Spending too much time examining and studying amazing designers such as Zapf and Slimbach, you get an itch. This is the byproduct of such an itch. This is a first for me. It has been completely rewarding.It is far easier to create a silly display text where the creator isn't subject to the history, legacy, and stylistic tendencies in typography.
Attempting a serif opens you up to a world of scrutiny and pain. Such is life. I couldn't bring myself to taking the lazy way out with a knock-off display type. I'd much rather subject myself to the ruthless and systematic dismantling of typophiles - otherwise what is there to learn? Even though this is far from finished, it has proven an extremely valuable learning experience.
If it is possible, I have even a greater respect for the craftspeople of type after this exercise.
Thanks to all of your for your interest and support.
8 comments:
I was just about to ask what type of font you were working on.
So-far this is looking rather nice to my (untrained) eye.
@Kid.Pro.Quo:
Make no mistake - it is a heck of a step upward for me. I am not a typophile by a long, fat, wide margin. Typography also taxes my meager abilities to their limits. I have learned far more with this exercise than I have with just about every other effort.
It is purely a byproduct of interest in the field.
Very nice font design.
What tools are you using to create it?
@microUgly:
It's all using Inkscape. Basically I started with a calligraphic stroke with tweaked width / thinning / etc. I model the various glyphs to some of the more inspirational typefaces I have come to admire.
After that, I merge the strokes into a unionized path. From there, take the strokes and force them into a standard serif format. Tweak and twiddle then cleanup further.
Getting them into FontForge is a nightmare at this point. Forcing all of the glyphs to a 1000x1000 canvas is a complete mess as then your kerning tables are completely bunk and you will end up manually creating kerning pairs for every single possible combination.
Trying to work through it. If anyone has decent advice, let me know. The Inkscape SVG font creation is not working properly either.
Still a wonderful educational evolution.
I too am no typophile, but here are my first impressions:
- the dots on the i and j seem too perfectly rounded for this caligraphic font (almost out of place)
- I really like the non-symmetrical serifs on letters like f and q
- looking at p and q side by side looks strange (too many differences in the design)
- the flowing g is a really nice letter
- the curve on the s looks bent to my eye
- the inside peak on the o and other rounded letters might get overbearing in a full document, but lends character to short phrases
- the h, m, l, n, etc... are nice plain letters which give the overall font balance
- the horizontal lines on f, t, and the little horizontal thing at the top of g (as well as the tails on e, j, and t) give the overall font a very sharp quality that makes me think if I mishandle it, it will cut me
I think that last point, combined with the calligraphic lines, give the font a real attitude, as if it came directly from a person with that attitude. (I don't mean you have that attitude, but he who writes a message with this font does) I like it though.
@Eric Hedekar:
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'll do my best to explain some of the murky bits:
(1) RE Dots - It isn't a calligraphic font, although the layout echoes to illumination and that might be cheating the net sum slightly. There is a sharper cleft style where the stroke transitions on the bowls / counters, but it is still well off from a script face.
(2) RE Serif Asymmetry - that isn't my idea, sadly. Serifs on f and q are customarily asymmetrical in some incarnations. Again, I am trying my best to stick within a clearly defined humanist serif structure already laid out. I have probably pushed the extension a little far, but again, I still have yet to see it kerned etc.
(3) RE p and q - You are comparing the wrong two letters. Again, the bulk of our typography through the ages has its ancestral roots in classical calligraphy. As such, the nature of the pen axis dictates how bowls are formed. If you want to perform a proper analysis of strokes, the comparison should be within b / p and d / q. See below.
(4) RE s - Indeed it is 'bent'. That's a stylistic choice, and one that I am gradually adjusting. The aim is to be strictly humanist with modulated stroke. Whether or not I have pushed it too far is still in question.
(5) RE inside 'peak': Probably tied to (4). If and when I can get the thing into FontForge I can show a body of text with it. Thus far, the modulated stroke is pretty heavy on the whole - which is more greatly suited for smaller point sizes. I'll let you be the judge when I can get a sample of text created with it.
(6) RE sharpness - Yes. That is a legacy from the original strokes I set down and decided to keep it as a stylistic flair. It was a happy accident for me.
The above evaluations are not intended as a 'rebuttal' - the face still has quite a way to go before it finds its own. In particular, things like the s and z (not shown) are very difficult to balance colour wise. So yes, it has further needs that require addressing.
Here is an analysis of the letters in question for your perusal. The analysis is in no way an attempt at some sort of quality comparison to my work - the faces you see in it were designed by absolute masters of type. They are provided merely to highlight some of the key points people often overlook when taking quick examinations of type.
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/9599/comparision.png
@Eric Hedekar:
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'll do my best to explain some of the murky bits:
(1) RE Dots - It isn't a calligraphic font, although the layout echoes to illumination and that might be cheating the net sum slightly. There is a sharper cleft style where the stroke transitions on the bowls / counters, but it is still well off from a script face.
(2) RE Serif Asymmetry - that isn't my idea, sadly. Serifs on f and q are customarily asymmetrical in some incarnations. Again, I am trying my best to stick within a clearly defined humanist serif structure already laid out. I have probably pushed the extension a little far, but again, I still have yet to see it kerned etc.
(3) RE p and q - You are comparing the wrong two letters. Again, the bulk of our typography through the ages has its ancestral roots in classical calligraphy. As such, the nature of the pen axis dictates how bowls are formed. If you want to perform a proper analysis of strokes, the comparison should be within b / p and d / q. See below.
(4) RE s - Indeed it is 'bent'. That's a stylistic choice, and one that I am gradually adjusting. The aim is to be strictly humanist with modulated stroke. Whether or not I have pushed it too far is still in question.
(5) RE inside 'peak': Probably tied to (4). If and when I can get the thing into FontForge I can show a body of text with it. Thus far, the modulated stroke is pretty heavy on the whole - which is more greatly suited for smaller point sizes. I'll let you be the judge when I can get a sample of text created with it.
(6) RE sharpness - Yes. That is a legacy from the original strokes I set down and decided to keep it as a stylistic flair. It was a happy accident for me.
The above evaluations are not intended as a 'rebuttal' - the face still has quite a way to go before it finds its own. In particular, things like the s and z (not shown) are very difficult to balance colour wise. So yes, it has further needs that require addressing.
Here is an analysis of the letters in question for your perusal. The analysis is in no way an attempt at some sort of quality comparison to my work - the faces you see in it were designed by absolute masters of type. They are provided merely to highlight some of the key points people often overlook when taking quick examinations of type.
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/9599/comparision.png
@microUgly:
It's all using Inkscape. Basically I started with a calligraphic stroke with tweaked width / thinning / etc. I model the various glyphs to some of the more inspirational typefaces I have come to admire.
After that, I merge the strokes into a unionized path. From there, take the strokes and force them into a standard serif format. Tweak and twiddle then cleanup further.
Getting them into FontForge is a nightmare at this point. Forcing all of the glyphs to a 1000x1000 canvas is a complete mess as then your kerning tables are completely bunk and you will end up manually creating kerning pairs for every single possible combination.
Trying to work through it. If anyone has decent advice, let me know. The Inkscape SVG font creation is not working properly either.
Still a wonderful educational evolution.
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