How To Write Alt Text For Amateur Art

Over the years, I have been friends with many visual artists who create wonderful amateur art across a variety of mediums. One of these friends often creates unique art with lots of bold colors inspired by pop culture and their own original characters that they have created. Recently, they reached out to me asking if I could show them how to write alt text for amateur art that they frequently post on social media, and creating a more accessible art portfolio that could be accessed within their fandom. Of course, I was happy to help with this request, and immediately pulled up their portfolio to write a couple examples of potential alt text for visual art that they could use.

A few minutes later, I get a message back from my friend thanking me for my ideas, and they then asked (with kindness) if I had written the descriptions myself without any help. When I said yes, my friend told me that my examples had shown them how truly important alt text is for people with visual impairment like me, because none of my descriptions accurately reflected what was in their art! I gained a new appreciation for my friend’s art that day (which up until that point I thought was just a bunch of abstract colors and not actually people), and they gained a new appreciation for the importance of accessibility and adding alt text to art. Here are my tips for how to write alt text for amateur art in a variety of contexts.

WHAT IS ALT TEXT? WHAT IS AN IMAGE DESCRIPTION?

Alternative text (alt text) and image descriptions are text-based descriptions of visual details in an image written primarily for people who are visually impaired (inclusive of blind, low vision, and neurological visual impairment). If an image fails to load on a website, alt text will be displayed in its place, and alt text is also used for search engine optimization and image search tools.

Image descriptions are similar to alt text descriptions that are used by screen readers to recognize images, though there are a few key differences between alt text and image descriptions:

LOCATION

Alt text is typically attached to an image metadata or added in the “alt text” box on social media. Image descriptions may be in the image caption, in a text post, or shared in a text link for extended descriptions.

VISIBILITY

Alt text is usually only visible to screen readers, which read the alt text out loud or display it on a braille display. Image descriptions are “exposed” and can be read by anyone. Saving an image does not save its alt text, and neither does copy/pasting an image into a document.

BlueSky, X, and Mastodon are examples of social media platforms that allow users to read alt text whether they have a screen reader or not by selecting the ALT button on an image or gif that has alt text included.

LENGTH OF TEXT

A picture is worth a thousand words, but there may only be room for a thousand characters! Alt text is typically limited to 100-250 characters, though most best practice guides recommend keeping alt text to around 125 characters. Image descriptions can be the same length or even longer, since they are included in the photo caption, in a text post, or text link.

For social media platforms that have larger character limits for alt text, many users will write longer image descriptions in the alt text field, and reprint the same descriptions in the caption of the post. However, this is not completely necessary for platforms that offer exposed alt text that can be viewed without a screen reader.

LEVEL OF DETAIL

Image descriptions tend to go more in-depth about visual details than alt text due to the larger character limit. For example, alt text might tell a user there is a puddle on the floor, but an image description might go into further detail and say there is a puddle of orange juice on a white tiled kitchen floor, with light reflecting from the surface.

It’s worth noting that some people will use the same text for both alt text and image descriptions, which is an accepted practice. However, I prefer to include more detailed descriptions as exposed image descriptions so everyone can read them whether they have a screen reader enabled or not.

SHOULD I USE BOTH ALT TEXT AND IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS?

I recommend using both alt text and image descriptions when possible, since image descriptions can also be read in large print or by people who aren’t using screen readers. Some people use the same text for both, while others prefer to write more detail in exposed image descriptions and treat them like image captions. Another strategy to share lengthy image descriptions on social media is to write a basic description of the image as alt text and then link an extended image description to read on another page.

When sharing exposed descriptions, I recommend using the label “ID:” or “Image Description:” in front of the text so that it is easier to locate. Some creators choose to enclose the description in parenthesis or brackets, which is also helpful for separating the description from the rest of the caption. Using the label “Alt text:” in a caption is also acceptable and conveys the same message, but the term image description is more appropriate.

How is alt text helpful for art?

I often get questions from artists who wonder if alt text or image descriptions are actually helpful for visually impaired audiences, or if it is possible to enjoy a visual medium in a low-visual or nonvisual way. As someone with low vision that has progressively gotten worse, I often use alt text and image descriptions as a “guide” for exploring an image, providing additional clarification or confirmation so I can know what I am looking at and appreciate it. While I can see things like the colors of an image or zoom in on details, I sometimes miss out on important context or am not entirely sure what I am looking at and refrain from commenting or engaging in further conversation about a subject.

One of the interesting things about alt text and image descriptions for visual art is that ten people could be asked to write alt text for a picture and they would come up with ten different ways of describing it. I describe the process of writing alt text for art as inviting someone to see an image through the eyes of the person writing the description, instead of telling someone what they should see or how they should interpret visual art. Some descriptions may gravitate towards being more objective in nature, while others may be influenced by emotions, big ideas, themes, or whatever the viewer is likely to gravitate towards when viewing this image for the first time.

Since alt text for amateur art has space for artistic freedom, there are many more options for incorporating creative alt text into art in these contexts. This can include using alt text as poetry by writing descriptions in a creative medium, taking a storytelling approach to describing what is happening in a photo, or writing alt text in a first person or second person point of view. The only “rule” is that alt text must be written with visually impaired audiences in mind, with the goal of providing additional description for those who may have trouble seeing it.

What to include when writing alt text and image descriptions for amateur art

In this context, I use the term amateur art to describe art that is shared primarily online or on social media platforms, not something that is necessarily hanging in a museum or the subject of conversations from art historians. Whenever possible, I encourage artists to write their own alt text and/or image descriptions to share their insight on what their art conveys, but it’s perfectly acceptable for others to post alt text/image descriptions for art with credit to the original artist. It is assumed that the original post caption has the title for the artwork (if applicable) and the artist’s name/credit, so these details are not included in my alt text recommendations.

