in the next release, it would be great for there to be a quill or calligraphy tool with different types of pens/quills that the user would employe inside the glyph window to quickly and easily draw the glyph/character. it’s great to have the point-by-point control for tweaking and fine tuning, but it would be nice to just pick a pen type, tip width and behavior, and use a pen tablet or mouse to draw the glyph real-time in the program. then, if one wished so, one could switch to another mode and edit the points.
I agree, this would be a nice enhancement. For now I suggest you use dedicated image editing software like Adobe Illustrator, Corel Paint Shop Pro, or Inkscape. Paint.NET can be used as well, but is less sophisticated.
I agree too - a freehand tool would be really great, especially with a graphics tablet. Though the quicker image import in v6 makes it easier to quickly construct a face from glyphs drawn in external apps.
Erwin, are there any plans to expand the functioning of this tool - eg calligraphic strokes?
It would be nice to be able to draw a vector calligraphic line, then adjust it, before applying it as a new contour.
Without in any way contradicting the good idea of the original suggestion, may I mention the following as worth trying with the existing facilities of the professional edition?
Firstly, draw a clockwise calligraphic line as you wish it to be, then join the end to the start by a series of straight lines such that there is no overlapping of lines along the way and such that a clockwise contour is produced. There is thus one contour.
Secondly, adjust the shape of the calligraphic line as you choose. There is still one contour.
Thirdly, use the Glyph Transformer and apply the Hollow transform. There are thus two contours.
Fourthly, join the two contours somewhere along the straight line parts. There is thus one contour.
Fifthly, delete points from the straight line parts so as to produce a calligraphic contour that, after a little adjustment at the ends, can be used to construct a calligraphic glyph.
William Overington
7 August 2012