Others prefer to jump right into a font creation program like FontForge or FontLab Studio.
Some designers prefer to trace letters using a vector program like Adobe Illustrator. You’ll need to trace these sketches in a font design program and you’ll want them to be as close to proportion as possible. If you don’t have a scanner you can get by with photos from your phone, but a scanned copy of your work is the best way to go. Once you have the letterforms sketched out, it’s time to move into the digital realm.
If you really don’t like sketching then try following this minimalist design guide which explains how to make a font without a lot of drawing.īe sure to finish up your letters & numbers with grammar marks like a question mark, comma, and exclamation point. Then you can draw out the 26 characters in uppercase and/or lowercase following the grid to see how they should look. Don’t follow any particular grid – just doodle away to find shapes you like. It may help to draw letters on a blank sheet of paper first. Your goal is to eventually create a final set of characters that can be scanned into the computer for digitization. There’s a lot of trial-and-error involved but keep in mind this early stage is also the most important.ĭon’t be afraid to revise or make drastic changes to the point of starting over from scratch. All you need is patience to keep trying different ratios until you find a match that looks good. Take a look at this article, Finding the X Height, on finding the measurement of an x-height from pre-drawn letters. There is no exact rulebook for relationships between x-height and cap height, so you’ll need to use your best judgement. Use a ruler to make perfectly straight lines and measure dimensions proportionally. Start with pencil & paper by drawing a simple baseline grid. You may not want to be this ambitious at first, so instead focus on the basics.
Most professional-quality fonts include a standard character map, plus alternative styles like italic, bold, and small caps. If you don’t have much prowess in the way of drawing that’s okay, but it’s highly recommended that you develop some handwriting & drawing capabilities. This is relevant for creating any of the font types, not just for hand-drawn fonts.
The very first step to creating a new font is drawing out your letterforms.
The best way to learn is to dive right in to see what you can make.Įvery professional typographer recognizes the importance of paper & pencil (or pen). But to design fonts, you really need to love & understand typography. When just getting started, you mostly need to understand how your letters should be organized in a grid system.Īt first glance this stuff will be confusing. It helps to know other terms like finial and ligature, but these are admittedly useful in more advanced typefaces. Descender Height: The length of descending marks from characters like “y” and “q”.Ascender Height: Limits the very tip of lowercase letters such as “k”.Cap Height: A line representing the height of most capital letters.X-Height: A line representing the height of most lowercase letters (notably the letter “x”).Overhang: Rounded bottoms of letters like O and B that dip just below the baseline.Think of this like a shelf where the bottom of each letter should rest. Here are the most important things you need to know: If you’re unfamiliar with these terms please skim this typographic glossary published by Codrops. This phase requires knowledge of terms like baseline and x-height. It’s imperative that you understand how typography is structured before you start designing characters. UNLIMITED DOWNLOADS: 50+ Million Add-Ons & Design Assets At some point, you will need a font creation program and I’ll cover the most popular choices to guide you along the way. Bear in mind, I won’t be covering specific techniques in font creation software, but rather the steps necessary to go from initial idea to completed font. This guide is meant for hobbyists and typographers who want to get into the world of font design. Once you understand the steps needed to create a new font, you may be surprised by how easily they can be replicated.
Professional font design takes years to master, but this shouldn’t dissuade you from learning the process. But for what it’s worth, learning how to create a font from scratch is one of the most fulfilling creative endeavors in digital design. It’s rigorous for a beginner and does require an understanding of foundational typographic principles.
Learn more.Įvery digital typeface from free fonts up to a $1,000 font pack goes through a similar design process. This page may include links to our sponsors or affiliate links.