Site Info

Projects

Textured Graphics

Creating Textured 3-D & 2-D Graphics For the Talking Tactile Tablet

The following two pictures of the human eye can be produced for the TTT in raised line, swell-form graphics by emphasizing the main areas to be focused on. However, if repeated use of the graphics is planned, then a more detailed preparation will lead to an easier understanding of the anatomy of the eye. The following pictures and brief description of the preparation steps exemplify one way to make the illustrations below more accessible to those with visual impairments.

Materials

Funky Foam™, leather, felt material, 3" diameter, Styrofoam ball, craft eye lashes, foam ear plugs, black glass gems and self-adhesive felt pads, foam rubber, Kleenex™ tissue, waxed string, Elmer's white glue, rubber cement, hot glue, Styrofoam glue, puff paint, and one AT thermoform pre-made template sheet are the materials used. Tools needed are a low temperature hot glue gun, Exacto knives, scissors, and tweezers are helpful.

I took the illustrations on the first page and enlarged them to sufficiently fit into and be glued in the work space on the AT template sheet. I made a color copy for the template and a B&W copy to use as cutout guides in sizing my tactile materials. I try and follow the illustration's colors as closely as possible to make it easier for individuals with low vision to correlate the graphics with a book illustration.

Whenever possible, I try and have a 3-D model of the AT graphic I'm creating. This tends to enhance the tactile user's understanding of the graphic on the TTT. When creating the model, try to make it represent the AT graphic as closely as possible. Use the "KISS" method (Keep It Simply Sensible) and remember that "Less is More" when determining how much detail to put in.

For the 3-D model of the eye, I used a three inch diameter Styrofoam ball, cutting away a quarter section and hollowing out the remainder of the ball. Elmer's white glue was spread on the inside surface to stop flaking and to strengthen the shell. The iris is a piece of rawhide, the pupil a dark glass gem with the lens being a large clear glass gem. All of these items were glued with Beacon's Hold the Foam! Glue for Styrofoam.

Wadded up Kleenex™ tissue does a fine job of representing the vitreous. The retina is foam rubber sliced very thin and streaked red with magic maker. The optic nerve is an ear plug adapter used by audiologists when doing hearing tests. It has been cut down with the plastic tube going through the wall to show that the nerve exits out the rear of the eye ball. The dark red spot just to the right of the optic nerve is a hot glue droplet representing the macula.

The foam is not glued to the inside of the Styrofoam ball. This is so that the foam can easily be lifted to illustrate retinal detachment. I had colored the Styrofoam red to represent the retina before I thought of using the foam. If you use the foam approach don't worry about coloring the Strofoam.

Rubber cement the colored illustrations to the AT template sheet. Cut a rectangular piece of Funky Foam™ large enough to cover the illustration of the eye with eyelid. Use the B&W copy of this picture as a template and cut out the iris in the Funky Foam™. This will allow space for the rawhide iris to fit into. Glue this over the picture with rubber cement. As shown in the picture to the left, cut a rectangular piece of felt slightly larger than the Funky Foam™. This will cover the foam and become the facial skin. A second piece of is felt about a half inch in width is cut in the shape of the eye opening and glued with rubber cement to the underside of the larger felt piece. This provides a raised area representing the leading edge of the eyelid. On the rawhide iris that has been cut out using your template for sizing, cut a hole slightly smaller than the dark glass gem. This will make the rawhide iris pucker up when pushed over it giving an oval impression for the eyeball. Next, glue the dark glass gem onto the pupil in the illustration followed by gluing the rawhide iris around the pupil.

At this point you are ready to adhere the felt onto the foam with rubber cement. Hot glue works best for adhering the eyelashes onto the leading edge of the eyelid. Again, using the B&W template cut out the Funky Foam™ eyeball form, foam rubber for the retina and the rawhide, half iris. A felt self-adhering pad is used here for the pupil. Cut out the inner portion of the eyeball to accommodate the internal items. Rubber cement the eyeball shell and half iris onto the illustration. With this done, use hot glue to create the lens. This allows the area to be depressed so that you can add the audio. Cut a hole in the foam rubber for the optic nerve and rubber cement these items in place. Use red magic marker to add the effect of a rich blood supply for the low vision individuals using the graphic. Below and a little to the right, place a dot of red puff paint to represent the macula. Add your terms for identification.

You will note that there are no areas depicting the cornea, vitreous, or choroids. I felt that trying to put these onto the graphic would make it too "busy" and cloud the mind's eye image that I am trying to impart to my non-sighted students. These areas can be discussed and attachments such as the waxed string for eye muscles may be done as add-on's to the 3-D model you create. Remember that this is only my way of creating a dynamic tactile TTT eye graphic. Experiment and you may find a better way.

Have fun!