Thursday 14 February 2013


Earlier this week, I discovered illustrator Stephanie O'Hearne's lovely blog. I was having a little read through her posts, and amongst them I came across an awesome little post all about creating your own handwritten font! I have always wanted to design my own font, but quite honestly, I had absolutely no idea how. When I saw a link to a free online tool that makes it possible to design your own unique font using your handwriting, I was desperate to have a little try!

Yesterday afternoon was the perfect opportunity to try it out, and the process turned out to be incredibly straightforward. All you have to do is pop over to this website, print out a copy of the template, and fill in all the letters with a medium-thick black pen. Once finished, you scan the completed template, upload it, wait a few minutes and BOOM your very own font all ready to download! The best part is that, because it's based on your handwriting, it's guaranteed to be totally original. Yay!




[Yes, I even really did create little heart and star symbols as part of my font, I'm cool like that. Ha.]

I recommend experimenting with the thickness of pen you use to fill in the template, as it affects the boldness of the resulting font. My first font was originally written out using a medium-thick black marker pen; for the second, I used a fine-line black rollerball pen. I prefer the second font that I created, as the first is a little too heavy, although it may be useful if I require a bolder font one day.

I often struggle to incorporate text into an illustration, not in terms of composition, but because I usually find it difficult an appropriate font. The fonts I try never seem to suit the illustrations they are accompanying. I think this was a big part of the reason I originally began creating my own typography by hand; it was a way to create a style of text that I felt fit with the style of the imagery, as both were hand-created using a similar process. I tend to prefer the appearance of a more hand-created font, as it gives an illustration a sense of fluidity if image and text are of a similar style. Hand-created lettering has become my favourite way of adding text to an image, but there are occasions when cut-out or hand-drawn fonts are really suitable. I think this is a tool that I would definitely consider using if I required a proper printed font; it would be especially appropriate adding text to a children's picture book, as it has a fairly formal appearance, whilst still retaining a playful, handwritten appearance. 

21 comments:

  1. great news Madi!! and I LOVE your font!!! I'm gonna give it a try RIGHT NOW!!! heheheh

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    1. aww, thank you sweet! i'd definitely recommend giving it a try. it is slightly addictive tho! :]

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    2. I haven't started. but I got addicted already. No printer heading to print out the sheet. -Can't wait to play with this.

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  2. well this looks like awesome fun! will have to do this at some point, I always hand write text in my illustrations but this will make it so much easier!

    cheers :), josie x

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    1. aww, thank you for your comment! :] it is pretty fun, and definitely useful, especially if you want to use a handwritten font in your work. :]

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  3. Thanks Madi!It It is east peasy! Julie

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    1. it is! i was surprised at how easy and quick it was. :]

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  4. Thank you very much, it seems great! I am going to try!

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    1. ah, brilliant! i'd love to see your font when you've finished making it! :]

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  5. omg this is so cute! i am defo gona try it out!

    yaz 'xo

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    1. awesome! i'd love to see the font you create! :] x

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  6. i'm absolutely over the moon after reading this! i'd been using photoshop brushes of individual letters i'd created when adding text to my illustrations and it was just so tedious! definitely excited to try this out :) x

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    1. oh wow, i can imagine how frustrating that must be, you must have a lot of patience! :] i really hope this helps makes adding text a little easier for you, have fun! :] x

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  7. Wow, can't wait to have a go myself. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. aww, no worries sweet! i hope you find it useful. :]

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  8. Thanks a bunch for sharing, it brightened my day!

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    1. aww, yay! that makes me happy! thank you for your comment, it made me smile. :]

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  9. thanks for sharing Madi! will give it a try!

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  10. I've been dying to find a way to create my own handwritten font! I'm so excited to try this!

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  11. How can we download this font please?

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  12. Great article Lot's of information to Read...Great Man Keep Posting and update to People..Thanks illustrationstyles

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