Helpful information to include when writing alt text and image descriptions for amateur art include:

Artwork medium

Even if the artwork is posted as a digital image/photograph, it is helpful to share the artwork medium to provide context for what something looks like— someone will likely visualize a photograph differently than they would an oil on canvas painting for example. Another consideration is that some media may present additional access barriers for people with certain vision conditions, so having information on the artwork medium can also help audiences that may need alt text or image descriptions for specific types of media; one example is that some people with cerebral/cortical visual impairment find it difficult to recognize paintings or abstract images.

“First impression”

What is the first thing you notice about the art? Is it the central subject? A large object? The colors in the piece? The way two people are looking at each other? This should be in the first part of the alt text or image description. Avoid one-word descriptions such as “dog”, “SpongeBob”, or “landscape”— longer sentences are better here.

Interesting details

After the “first impression”, pick 3-5 other visual details that catch the viewer’s attention and are key to understanding or appreciating the art. To help with this, I encourage describers to imagine they are on the phone with someone and describing the art to their conversation partner so that they can imagine what it looks like. What do you want others to know about this art, and what does it look like through your eyes?

Describing people (real or imaginary)

When it comes to human subjects, there are a few ways to approach writing alt text for amateur art. For fictional characters, celebrities, or people that would have a Wikipedia entry, just writing their name is enough for most alt text or image description contexts, unless one or more of the following is true:

Their appearance has changed drastically
The target audience is not familiar with this person, and the alt text is intended to let them know what they look like
If an outfit is the focus of the art, the description should include their name and prioritize describing clothing and other accessories/props

When it comes to describing models, anonymous subjects, or people that would not be identified by name alone, additional description can be helpful and help to eliminate unconscious bias that audiences may have when visualizing art. Some examples of details to consider including are:

Race/ethnicity of subject(s)
Gender
Age (approximations are fine, e.g. teenager)
Hair color and hair style
Height/build
Clothing or accessories worn
Unique features, such as freckles
Eye color

When it comes to media that uses the same subjects/characters consistently, such as comics, don’t over-describe characters in every panel if their appearance doesn’t change. Instead, link to a character guide in the caption or as a pinned message on the artist’s page so that viewers can reference what a character looks like if needed.

Describing colors

When describing colors, don’t be afraid to use shade names, such as tomato red, bright orange, ocean blue, lime green, or similar. Don’t try to over-describe colors, stick with color names and simple descriptions in the form of shade names— there is no need to describe what red looks like, for example.

Only share relevant information

While the definition of “relevant information” may vary in different contexts, one thing that should not change is the purpose of the alt text/image description being for visually impaired audiences. Alt text is not the place to write rants, insert opinions about what a piece of art looks like (or if it looks like trash), or add text that has nothing to do with the art that is being shown. Alt text is not a place to find hidden messages, as these can be confusing for screen reader users.

Examples of alt text for amateur art

When it comes to writing alt text for amateur art, it’s helpful to see examples of great alt text, as well as not-so-great examples. These are all real alt texts that I have encountered on social media over the years, or that my friends have sent me.

Great examples of alt text for art

A digital collage print that features a large yellow sun in the bottom right corner that extends to the top right corner, taking up three quarters of the image, drawn with yellow markers and a black outline. The bright, vibrant sun rests against a sky blue watercolor background. Inside the sun, the lyrics to “I’ll Follow The Sun” by The Beatles are printed in black calligraphy writing.
A photo of a silver car running a stoplight at night with a high-contrast filter applied, creating a flash effect that makes the car stand out against the dark sky. On top of the image, a large red and yellow cartoonish font says “See you in court!”, stylized similar to a vintage postcard.
An oil pastel drawing of a copper-colored labrador retriever face that has light green eyes and a brown nose, along with floppy ears and a calm facial expression. The background is several different shades of green swirled together to complement the olive green eyes, which look up towards the top of the page with prominent eyebrows.
A cartoon picture of SpongeBob SquarePants jumping in the air on a blue background with bubbles surrounding him and a mix of purple and pink cartoon jellyfish.

In the case of the sun art, I didn’t write out the song lyrics in the alt text because someone could theoretically look these up if they didn’t know them.

Not-so-great examples of alt text

Here are some real examples of not-so-great image descriptions and alt text for art that I’ve seen online:

Idk (just write the word null— screen readers will ignore the text, and the user will know that the lack of alt text was intentional instead of something that was forgotten)
Dude chilling in car (what kind of car? what does the person look like? where are they?)
A completely random rant about someone’s food order at a restaurant that had nothing to do with the picture of a celebrity- it’s better to put these things in the captions where others can see them!
A medium sized four legged animal with white and black spots and a tail that stands in a field. Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure what animal this was based on the description alone, which makes it unhelpful— it’s okay to write “cow in a field”, I have a mental model of what a cow looks like.

More resources on alt text for amateur art

I was quoted in an article on creating alt text for photographs that was shared on Medium- read more at Art and Alt text: photographs for blind people | CameraLux
Looking for tips on how to make art easier to see for audiences with low vision? I share a few tips in Tips For Creating Art For Visually Impaired Friends
Want more content on accessible art and accessible images? Browse Arts and Music Archives (veroniiiica.com) and Alt Text Archives (veroniiiica.com)

Published November 29, 2019. Updated November 2024

Reference

Lewis, Veronica. (2019). How To Write Alt Text For Amateur Art. Veroniiiica. https://veroniiiica.com/how-to-write-alt-text-for-amateur-art/ (Accessed on January 7, 2026)