FontStruct | FontStruction Feed: Portia

Comment from intaglio

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I find the angles challenge of FontStruct neverendingly interesting. The ultimate (of this sort of) font for me would highlight rather than hide FontStruct's curvelessness, and yet be a beautiful font nonetheless. So far I've managed the first part of the equation!

Comment from kix

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

interesting flair of greek i this one. innovative and unusual. in small sizes probably high legible. cool

Comment from intaglio

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for the big vote, kix! That z is a bit of a gawky child, don't you think? Not quite sure what to do about it.

Comment from Axel Leyer

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Nice...It looks like it was stone craved...:) Wait you to finish the u/c to download...

Comment from intaglio

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Decisions, decisions... I love FontStruct. Should I keep the spikiness of the font(as in the alternate cap S) or smooth it out as in the chosen S glyph? So far I'm leaning towards smoothing everything out. But not so much as to lose the spiky transitions. I regard "fake" curves (see Experiment) as something of a FontStruct cop-out. I want to be able to see the construction, but in a pleasing form. In other words, in this font I'm having a bob each way. What is it I'm groping in the dark for? I admire Fontstructions that suggest curves in the conventional manner -- 45deg angles at the "corners" of letters. When done properly it's wildly successful. What I'm groping for is probably beyond my technical grasp, if indeed it's possible anyway. I want to create a pleasing suggestion of curves using the other bricks where many more elements need to be managed. The relationship if interior to exterior angles; the ratio of straight bits to angled bits; the adherence to the "look" of the font. Not that every half-decent font doesn't need to address these issues. It's like a scab I can't help picking. A lot of ugly fonts (Svengali, Quickie, Dwarven , etc) have erupted on the way to finding out. Somebody tell me: is this a mad, impossible quest? Is it doable at all? By the way, I'm an ignoramus: I don't know how to make a hotlink to the fonts themselves. But I don't mind being instructed, if anyone has the inclination.

Comment from thalamic

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000
Ctrl+C the URL of the font you want to link to. Then plop it between the quotes in the code below. Change 'DisplayedText' to whatever you want the link to read. That's all.

Comment from thalamic

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000
Remember to close the tag.

Comment from thalamic

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

For example, the following links to this font.

Comment from intaglio

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks thalamic for your clear instructions. Now I can join the 21st century, sort-of.

Comment from intaglio

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Well. I've established that this font isn't really going anywhere. I wonder, am I done with these sharp angles now? Just as much effort went into this interesting failure as any of my other more successful ideas. Sometimes you just have to thrash the box to see if anything emerges. Perhaps not this time.

Comment from geneus1

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I like the chiseled, pointy nature of this, intaglio. It's interesting how you label it an "interesting failure." Your methodology of creating fonts reminded me of a statement made by one of my favorite movie directors, Robert Rodriguez. He referenced a book that mentioned creative approaches in art, citing a pottery class as an example. The class was divided into two - those that can choose to create one perfect pot for the whole semester, and those that can create a multitude of pots. It was discovered that the students creating many pots ended up with the most creative creations because they discovered along the way what worked well and what didn't. It totally reminds me of your path. So personally, I don't see your designs as failures, but if you must label them as such, you can think of the process as "failing forward," my friend.

Comment from intaglio

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I guess it's not a failure if it's an end in itself. Which it is. I enjoyed doing it, learnt a bit more about how to join loops to stems and tried my hand at oldstyle figures (not awfully bad but not good either). I'm up to the eighties in more-or-less completed fonts, but of those, there'd only be three or four I'd actively want to use. Those are the ones I think of as successful.