Code tutorials ?

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Soleille
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2017 6:15 pm

Code tutorials ?

Post by Soleille »

Hello : )

I've finally managed to do what I wanted (free true cursive font for teachers and pupils), mostly thanks to the help found on this board. Here is a screenshot of my font :

Image

It's the first version and there are a lot of problems which remain to be fixed.

I spent some time reading code written by other people and in order to make a perfect font, I need to read tutorials about how to code when creating a font.

So, are there tutorials which could teach me/help me to understand coding in FontCreator ? I'm talking about the code itself (classes, functions, etc.) and the way to use them in FontCreator.

Thank you ! :)
Jonne Haven
Posts: 441
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:02 pm
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii, USA

Re: Code tutorials ?

Post by Jonne Haven »

Cursive Example.png
Cursive Example.png (168.9 KiB) Viewed 5295 times
Here is an example of my own cursive font. Notice that the glyph changes when followed by an apostrophe or a capital letter or other symbol. This applies to all the glyphs in the alphabet.

I plan to sell this font so I won't paste my code in the public forums. I'd be happy to PM to you if you're interested, the coding is quite complex and subject to my own predilections. Maybe you'll find it useful.

Blessings,

Jonne
Leon Gauthier
Posts: 127
Joined: Thu May 07, 2015 6:07 am

Re: Code tutorials ?

Post by Leon Gauthier »

Man, Jonne, that is a nice looking font you have there ... well done!
Jonne Haven
Posts: 441
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:02 pm
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii, USA

Re: Code tutorials ?

Post by Jonne Haven »

Wow Thanks,

Makes all that meticulous kerning worth it to be appreciated!

Blessings,

Jonne
Jonne Haven
Posts: 441
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:02 pm
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii, USA

Re: Code tutorials ?

Post by Jonne Haven »

Dear Soleill,

Some points of interest to do with my contextual cursive are :

I have about 40 calt entries doing different things.

Noteworthy is that I have 4 lowercase alphabets.

#1 letters that occur inside a word
#2 letters that are truncated when preceeding
#3 letters that begin a word
#4 letters that end a word

And of course a capital alphabet some of which have connecting tails.

Connecting the tails properly and pleasing to the eye is the hardest part...but given enough time, it can be done.

Please do ask if you have specific questions.

Blessings,

Jonne
Soleille
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2017 6:15 pm

Re: Code tutorials ?

Post by Soleille »

Jonne Haven wrote: Fri Aug 04, 2017 10:37 pm I have about 40 calt entries doing different things.
Yes, this sounds very interesting, provided there are explanations given : not sure I will understand the code without comments...

I've sent you a PM. :)
Erwin Denissen
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Re: Code tutorials ?

Post by Erwin Denissen »

We mostly have snippets spread around this forum.

For most things it is easiest to visually add the OpenType layout features, and then later study the script code.

If you have a specific request do let us know.
Erwin Denissen
High-Logic
Proven Font Technology
Jonne Haven
Posts: 441
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:02 pm
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii, USA

Re: Code tutorials ?

Post by Jonne Haven »

Soleille

Erwin is right...the code is not that user friendly. Even if I gave you the code, it would be too much to explain. I can give you tips though and perhaps you can send me your project as you get further along.

Noteable is that I use only Calt and of course kern, last I checked Init didn't work with word processors. So all my code entries are pretty much "chained contextual alternates". You use this feature to tell the program what to do if it preceeded and/or followed by glyphs, like substituting the middle letters for beginning letters if proceeded by a space. Once you learn how to use this feature effectively you can use the logic to do just about anything with your font. So I'd begin there.

One other tip is to use the same beginning of each letter (the way the letter starts) for all of each letter in the alphabet, that way you can make a letter's different versions into a class and kern that class so that the kerning applies the same way to each letter of the class. This will save you tons of time.

I suppose the best thing to do is try it out and if you get stuck, I'd be happy to answer your questions.

One question I have is are you going to have different glyphs for different positions of that glyph in a word as I have done with my font? If so, this is why "classing" is so important to saving time.

Blessings,

Jonne
Jonne Haven
Posts: 441
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:02 pm
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii, USA

Re: Code tutorials ?

Post by Jonne Haven »

Soleille,

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5804#p26497

You might want to read this thread. It starts with me buying FontCreator and all the building blocks of support for my questions I had. Maybe a few things will pertain to your own project.

Blessings,

Jonne
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