Improvements to the Font Generator
We’ve made a couple of improvements to the “Font Mortar” which is the software which glues your bricks together and generates the TrueType fonts on FontStruct. These are the first of a number of planned changes to the font generating features.
The first change effects the height of the fonts. A lot of people have noticed that FontStructions often have to be set at crazily large point sizes to be legible. This should no longer be the case with fresh downloads. Also the FontStruct icon which is used as the “empty glyph” in every FontStruction is now scaled properly so it doesn’t dwarf other characters.
The second change deals with word spacing. Early on, FontStructors discovered that if you built letters starting one or two bricks to the left of the “LEFT” line, you could get around the automated one-brick-spacing between letters. Until now this trick only worked on the FontStruct website. Now it works for downloaded FontStructions too. So classics like Marshmallow Script, Ice Box or Epiorque Joined should now work as expected without any need for manual spacing. Support for adjusting word spacing in a more intuitive manner is on its way.
One side effect of these improvements is that most fonts downloaded from now on will have slightly different vertical metrics (heights and linespacing) and possibly different horizontal metrics (word spacing). So if you have used FontStructions in any existing artwork, you may want to make a copy of your old download before you grab an updated version.
By Rob Meek (meek) | link | 9 Comments
This should fix a lot of the problems. I hadn’t heard of any issues in Dragon of the Seas or Freeman Industrial, but I had had some issues with the x-height with other FontStructions.
Comment by Raymie — July 29, 2008 #
Ha, ha, I was working on a type specimen for a fontstruction when this upgrade happened. For a second I was quite perplexed after installing a fresh download when all my characters doubled in size with completely new metrics! Then I intuitively knew Rob was on it and he must have fixed the crazy scaling issue. Nice work, and nice to see this post to confirm it.
About the old kerning trick making it through the mortar phase – does this mean that default metrics for each letter can be calibrated (with one-brick precision) by shifting the characters left or right relative to the left side bearing? Or does Font Mortar only pay attention to when we shift to the left of the left side bearing as in those examples?
Thanks again!
Comment by williaum — July 30, 2008 #
I have mixed feelings about these improvements, it might be due to my fragmentary knowledge on type technology.
I have only done one font yet. With the newly downloaded font, I can get rid of the negative tracking, which is great.
Something strange happens to the font sizes and rendering appearance, though. The font worked best with 3 sizes before: 32, 64 and 128px. The whole thing seems to be shifted now: when I set text in 32px with the old version of the font, I now need to set it in 64px to achieve the same dimensions and so forth.
The font now works better in the smallest size (64px) and also with anti-aliasing turned off. But in 128px size (former 64px), it looks more blurred with whatever anti-aliasing method I use (in Photoshop). I definitely prefer the old version here from a graphical perspective. It’s sharper and the “circle holes” of the “perforation” (also in 1/4 and 1/2) are bigger and more defined.
This, as I mentioned, might sound a bit obsolete for RealTypographers™, and I know this is no support line here, but I wanted to mention it anyway. The font I did needs some explanation, which I added to the description field but now it’s not really correct anymore. I just don’t know what recommendations to give now, since I could not achieve an output comparable to how it was before.
This is how it looks with the old version of the font. And here’s an example of the new version of the font (anti-alias settings are exactly the same, just had to move the text 2px to the right overall).
Thank you and have a great rest of the day.
Comment by Christophe Stoll — July 30, 2008 #
I love the idea and the product.
Any chance of adding an option where we can put two different bricks in the same square? Or that is already available and it is just that I don’t know how to do so?
Anyway…, again, great idea!
Best, San :)
Comment by Sandra — July 30, 2008 #
@williaum
Yes, effectively you can adjust the left side bearing now for any letter by shifting your letters left or right relative to the ‘LEFT’ line. You can’t adjust the right side bearing yet though.
@Christophe
I see what you mean. That’s unfortunate (I really love Postcode), but I do think the new version will be better in 99% of cases. It’s a shame there isn’t a finer degree of control over the antialiasing in Photoshop.
It would be interesting to see a version of Postcode with the curved shapes replaced with something else, like the tetris-like corners (near the bottom of the All Bricks palette before the triangles) or the smaller set of curved corners — This might give you some different antialiasing options. You can make such a version quite easily using the Clone button, and the brick-swapping technique.
@San
There isn’t such an option available at the moment although williaum has documented an ingenious hack for this (see his comment lower down). It’s not officially recommended, endorsed or supported though ;-)
Comment by Rob Meek (meek) — July 31, 2008 #
Thanks your your answer! I figured that the anti-aliasing in Illustrator looks better. I’m also going to try the finer anti-aliasing adjusting capabilities in Flash and Fireworks.
Maybe it also has to do with getting used to it. I just started liking its aliased look actually, which works much better now than before :-)
Great tip with the brick replacement, didn’t know you can do that. Now all I need is the ability to rotate and mirror a selection ;-)
Comment by Christophe Stoll — July 31, 2008 #
Thanks Rob, that’s great news! Very ingenious how you got us this one step closer to having metric controls.
Just wanted to also let everyone know there I documented a new, simplified, highly accessible method for brick stacking here.
Comment by williaum — July 31, 2008 #
Can’t see the hack, Meek!
Comment by Raymie — August 2, 2008 #
@Raymie
see Williaum’s comment for a working link.
Comment by Rob Meek (meek) — August 3, 2008 #