Make Your Own Font

Surfing the web and having interest in typography casually,  other than serif and san serif there are also a line of fonts categorized as  handwritten fonts. Being “handwritten”, of course basically it had to be started as handwriting. Have you ever thought about making your own handwriting as font? Making digital diary seems more real, making digital card more personal, making your cheat sheet seems like it’ s handwritten (or is it just me?)

There are some service online on building a brand new font made from your handwriting. For most of them, you have to pay, if not, you can only use it in that site. There are some applications that you can use in making your own font. In building mine, I use High Logic Scanahand, here is the step-by-step tutorial. The things you need in this:

  • working computer, especially in Windows
  • High Logic Scanahand
  • printer or tablet
  • scanner
  • writing instrument

1. Install the software
First you have to  install the software, can be downloaded in here. Open the software and choose Step 1, Empty Template.

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2. Print the template
If you don’ t have tablet to input your handwriting, you have to write it on paper. Please write all the characters in the template, preferably by pen or ink if you want to make it all nice, you can write it on straight line with ruler. If you want to make it more realistic, you can just write the character inside the box, as crooked as it is. After you fill all of them and satisfied, follow next step.

image

3. Input the handwriting
After all’ s finished, scan both template. You can do it by scan the printed templates with your writing directly to the software or load the image file. I do it the second way. Open the software, load the first image to page 1 , and load the second one to page2.

image

4. .Finishing
Moving to Step 3, Font. Click Generate. In Font Setup, type your Font Name and it’s copyright. After you finish all of the step, you can edit the result character by character, using FontCreator. if you are satisfied, you can save the font or directly install the font. For naming your own font, you can just go to literal way like my font or something font-like, like mine is Crimsonglyph.

Untitled

After you finish, you can install your font in every computer you want and just use it. Other than your own font, you can just make decorative fonts easier (but the result will be better if you make it from scratch in computer using other software).

image

That’s it. Simple. Personal. How about your font? What name you put for it?

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About Ky

Currently Indonesian university student trying to submit more useful contents to share one's limited knowledge. Rather has wide, shallow interests, the writings will be as sporadic as it can be. Should write more scientific and field related topics, but writing muse says otherwise. Expect more on technical related writings especially softwares and apps, cultures, music, and random things.

Posted on July 13, 2012, in Making, Plugging, Teaching and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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