The Unicode bitmap font from Minecraft, also known as GNU Unifont. The game has a font priority system called "providers" that looks for bitmap data for a specific character in the non-Latin European character set first, then in the accented Latin character set, then in the game's low-res default font, then finally here, in the high-res Unicode character set. You can override this priority system by going into Options... > Language..., then setting "Force Unicode Font" to ON.
The game stores this font in images containing 16 rows and 16 columns of characters. Each character is 16 pixels wide and 16 pixels tall, totalling 256 characters per image. Each image represents one Unicode codepage, and there are 256 pages, which covers characters U+0000 to U+FFFF. Control characters and most CJK characters are omitted here, because FontStruct doesn't officially support them.
The font is not monospace, however, so the effective widths of each character are stored in a separate file called glyph_sizes.bin. Information for each character is stored in one byte, and the upper and lower 4 bits of this byte represent the start column and end column with a number ranging from 0 to 15, where 0 is the leftmost column of the character's allotted 16x16 space, and 15 is the rightmost column, respectively.
Knowing all of this allowed me to automate most of the steps involved in creating this recreation. I did not use the FontStructor to make this, I instead used a program to directly interact with FontStruct's API. It is possible to add unsupported characters to a font with this method, but I chose to stay within the limits of what is officially supported.
Semiserif semispur minimalism.
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This design uses a few novel glyph-shapes and techniques to achieve its look. Most notable of these is the serifed a which lets the serif protrude to the right. I avoid this feature in almost all designs, especially pixel fonts, because it adds an unnecessary 1px of spacing - but for this font, the feature can be included without changing anything for the worse. Many other glyphs have this same sort of protruding serif/spur, and the slanted geometry of the serifs/spurs affords them a look that "retreats" from neighboring glyphs, rather than seeming to protrude into them.
V0.2.6: Finished Cyrillic.
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A small scale faux-bezier design with a cutout-esque look. It offers different advantages at different sizes. Most glyphs are legible down to 4pt.
As this design evolves, it gives me an increasing "board games" feeling. This design seems very well-suited for board game parts, especially cards and smaller plastic pieces.
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This has a few notable design features:
- Asymmetry helps keep letters like bdpq from being confused for one another
- Serifs and flags accomplish the same thing for groups of similar letters such as ce and ftſ
- Semiserif style helps reduce the need for kerning to almost zero
- Simplified polygons and counter shapes help pixel optimization
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See also:Cartoon Riot
A variant of Tangereen 3. Hard to read, but has a certain ornamental appeal.
Lately, I've been busy learning 3D modeling, vector art, and digital art things. So I only envision myself making more FontStructions when I need them for an existing project. I've already done all the designs based on my own past work - or at least, all the ones that are possible to create here.
This is a clone of Tangereen 3Paradoxy Effect, without the Effect. Quite a drastic transformation!
This is a clone of Paradoxy EffectI finally made a folded-/ribbon-style design. This one contains a number of experimental techniques. Most notably, the swept parts of glyphs are allowed to extend beyond the letterwidths and sometimes even the baselines. This enhances the sense of movement, creates some interesting linkages, and reduces the need for kerning.
All of these shapes can be constructed with paper or ribbon, although lots of clever folding tricks, doubling, and pinning down/securing with glue would be required.
Alternate tilde on "±".
Third iteration of Tangereen with a bit of Paradoxy Effect. This one is rather fancy, so probably best used as a Display font.
The center portions of these glyphs make me think of sliced oranges and moon phases. They could act as cabochon settings, as well! So you could use these shapes to make jewelry set with a birthstone, monogrammed pendants/insignia, and so on.
A skeletal version of Modron March.
This is a clone of Modron MarchI use multiple text editors, and made this font to be an alternate font for Windows Notepad.
This was designed to be similar to Marengi Mk2, the font used in my FS Tutorials. Apart from using a smaller grid size, Eglantine achieves a closer line spacing through the use of short ascenders/descenders and the removal of the dots from i and j. It is also more condensed and optimized for speedreading, resulting in a font that is pleasant to read despite being quite small.
