For those interested in fonts and graphic design

[bobistheowl]

Some of you know that I design computer fonts, as a hobby. I'm working on a new font that requires extreme precision, as it has a lot of parallel lines and lines that continue, with a gap in between. It's nearly impossible to judge those sort of things by eye.

I'm developing a new procedure which is very slow when done manually, but it could be automated, and incorporated into a font editor at some point in the future, (but not by me!).

What I do is create a test font with the current version of the letter, (glyph), I'm working on, install that font, display it in MS Word at a very large point size, (I use 288* points, with source graphics about 244% larger than standard - I can adjust them proportionately in about two minutes, when I've finished editing), then I copy the text into MS Paint.

* to create text at this size in Word, I have to select the paper size to maximum, (22 x 22 inches).

When the text is pasted into Paint, the size will be reduced to 75%, so the bitmap I create will be 216 points size, (288 x .75). At this size, the text will be monochromatic, (black and white), as opposed to black, white, grey, beige, off white, etc, if the text was smaller.

In the bitmap image in Paint, I can enlarge the image to eight times actual size, and enable grid lines. This lets me draw where my lines should be. I assume that most straight, diagonal lines should have slopes that can be expressed as a fractional number, with a small denominator, like 1/1, 2/1, 3/1, 7/4, 10/3, 16/5, etc. I can draw a line in the bitmap that exactly follows the slope I wish to create in the vector.

The bitmap image I'm editing is at exactly 1/4 scale, meaning that if I enlarge the vector in my font editor to maximum size, four movements of a vector node, (the points that define the shape of the glyph), will move a pixel exactly one square in the bitmap. Effectively, I can make changes equivalent to about one millimeter, if the image was 14 feet tall.

I can compare the predicted path of the line I draw to the actual line, (the black part of the bitmap). This tells me where to make changes to the vector image in my font editor. It gives me an idea of how far I need to move the node(s), and in which direction(s).

After making some changes, I save the test font, and repeat. When I can make no further improvements to the bitmap, the vector image in my font editor will be as close to perfect as is possible - some errors can't be corrected, because the natural line from one fixed point to a fixed plane can fall in between two editing coordinates, as happens four times in the V, (below), where each of the lines with a small red square next to them are either one pixel too long, or one pixel to short, (one pixel is 1/96 of an inch square).

Here are the four letters I've completely edited, so far, with the editing lines shown in light blue and red. I didn't draw any of the black; it's the current state of the vector, displayed as a bitmap. These images are best appreciated if enlarged to 800% size, with grid lines enabled:

Note: these images have been resized to fit the forum window. You can see them at actual size here:

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/277/j2kk.png

http://img547.imageshack.us/img547/9212/ala4.png

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/6500/d512.png

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/1117/a1ra.png

(The straight horizontal and vertical lines indicate a plane to which multiple nodes are aligned).

~bito

 

[Anynym]

Your font looks nice, but that process doesn't match my expectations for 2013 state-of-the-art for font design tools. Are you sure there isn't a better set of tools out there for what you're doing?

 

[bobistheowl]

Thanks for the reply.

First, there is no currently existing font editing software that performs the task that I'm doing. I am hopeful that, at a future date, such software will exist. I believe a computer programmer could write code that would automate my manual procedure, and incorporate it into an as yet undeveloped font editing program. I'm still in the theoretical stage - to my knowledge, the four letters shown above are the only ones anyone has ever edited to this degree of precision, by any method.

Before you can find a fast an efficient way to do something with a computer, you first need to be able to tell the computer what you want it to do. I'm currently at that stage. If a font editor had diagonal guidelines with variable slopes that could be 'dialed in' to show where a line, originating at a fixed point, would intersect a specific horizontal or vertical plane, I could perform my tasks in about 10% of the amount of time they currently take. If a font editor could display the X and Y coordinates of the intersections of horizontal and vertical editing units, I could determine where to place the variable point with a simple algebraic equation. Right know, as far as I know, there's nothing that exists that can do that, other than my slow manual procedure.

The minimum distance I can move a node, in any direction, is about 1 millimeter, if the image was about 6 -14 feet tall. I can simulate that size by using the maximum enlargement settings in my font editor, but the bitmap image I use is only 1/4 scale, (I can't make it larger), so I'm looking to find a specific location to place a node that is currently located somewhere within a 7x7 matrix, represented by a pixel in my bitmap, (ie: since my bitmap is 1/4 scale, moving the node 1, 2, or 3 units in the font editor might or might not move the pixel in the bitmap to the adjacent square in the grid).

I get an idea of how many units I need to move the node, and in which direction(s), by seeing how the current position affects at least two lines. Since all of the black contours are enclosed, every node is part of at least two lines, and many nodes can be aligned with other nodes vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. The alignment possibilities only present themselves when other nodes in the alignment have been properly placed. It's a bit like solving a Sudoku puzzle, where the sequence in which the problems are solved is a factor. It's also a bit like playing golf, with a ball, and the hole, being one millimeter in diameter. It's very easy to get close, but difficult but not impossible to find the precise locations. Only the precise locations, however, will align properly.

I don't design fonts for a living, it's just a hobby of mine. A big part of its appeal is that it costs nothing to do, unlike many other hobbies. I can also do it as often or as infrequently as I want to, at any hour of the day or night, when I'm at home. I can't justify the cost of buying expensive, state-of-the-art software to do something that, (probably), will generate little to no income.

The font editor I use, (ScanFont 3), is no longer sold or updated, and it doesn't work with Windows operating systems released after XP. That rules out many recent softwares that only work with more current operating systems.

I can't draw any images from scratch; I can only modify existing images. I wish I could, but that's a talent I wasn't born with. More accurate drawings can be made with Adobe Illustrator, but I don't have the art talent to use many of Illustrator's tools. Owning a Porsche would not make me a better driver.

I have to make do with the skill and software limitations imposed on me.

 

[bobistheowl]

There's no lower case, but there are small caps, which are similar to the letters in the first post, but without the shadows. Many of the small caps have thinner stems. I have to draw most of the symbols/ punctuation. I've done about 15 so far. I have some number designs, but I won't be working on them until after the letters already in the font have been fully edited.

I don't know why you think "no one will use it but me". I expect a lot of people to use it, mainly for titles, signs, athletic logos and academic apparel. It would look great on a sweat shirt, spelling the name of a college or university. My other fonts have close to one million total downloads, so some people are using them.

ScanFont 5 is a very different product from ScanFont 3. It's a plug-in for FontLab Studio 5. ScanFont 3 is a stand alone font editor, (meaning that you can create and modify fonts with it). I work with monochrome bitmap source graphics, usually manually traced from pictures downloaded from the Internet. I use oversized graphics; ScanFont 3 can handle those, other font editors will resize them. I'm not looking to use new font editing software that currently exist. I already have them all.