Happy holidays and a small gift
News | Rob Meek (meek) | December 24th, 2010
Dear FontStructors,
Thanks to everyone for another wonderful and creative year of FontStructing. FontStruct continues to grow and flourish with more than 350,000 FontStructions in the database and almost as many registered users. More than 15,000 original font designs are now being shared, and can be viewed and downloaded from the gallery.
New Advanced Feature: Brick stacking with Composite bricks.
As a small seasonal gift, we’re rolling out a new advanced feature allowing users to create even more custom brick shapes: You can now stack “composite” bricks on top of other simple or composite bricks. If you’re not sure what “brick stacking” is, or what “composite bricks” are, please read this help article first. Here are some examples of the new feature at work, creating new bricks:
– The original simple bricks are in grey. In yellow are composites. The stacks, including composites are in black.
Here’s a more practical example, based closely on one kindly submitted by riccard0:
– The stacked composites are in black. (Thanks too to aphoria for his example of another situation in which stacking composites could be useful).
I’m really looking forward to seeing what the FontStruct community can do with this new feature. Please let us know about any problems.
Two caveats: You still cannot work the other way around i.e. you can’t make composites using stacked bricks; and there is still a limit to the total number of simple bricks that can be involved in a stack – Until today it was 6, now it is 12.
What else is new?
Since the start of the new sponsorship deal with FontShop and the adjustments in legal ownership we’ve been busy moving servers, switching domains and other unglamorous, technical twiddling. As some of you may have noticed, we’ve also added some advertising to the site. I hope you find all find it unobtrusive, perhaps even interesting. Either way, carrying advertising should cover most of the server costs and free up money for maintaining and developing the site.
You may also have noticed a selection of typography and design-related Amazon products appearing in our “Bookshop” on the right-hand side of many pages on the site. If you ever want to buy a book at Amazon (even if it’s not one which we display), please do start shopping by clicking on one of our links – then FontStruct will get 4% cut of the profit.
Finally, and most importantly
Happy holidays to everyone!!!
Happy holidays, Rob! ❄
– Gustavo Ferreira — December 24, 2010 #
A Top gift. Good times ahead.
– djnippa — December 24, 2010 #
What a great xmas gift, Rob! Thanks for another great year.
– aphoria — December 24, 2010 #
Did u (intentionally) use stacks and\or* composites in that Christmas tree Fontstruction?
*Probably just “and.”
– Bismuth — December 24, 2010 #
Thanks for the lovely Christmas present Rob … it’s just what I wanted :)
A Merry Christmas to you and yours
Ray
– p2pnut — December 25, 2010 #
Thanks Rob for this new gift. My secret wish for 2011 : that you find the sorcery trick to improve the letter width green bar up to half brick, or even quarter brick, (i saw you nodding, Intaglio !) to rivalize with kerning of non modular softwares. Happy holidays to to you back, Master Meek, we’ll never thank you enough for this wonderful tool/toy of creation you put in our hands ! Frankly, i would never even dare think i’d add to my art skills the typographic medium if i wouldn’t meet Fontstruct, the first time i tried a vector software, i was discouraged after 5 minutes. Even if my designs seem to make all they can to break modularity, i’m a constructivist by nature, real drawing is difficult for me, i just use unusual basic elements or constructive logics because of my baroque sensibility. :0)
– neurone error — December 25, 2010 #
¡Feliz Navidad para toda la Comunidad FontStruct! (And thanks for this new bricks/gifts!)
– elmoyenique — December 25, 2010 #
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS GIFT! :D
– 3moDuDe — December 25, 2010 #
best gift ever :D
– Adien Gunarta — December 26, 2010 #
that’s all I wanted for christmas!!
– caliopigio — December 28, 2010 #
I would like to point out two things. Firstly, aphoria’s example can be made with previous composites. Secondly, I guess the probably the most common use of this new feature would be to create serifs. Thanks anyway for this lovely Christmas gift, and happy new year to you all.
– 3moDuDe — January 2, 2011 #
@3moDuDe Yes, my example can be made as a composite, but being able to stack composites means I only have to make 2 composites instead of 3.
For me, the biggest advantage will be where I need intersecting angles that were not possible to make with just one composite.
– aphoria — January 3, 2011 #
@aphoria Well, if you’re like me (the lazy kind who flips and rotates composites whenever he can) the stacking wouldn’t work and it would be easier to make a new composite. Just saying.
Yeah I think the intersecting angles are quite a significant use of this feature, especially in K and Y.
– 3moDuDe — January 4, 2011 #