diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index febfc5a..ef516a8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ thesis/*
 abstract/*
 !abstract/*.tex
 
+!bin
+bin/*
+!bin/*
+
 !figures
 figures/*
 !figures/*.svg
@@ -19,4 +23,4 @@ tables/*
 !tables/*.tex
 
 !code
-!code/*
\ No newline at end of file
+!code/*
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index dfb88af..0bb0c8f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,2 +1,13 @@
 # thesis
 epic thesis outlining my plans for total world domination...with puppies
+
+## building
+
+1. convert all the svg images to png images using `bin/svg2png`
+2. build `thesis/thesis.tex` as you normally would
+
+## dependencies
+
+* most of the latex ecosystem (see packages in the preamble)
+* inkscape to convert svg to png
+* probably Linux
diff --git a/bin/svg2png b/bin/svg2png
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..1007461
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/svg2png
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# Convert all arguments (assumed SVG) to a PNG
+# Requires Inkscape
+
+for i in $@; do
+  BN=$(basename $i .svg)
+  inkscape --export-area-drawing --export-type=png --export-filename="$BN.png" --export-dpi 300 $i
+done