My useless fonts

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pia frauss
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My useless fonts

Post by pia frauss »

Hello,

Some months ago, I promised to show up again as soon as I'd completed a reasonable number of fonts -- and now, I'm glad to keep my promise. Of course, my fonts are pure good-for-nothings. If they aren't decorative, they will be nothing else to anyone.

I've set up a webpage where all five fonts (and, hopefully, those to follow in good time) can be downloaded, but since it is the proper time for season greetings -- which the webpage doesn't contain -- they can also be got from here, by clicking on the images.

[img]http://www.pia-frauss.de/pfs/FLl.gif][/img]
[img]http://www.pia-frauss.de/pfs/xnp.gif][/img]
[img]http://www.pia-frauss.de/pfs/WW.gif][/img]
[img]http://www.pia-frauss.de/pfs/xrw.gif][/img]
[img]http://www.pia-frauss.de/pfs/FLb.gif][/img]

Enjoy them, if you've a mind to, and please don't scruple to critisize my blunders! I shall be glad to learn from them.

(BTW, perhaps someone could tell me what's the matter with Simple Glyph $0093 in WirWenzlaw! Validation insists there are lots of contours with incorrect directions, but on checking them, I can't find any.)

Have a nice time!

pia frauss
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vanisaac
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Post by vanisaac »

Have you ever tried reversing the direction of all the contours in the glyph? I don't have font validation (I have the light version) but that seems logical if you've got lots of contours that are wound wrong according to the validator.
Erwin Denissen
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Post by Erwin Denissen »

Nice fonts. Keep up the good work!

On my system (Windows XP) I only get local off-curve extreme coordinates.

What FCP version do you use?

Also what Windows version do you have?
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Jowaco
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Post by Jowaco »

What fascinating fonts and so evocative of ancient handwriting. I love them.

I use Windows ME (4.90.3000) and FCP (4.1.11.159.49).

On checking WirWenzlaw with the validation Wizard, I only saw problem indications for off-curve extremes. No indications of incorrect directions of contours at all.

Joe.
Bhikkhu Pesala
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Incorrect Directions

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

How odd :? I'm using the same fcp verson as Jowaco, but I do get the incorrect contour directions problem (Windows ME). Selectng all and reversing the directions doesn't help. Selecting a few contours in the top left and zooming to selected seems to cause problems with the screen redrawing. The outlines are drawn, but not filled.

WirWenzlaw glyph index 147, character 0181 mu. The validator doesn't find errors in any other glyphs. Correcting the faults with the validator spoils the character, i.e. some white area are no longer white. I will file a bug report for the benefit of Erwin.

I love the fonts, and the way that you have posted the links on the forum, with graphics. The webpage is also excellent.

IMO these complex symbols like the one causing problems don't really belong in fonts. They bloat the font, and would be more useful as WMF.

I note that you have taken the trouble to add a lot of diacritics. Are these additional characters need for Czech or some other language? Just curious. Not many people bother to make such a comprehensive character set.
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Erwin Denissen
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Post by Erwin Denissen »

I've just opened the font on my Windows 95 machine and it incorrectly reports the same problems. As I'm using some core API's from Microsoft I'm not sure if I'm able to fix this. I'll put it on the to do list anyway.
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pia frauss
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Post by pia frauss »

Thank you all so very much for appreciating my fonts and considering my problem!

My system is Windows ME, and I’m using FontCreator 4, but I’ve to confess that I’ve not downloaded the updates.

Indeed, I’ve more than once tried to reverse all the contours of $0093, getting the impression that the number of incorrect contours was likewise reversed. Then I was afraid that the problem might somehow originate from the order of contours, and I tried a lot of “bring forward” and “send backwards” – without the least result. I was at my wits’ end when I posted the fonts, but anyhow I deemed it rather more likely that I might have blundered than that there is something wrong with the program (heretic idea), and perhaps it’s Windows ME that causes the problem?

And yes, the glyph is rather too complicated for a non-symbol-font; but since many font designers include one complicated image in their fonts, I thought that would be no grave mistake.

As to the diacritcal characters, I’ve to confess that, for many of them, I don’t know who will use them. It’s just … you see, I’ve downladed a lot of free fonts those last years, and some of them are very beautiful. Just imagine how frustrated I was when I discovered that they were conceived exclusively for people who wrote in English. As soon as I tried an ä or ß, they refused to work That’s why I cannot bring myself to publish any font without a lot of characters that will prevent frustration at least in some parts of the not entirely English speaking world – even if I havn’t the slightest idea where those parts might be found…
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Take a look at the Letter Database if you want to find out which characters are needed by which languages, or which languages use a particular character.

