Design Custom Fonts in Illustrator

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Expensive Days of Font Software
3. Introducing Fontself Maker
4. The Benefits of Fontself Maker
5. Getting Started with Fontself Maker
6. Organizing Your Characters
7. Importing Characters into Fontself Maker
8. Assigning Characters and Checking Compatibility
9. Adjusting Spacing and Kerning
10. Saving and Exporting Your Font
11. Installing Your Font
12. Using Your Font in Adobe Illustrator
13. Conclusion

How to Create Your Own Font with Fontself Maker in Adobe Illustrator

Creating your own font has never been easier thanks to Fontself Maker, a software extension for Adobe Illustrator. In the past, font software was prohibitively expensive, but now you can create professional-quality fonts for a fraction of the cost. In this article, we will guide you through the process of creating your own font step-by-step using Fontself Maker.

1. Introduction

Fontself Maker is an extension for Adobe Illustrator that allows you to turn your hand-drawn characters into digital fonts. Whether you're a graphic designer looking to add a personal touch to your projects or an aspiring font designer, Fontself Maker is a user-friendly tool that simplifies the font creation process.

2. The Expensive Days of Font Software

In the past, professional font software could cost anywhere between $600 and $3,000. This made it inaccessible for most designers and font enthusiasts. Fontself Maker changed the game by offering a more affordable solution for font creation, priced at just $50. With its affordable price tag, Fontself Maker has made it possible for anyone to create and sell their own fonts.

3. Introducing Fontself Maker

Fontself Maker is a powerful tool that allows you to turn your hand-drawn characters into fully functional digital fonts. With a simple interface and intuitive controls, Fontself Maker makes the font creation process a breeze. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced designer, you'll find Fontself Maker easy to use and highly efficient.

4. The Benefits of Fontself Maker

Fontself Maker offers several benefits that make it a top choice for font designers:

• Affordability: Fontself Maker is significantly more affordable than other font software options, making it accessible to designers on a budget.
• Ease of Use: Fontself Maker has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for both beginners and experienced designers to create fonts.
• Time-Saving: With Fontself Maker, you can create fonts quickly and efficiently, saving you time and effort.
• Flexibility: Fontself Maker allows you to customize every aspect of your font, from letterforms to kerning, giving you full creative control.
• Compatibility: Fonts created with Fontself Maker are compatible with a wide range of design software, including Adobe Illustrator and other Adobe Creative Cloud applications.

5. Getting Started with Fontself Maker

To start creating your own font with Fontself Maker, you'll need to have drawn out your characters, vectorized them, and cleaned them up in Adobe Illustrator. Once your characters are ready, you'll need to arrange them in a row from A to Z, 0 to 9, and any special characters you want to include. Each character should be grouped to ensure proper functionality in Fontself Maker.

6. Organizing Your Characters

Before importing your characters into Fontself Maker, it's essential to organize them properly. Make sure you have exactly 26 uppercase letters, 26 lowercase letters, numbers 0 to 9, and any special characters you want to include. Check that each character is correctly assigned and in the correct order.

7. Importing Characters into Fontself Maker

With your characters organized, you can now import them into Fontself Maker. Open Fontself Maker from the Window > Extensions menu in Adobe Illustrator. Drag and drop your characters onto the Fontself Maker window, making sure to drop them on the correct category. Fontself Maker will automatically match the characters from A to Z as long as your letters are in the correct order.

8. Assigning Characters and Checking Compatibility

After importing your characters, it's crucial to double-check their assignments and compatibility in Fontself Maker. Make sure each character has the correct keystroke assigned and that they appear correctly. Fontself Maker also provides compatibility warnings that you should address for optimal font functionality.

9. Adjusting Spacing and Kerning

Fontself Maker offers an automatic spacing and kerning adjustment feature, which is a great starting point for your font. However, it's recommended to make fine adjustments manually after the automatic adjustment. Fontself Maker makes it easy to adjust letter spacing, kerning, and other spacing-related aspects of your font to achieve the desired look and feel.

10. Saving and Exporting Your Font

Once you're satisfied with your font design and spacing, it's time to save and export your font. Choose a name for your font and select the location to save it. Fontself Maker will generate the font file, ready for installation. Saving and exporting your font is a straightforward process that ensures your font is ready for use.

11. Installing Your Font

After saving and exporting your font, you can install it on your computer for use in various design software. Installing your font is as simple as opening the font file and clicking the install button. Once installed, your font will be available for use in Adobe Illustrator and other compatible design programs.

12. Using Your Font in Adobe Illustrator

To use your newly created font in Adobe Illustrator, open a new document and select the Text tool. Choose your font from the Character palette and start typing. Your font will appear as an option, allowing you to create custom typography with your unique design.

13. Conclusion

Creating your own font is an exciting and rewarding process, and Fontself Maker makes it easier than ever. Whether you want to add a personal touch to your graphic design projects or sell your fonts online, Fontself Maker is a powerful tool that offers affordability, ease of use, and flexibility. Get creative and start designing your own fonts with Fontself Maker in Adobe Illustrator.