to these mediums. Check out my #SVG study guide for coding these graphics here: https://tinyurl.com/BlindSVGStudyGuide

The #TactileDrawing Teach-In at the NYPL Andrew Heiskell branch this week was absolutely brilliant, and it couldn't have happened without @ChanceyFleet, Ann Cunningham, and the rest of our instructional team that came together to teach art and drawing techniques, different methods of building #TactileGraphics, and connecting or reconnecting #blind and low-vision folks to these mediums. Check out my #SVG study guide for coding these graphics here: https://tinyurl.com/BlindSVGStudyGuide

The #TactileDrawing Teach-In at the NYPL Andrew Heiskell branch this week was absolutely brilliant, and it couldn't have happened without @ChanceyFleet, Ann Cunningham, and the rest of our instructional team that came together to teach art and drawing techniques, different methods of building #TactileGraphics, and connecting or reconnecting #blind and low-vision folks to these mediums. Check out my #SVG study guide for coding these graphics here: https://tinyurl.com/BlindSVGStudyGuide

The #TactileDrawing Teach-In at the NYPL Andrew Heiskell branch this week was absolutely brilliant, and it couldn't have happened without @ChanceyFleet, Ann Cunningham, and the rest of our instructional team that came together to teach art and drawing techniques, different methods of building #TactileGraphics, and connecting or reconnecting #blind and low-vision folks to these mediums. Check out my #SVG study guide for coding these graphics here: https://tinyurl.com/BlindSVGStudyGuide https://tinyurl.com/BlindSVGStudyGuide

Can't wait for #AxeCon to start next week! If you want to check out amazing talks and panels surrounding #a11y development, design, and updates in #Deque tools for evaluating #Accessibility, come register for free! And don't miss our talk about creating #TactileGraphics for the #AstroAccess project on the 15th at 1pm PT! https://www.deque.com/axe-con/register/ https://www.deque.com/axe-con/sessions/maker-space-a-diy-accessible-workflow-for-tactile-graphics-used-in-zero-gravity-flight/

If you are in or around #NYC on March 23-25th and want to learn #TactileDrawing and #TactileArt, sign up and come join our TeachIn at the #NYPL Andrew Heiskell Talking Book Library! I'll be helping @ChanceyFleet and #AnnCunningham teach #blind drawing and art concepts, #SVG coding, and how to create #TactileGraphics and tap into your creative and spatial skills. This is really exciting! #a11y #FeelAroundAndFindOut https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB-q2xMqfVzx5Ltu-9KxkbqaGaWW3WuTwcdJ6oGxldupAAJg/viewform

If you are in or around #NYC on March 23-25th and want to learn #TactileDrawing and #TactileArt, sign up and come join our TeachIn at the #NYPL Andrew Heiskell Talking Book Library! I'll be helping @ChanceyFleet and #AnnCunningham teach #blind drawing and art concepts, #SVG coding, and how to create #TactileGraphics and tap into your creative and spatial skills. This is really exciting! #a11y #FeelAroundAndFindOut https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB-q2xMqfVzx5Ltu-9KxkbqaGaWW3WuTwcdJ6oGxldupAAJg/viewform

If you are in or around #NYC on March 23-25th and want to learn #TactileDrawing and #TactileArt, sign up and come join our TeachIn at the #NYPL Andrew Heiskell Talking Book Library! I'll be helping @ChanceyFleet and #AnnCunningham teach #blind drawing and art concepts, #SVG coding, and how to create #TactileGraphics and tap into your creative and spatial skills. This is really exciting! #a11y #FeelAroundAndFindOut https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB-q2xMqfVzx5Ltu-9KxkbqaGaWW3WuTwcdJ6oGxldupAAJg/viewform

If you are in or around #NYC on March 23-25th and want to learn #TactileDrawing and #TactileArt, sign up and come join our TeachIn at the #NYPL Andrew Heiskell Talking Book Library! I'll be helping @ChanceyFleet and #AnnCunningham teach #blind drawing and art concepts, #SVG coding, and how to create #TactileGraphics and tap into your creative and spatial skills. This is really exciting! #a11y #FeelAroundAndFindOut https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB-q2xMqfVzx5Ltu-9KxkbqaGaWW3WuTwcdJ6oGxldupAAJg/viewform

If you are in or around #NYC on March 23-25th and want to learn #TactileDrawing and #TactileArt, sign up and come join our TeachIn at the #NYPL Andrew Heiskell Talking Book Library! I'll be helping @ChanceyFleet and #AnnCunningham teach #blind drawing and art concepts, #SVG coding, and how to create #TactileGraphics and tap into your creative and spatial skills. This is really exciting! #a11y #FeelAroundAndFindOut https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB-q2xMqfVzx5Ltu-9KxkbqaGaWW3WuTwcdJ6oGxldupAAJg/viewform

#Introduction I’m a blind person interested in #AccessibleAstronomy. #ImageDescriptions, #sonifications, #TactileGraphics, how else can we experience the universe? This will be a space to highlight work in this area, with the occasional original thought thrown in.