My attitude is that once the letter forms have been created, adding diacritics is easy, though with script or swash fonts the placement is not as easy to decide as with Roman fonts.

You could save a lot of space and make editing easier by using composites for the characters with diacritics in your fonts.
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Dick Pape
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They Seem Terrific By Me

Post by Dick Pape »

I got here late, but tried all of your fonts in my Win XP, FCP 4.1.11.159.49 and they all validated perfectly. (I'm jealous, I've never personally gotten the "congratulations" message of 0 fixed and 0 remaining!). It did in fact fix 3 glyphs with 0 still having problems across all 5. You don't have a problem on my system! I'll validate your others for you next time free of charge!

Your effort really shows, not only on the lack of validation errors, but in the number and complexity of these glyphs. You should have done something simpler, i.e., arial with regular, bold, italic and bold italic variations. Then arial mirror, regular, bold, italic, and bold italic... You would have had 8 fonts right away.

Seriously, however you might want to look at some of the characters which are straight lines as they look peculiar with the rest of the character set. That is, macron, minus, slash and their variations. Once you get into forward and backward curves, flourishes and swag you just can't afford to stop!

Congratulations. Dick Pape
pia frauss
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Post by pia frauss »

Dear Dick,

Sorry for this late reply; I’ve not been around here for some weeks and didn’t even know there were more answers. First of all, thank you very much for the pains you’ve taken in validating my fonts! And thanks, too, for your congratulations -- they are highly appreciated, believe me!

As to lots of new versions of Arial, you need have no fears on my part. If I should take to redesigning a font that everyone has on their computers anyhow, and that if at all surely can’t be bettered by me, it’d be Trebuchet (my favourite). And even there I doubt whether I’d have enough patience to redesign the same font over and over, unless it could be done with five mouse clicks, or unless I were to be paid for it.

What you say about more swashes may be true in part. I could have been more elaborate with regard to the macrons. The backlashes, however, don’t seem in great need of swashing. I’ve seen lots and lots of fonts, even commercial, even more swashed than mine, where the backlashes were just what they are intended do be, e.g. simply bars. Should I really be more papal than the pope himself (as a saying in my country goes)? Above all, more swashes will swell the files’ size, too, and I’ve already been upbraided on that score. But I shall keep your idea in mind when I revise those five fonts (which I’m afraid will be a question of patience, too), and thank you for the suggestion!

BTW, what scares me most about the possibility of blundering, aren’t the glyphs themselves. It’s the settings board. I'm far from sure that I really understand what all those choices are about; and there, no validation comes in to offer some (ohsoprecious) help.

Glad to have met you

PF
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pia frauss
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For completeness' sake...

Post by pia frauss »

Hello to all,

I haven't been around for some months, but since this is again the right time for season greatings, please let me introduce the six fonts I uploaded to my website in March this year. It's a bit late, I know, but rather late than never...

Wish you a very happy Christmas and a very successful year 2006!

Pia Frauss

Image.Image
Image.Image
Image.Image
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: My Useless Fonts

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

From the Tao Te Ching

Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub;
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore benefit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there.
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pia frauss
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Another year, another set of fonts

Post by pia frauss »

Wishing the FontCreator community a very Happy New Year!

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Lots and lots of thanks for FontCreator ... it's terrific! Some of the features, above all the completing of composites, and the calculating of ascenders/descenders, are way better than anything I'd dared to hope for!

One question, to all the experts who are reading here. My fonts still don't have Panose informations. I simply don't know which are the right choices, to fill in those blanks. Could you, please, help me? How should I describe a font like Love'sLabour, or XalTerion?

And, Bhikkhu, thank you very much for that poem. I never knew whether it was meant as a compliment or a rebuke -- however, it's lovely nonetheless. Perhaps I should have used it for the new fonts sample. Hopefully, there'll be a next time.

All the best,
Pia
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: Another year, another set of fonts

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

pia frauss wrote:One question, to all the experts who are reading here. My fonts still don't have Panose informations. I simply don't know which are the right choices, to fill in those blanks. Could you, please, help me? How should I describe a font like Love'sLabour, or XalTerion?
I am no expert when it comes to Panose information. It is so complex. I just find one that is slightly similar and copy the Panose number from there. The Panose number of Park Avenue BT is 3-2-6-2-5-5-6-8-7-5. Paste that into the classification field and you may be somewhere near.
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pia frauss
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Panose

Post by pia frauss »

Indeed, that's a good idea. Thank you!
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