A–Z Endangered Species of Southeast Asia

A collaboration between inclusive artists and Pardicolour Creative Art Funds 2025 focusing on endangered species in Southeast Asia.

Writer: Wenny Yosselina; Editor: Kenghao Chew

(left) The A-Z book; (middle) examples of art works and references; (Right) Meeting with Pardicolour Team This project adopts a picture book approach (children’sillustrated storybook) with a multi-sensory design to connect children with special needs to the world of conservation. The inclusive creative process enables children with disabilities to become part of environmental narratives, while also opening opportunities for empathy-based learning among general readers.

Supported by Pardicolour Art Funds 2025, five neurodivergent illustrators from the Art Therapy Centre Widyatama: Farid Anestiawan Putra, Satria Nugraha, ZidniAulia Ilman, Putu Rangga Putradinata, M. Ridwan Arsyad, and Daffa Yusuf Budiman collaborated with illustrator and visual researcher Wenny Yosselina. Together, they developed an innovative and inclusive children’s book project.

The book features 26 endangered animals from Southeast Asia, designed for children aged 10–12, particularly those with visual impairments and autism spectrum conditions. Ten flagship animals, such as the Javan rhinoceros and the Sumatran tiger, are represented using embossed line drawings and Braille, while the remaining 16 animals are supported with tactile textures and Braille labels of their names. Each page also includes conservation status and interesting facts about the animals.

To date, the team has produced 36 animal illustration assets and five 3D-printed animal models as direct tactile learning media. In addition to the physical book, the project also provides digital extensions, including a PDF version and audio-narrated video content.

This project emphasizes a multi-sensory approach to connect children with conservation awareness. The inclusive creative process allows children with special needs to actively participate in environmental storytelling, while also fostering empathy-based learning for a broader audience.

The book launched at a community exhibition in Bandung in September 2025. The project is carried out in collaboration with the Art Therapy Centre Widyatama.

The Exhibition at Widyatama University (2025)

The project aims to reach over 200 exhibition visitors and more than 500 digital viewers (video content). It also supports long-term advocacy for educational institutions to adopt inclusive tactile book models, inspired by NASA’s braille children’s book Touch the Sun. This project contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 and 15: Quality Education and Life on Land. The book also includes downloadable colouring sheets available via a provided link.

Book Development Process

Five illustrators worked together in a collaborative illustration studio for this project. In the initial stage, they compiled a reference list of endangered animals and gathered photographic documentation of the selected animals.

3 print process and finishing 3D printed plat with resincoating

They then developed animal illustration assets, which were further refined into digital assets by each illustrator. The primary references were photographs of endangered wildlife.

The final assets were then transformed into 3D models, including Braille elements, using Blender. These models were 3D-printed using an Ender 3D printer. The printed outputs were subsequently coated with resin to achieve a smooth and tactile-friendly surface finish.

The entire production process, from data collection to 3D asset creation, took approximately three months. After that, the assets were laid out, printed, and assembled into a book, with additional handcrafted fabric textures incorporated manually.

These fabric textures serve as tactile illustration elements for low-vision children when exploring and understanding the animals. For example, the Tapanuli orangutan is represented using a circular form of approximately 3 cm in diameter, covered with synthetic rasfur fur texture. As one of the ten critically endangered animals, it is also represented through a 3D-printed tactile plate.

Activity pages

Testimony by Wenny Yosselina

This project is highly meaningful as it enables collaborative learning about endangered animals through art and design. Moreover, the resulting works can promote wildlife conservation awareness among children and broader communities.

Through this project, it becomes evident that collaboration allows individuals with diverse abilities (autism, hearing impairment, and others) to work together and express their perspectives on conservation issues through illustration.

I found communication with non-verbal neurodivergent illustrators to be quite challenging. However, the structured learning framework and shared enthusiasm for creating meaningful environmental impact became strong motivating factors for all illustrators involved.

Drawing animals is naturally engaging for children. Within this group, most participants expressed a strong interest in animals. There were also individual preferences, for instance, Satria prefers four-legged animals, Farid is interested in mammals, and Ilman enjoys visually unique animals such as zebrafish.

Some animals, such as snakes, were initially disliked and described as “scary.” This challenge was addressed by selecting more neutral or less intimidating visual angles, such as closed-mouth poses or calmer compositions.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Pardicolour Creative Art Funds for supporting this art project, enabling the illustrators to collaborate and produce meaningful work. We hope to see more multi-sensory, cross-ability art and book projects in the future, especially those focusing on endangered wildlife conservation.