This design does have some wasted matrix, but this is necessary to achieve the desired effect. The global matrix is still only 7px tall, so this can still be used on most small canvasses.
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Original Size: 4.5pt
A continuation of Tangereen. This version took a lot of figuring out and a lot of changes, both aesthetic and structural. I managed to make it different from other double-line designs like Glitzfang and Junglira while still keeping it simple and cute.
This is used in FS Tutorials, FS Idea Soup, FS Obscura, and most recently, AMFA's 3D printed parts.
This is a clone of TangereenAn experimental design using 1/8 weight lines alongside 1/16 ones. The 1/8 lines are the smallest that can be accurately nudged. Centering them is still a problem at times, and I need a few impossible composites to perfect the glyphs ABEFHKQRXYijkx34789, but overall I'm quite fond of how this doodle turned out.
I think I could use some intensive compositing to get rid of the central dividing line in glyphs like A and H. I'll give it a try when I can.
A design that combines tropes from fantasy, sci-fi, and sports in a subtle and pixel-optimized way.
Structurally, this looks like a high-res version of Marengi Mk2. There are still plenty of differences between the two, but since they seem equally readable to me, I'm tagging this as a chat font.
A design that combines decolike asymmetry with a double line concept. It also incorporates some experimental methods to unify the wider glyphs (mw@#™, etc.) with the others, by allowing the middle sections of these letters to have both the single and double lines. This results in a look that is at times architectural and at other times almost like loopy cursive.
An alternate take on Eyeball Kids which has more expressive eyes.
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Making this has given me an idea for an ASCII Roguelike tileset wherein lowercase letters represent juvenile creatures and uppercase letters represent adult ones.
This is a clone of Eyeball KidsThe new Eyeball Kids™ from Pixel Kitchen® are the best way to get your child interested in experimenting with eyeballs. Color 'em! Italicize 'em! Throw 'em into oncoming traffic! Abuse 'em all you want because EYEBALL KIDS ARE ETERNAL.*
! ! ! DO NOT FEED EYEBALL KIDS AFTER MIDNIGHT ! ! !
* - Eternal under normal use conditions. See the enclosed manual for terms.
Linestrider's two-lined little brother.
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Probably won't update this one again, because it uses a lot of brickswapping and so it is likely to get corrupted by additional editing/saving.
This is a clone of LinestriderA font which uses some custom macaroni bricks. This one has the same kind of structural asymmetry as Phenomenologist. Angles and corners on the left are almost always sharper than those on the right, which gives glyphs a structural asymmetry as well as a sense of rightward momentum. This technique also imparts variation to some otherwise very similar letterforms (bdpq, mw, sz).
This is named for a species of android from Doctor Who.
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Other design decisions:
- Make the ascender height shorter than the uppercase
- Use squares for dots/diaresis and circles for punctuation, so that they are more quickly distinguished
- Allow the sharp curve and gentle curve to swap positions when it's beneficial to the glyph (BX8&)
- Incorporate angled lines into several glyphs so that none of the glyphs which have them seem out of place (SZsz012569*~$)
- Ignore the other design decisions for glyphs which need a standardized look due to their use in programming and other syntax-based forms of writing (most symbols & punctuation)
The final Laconica?
This idea emerged while making Laconica Skeleton, so I decided to carry it out. The design reminds me of blueprints and floor plans, thus the name.
This is a clone of Laconica SkeletonVersion 1.1: Improved gy&Ѐ.
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A greatly condensed Modron March.
This is a clone of Modron MarchIteration 4: Basic Latin kerning finished.
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DOODLE DOODLE DOODLE!
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Design Rules:
1. Letters with spurs will have the spur begin at the baseline. This provides the distinctive "high heeled" look.
2. Any letter whose traditional design has a straight vertical line on its left side will keep the line, no matter how the lines of the actual letter travel.