The tg Font Collaboration Thread

[Gare]

Ah, Frances hath returned :)

Hey, toots, I saved you a sheet! One or two need straightening, but I also gave you some big ones.



Let's we focus on the typeface, sure let's practice, but I don't want to go around the bend with the borders quite yet, because I think we need a presentation idea and format.

I really want to show our collaborative efforts off to tg first, and then the world to get more members and more participants in the future.

Community Building, IOW.

Welcome back, Frances. They'll stamp your hand at the door, show it to your server for the free beer—

g

[angelize]

show it to your server for the free beer— Yuck! Could I substitute nice cold iced tea (plain, non alcholic) instead? )

Ahem getting back to the matter at hand I'll start working on these, ( it will take my mind off the dang blasted itching of my healing incisions!)

[Gare]

Here's "Burgeon beta" in original FontLab/Type Tool file format (vfb) and as an Opentype font.

I only have lowercase a-g hooked up, but I thought it might be fun for some of us to see the font in action as it's being built.

Sort of like driving a car at 75mph while assembly line workers are trying to put the hubcaps on.



-g-

P.S. Font Audit is pulling a lot of errors, but some I disagree with, and other need help, Bill. Every ornate Pi font I've ever tried out has yielded scores of connection errors.

[Gare]

[COLOR=#333333]show it to your server for the free beer— Yuck! Could I substitute nice cold iced tea (plain, non alcholic) instead? )

It's an expression from my college days, Frances. You did get your hand stamped to get into high school dances, didn't you?

If not, invite me over and I'll stamp on your hands. It will take your mind off the itching.

-g-

[Soquili]

Gary I agree with you, some of the Font Audit errors are not useful at all. After spending almost an hour of "fixing" some of the errors the glyph was completely trashed. With FontLab 5 it seems the font audit is worthless, the Contour > Convert > Curves to TrueType clears most if not all of the errors without changing the glyph.

[Gare]

Okay, here's an opportunity for a point of information.

There is a difference in how Truetype and Type 1 curves are expressed. Even though our group font won't be going to a Type 1 version, Opentype can support the two types of geometry (TT and T1). Once in a while you might see older versions of Xara report that highlighted text is "Opentype (PS)", which is confusing, and means internally, Type 1 geometry was used in building the glyphs.

Truetype uses quadratic B-splines along curves. Mathematically, it's a verbose language and most of the time a TT font will be of larger file size than an equivalent OTF. Why? Because B-splines require 2 control points off the curve and two on the curve to express a path segment. This produces really smooth curves and is probably why Bill got fewer or no errors when he had FontLab translate a glyph from Type 1 to Truetype.

Here's a screen cap of a Truetype glyph in FontLab, expressed in its native structure and as Type 1 curves.



Me, I'd like to keep with Type 1 curves while working this font together, because it's easier to manipulate 2 control handles over 4.

Let's see how this goes. Agreed, FontLab's auditing feature is a piece of...inaccurate code.

—g

[Purrfeck]

Gare here are the Bergeon stamps. I made one twice and left one off (that I noticed you had made), I can go back and make the one that's missing if you like. Have a look I did the lot on layers and have sent ai files as well. Any that don't work out, you'll have to send back!

[Gare]

Thanks, Michele—

I'm going to look at one of the more difficult glyphs you traced off in a moment in FontLab.

Only two suggestions in the future:

1.) Keep parallels perfectly parallel. There are some straight segments that should be perfectly at 0 or 90 degrees and they aren't.

2.) I think you used more than a necessary number of control points to declare a curve segment, but this is me shutting up now because 1a.) You worked hard and I don't want to discourage you and 2b.)FontLab might think the gylphs are Purrfekt.

Tally so far: I have 100% of Michele's, 100% of Wizard's, Frances hasn't begun yet, Mike did 4 out of ten, and Bill?

No rush, please give us quality over quickness.

This thing is looking awesome. I think it's going to be over 70K as a file, and the ornaments are intricate and gorgeous. The TTF version will be fun to use in Xara 3D, no?

BTW, give us suggestions for credits and how we should advertise this on the forum. Credits will be embedded in the font, as in our names and TG as the origin.

-g-

[angelize]

Actually I have some of mine done, I'm working at them slowly but surely I thought I'd post them when they are all done.

Perhaps an announcement in the announcements section of the forum along with a posting in the free and fixed fonts gallery?

I also have an idea for a future project, I have this nice wall paper in my kitchen that has images of spice bottles and the names of an assortment of spices, I like the lettering, perhaps I could take some photos and we could work from those. The lettering is all caps and we would have to make up some missing letters I have counted 9 missing ones, and there is no puntuation. would this be a do able project?

[Soquili]

Finally finished the last two glyphs of my set.

I followed Gary's lead and put all 10 on 1 layer but each is a different color. The Page & Layer Gallery make selecting the individual draws easy.