If you are attending #AxeCon this year, come check out our Wildcard talk discussing #TactileGraphics and the #AstroAccess project! @ChanceyFleet will lead as we talk about making tactile panels for #accessible #spaceFlight for the #Blind. Our talk starts on March 15th at 4pm ET. https://youtu.be/749CIQyMEMY

Had an amazing time at our #TactileDrawing retreat out in #Toronto! We showed off different methods of rendering #TactileGraphics to people at the #CNIB, then back at our house we went into intensive study of different drawing techniques using #SensationalBlackboards for 3 days in our group while learning ways to teach perspective, obscuration, composition, orthographic views, and other techniques to #blind artists, and so much more! I love being able to draw again and teaching others!

Had an amazing time at our #TactileDrawing retreat out in #Toronto! We showed off different methods of rendering #TactileGraphics to people at the #CNIB, then back at our house we went into intensive study of different drawing techniques using #SensationalBlackboards for 3 days in our group while learning ways to teach perspective, obscuration, composition, orthographic views, and other techniques to #blind artists, and so much more! I love being able to draw again and teaching others!

Had an amazing time at our #TactileDrawing retreat out in #Toronto! We showed off different methods of rendering #TactileGraphics to people at the #CNIB, then back at our house we went into intensive study of different drawing techniques using #SensationalBlackboards for 3 days in our group while learning ways to teach perspective, obscuration, composition, orthographic views, and other techniques to #blind artists, and so much more! I love being able to draw again and teaching others!

Had an amazing time at our #TactileDrawing retreat out in #Toronto! We showed off different methods of rendering #TactileGraphics to people at the #CNIB, then back at our house we went into intensive study of different drawing techniques using #SensationalBlackboards for 3 days in our group while learning ways to teach perspective, obscuration, composition, orthographic views, and other techniques to #blind artists, and so much more! I love being able to draw again and teaching others!

Had an amazing time at our #TactileDrawing retreat out in #Toronto! We showed off different methods of rendering #TactileGraphics to people at the #CNIB, then back at our house we went into intensive study of different drawing techniques using #SensationalBlackboards for 3 days in our group while learning ways to teach perspective, obscuration, composition, orthographic views, and other techniques to #blind artists, and so much more! I love being able to draw again and teaching others!

At #SFO waiting to board my flight to #Toronto! Heading to a #TactileGraphics and #TactileDrawing workshop and retreat. Will learn and skill share on how to teach drawing to other #blind folks and tap back into all of my artistic skills from my previously sighted life. Going to be with @ChanceyFleet and other amazing people, and am looking forward to all the food, coffee, and Canadian shenanigans, eh? :)

At #SFO waiting to board my flight to #Toronto! Heading to a #TactileGraphics and #TactileDrawing workshop and retreat. Will learn and skill share on how to teach drawing to other #blind folks and tap back into all of my artistic skills from my previously sighted life. Going to be with @ChanceyFleet and other amazing people, and am looking forward to all the food, coffee, and Canadian shenanigans, eh? :)

At #SFO waiting to board my flight to #Toronto! Heading to a #TactileGraphics and #TactileDrawing workshop and retreat. Will learn and skill share on how to teach drawing to other #blind folks and tap back into all of my artistic skills from my previously sighted life. Going to be with @ChanceyFleet and other amazing people, and am looking forward to all the food, coffee, and Canadian shenanigans, eh? :)

At #SFO waiting to board my flight to #Toronto! Heading to a #TactileGraphics and #TactileDrawing workshop and retreat. Will learn and skill share on how to teach drawing to other #blind folks and tap back into all of my artistic skills from my previously sighted life. Going to be with @ChanceyFleet and other amazing people, and am looking forward to all the food, coffee, and Canadian shenanigans, eh? :)

At #SFO waiting to board my flight to #Toronto! Heading to a #TactileGraphics and #TactileDrawing workshop and retreat. Will learn and skill share on how to teach drawing to other #blind folks and tap back into all of my artistic skills from my previously sighted life. Going to be with @ChanceyFleet and other amazing people, and am looking forward to all the food, coffee, and Canadian shenanigans, eh? :)

If anybody in #Helsinki #Suomi is making or needing tactile graphics I would be happy to help as I can! I am sighted, working on a #CAD app, and have #Cricut at home. I know #Oodi library maker space has quality tools with potential for that.

cc @ChanceyFleet is #TactileGraphics a good organizing hashtag?

@Arachtober Yep, you're right. Fortunately someone jumped into the thread with a few and the post is going on quite the little journey! #Blind #TactileGraphics #Makers FTW

Cricut cutting machines, ubiquitous in schools, libraries and makerspaces, can be used to make embossed or stenciled #TactileGraphics. A Braille embosser costs at least $1500 — Cricuts cost a fifth of that or less. Today I learned that I can handle the hardware and make great stencils: all that holds a Blind #maker back is a set of unlabeled controls in the software. Does anyone know somebody at #Cricut I could talk to about improving #accessibility? Boosters beloved on this one!

Incredibly excited to learn to use a Cricut machine tomorrow — the fine folks at https://btactile.com have been using it for years to create #TactileGraphics affordably in Colombia and beyond. As a #Blind technologist, i'd be grateful for any tips on working with the hardware and software nonvisually. I expect some hurdles but nothing i can't handle (and teach community to handle!).