I've been investigating the possibility of creating a font using my mother's handwriting. Some articles I've read make it sound easy enough (with the right software) and some go into incredible detail for all the intricacies involved. After several weeks of research and reading, I've come to understand that font creation is an art-form unto itself.

In researching font creation using handwriting, very little instruction is based specifically upon creation of a cursive handwriting font. The articles and tutorials are primarily based on non-cursive printing of letters and characters. The goal of creating flowing handwriting, without white space between letters and proper kerning as a font, is beginning to appear far more complex and time-consuming than originally thought.

I was very much hoping there was a paragraph I could ask my mom to write which would encompass all variations needed. Then I could cut, paste, and size (between graphics programs) to adapt the handwriting to those unintuitive, non-cursive-friendly grid templates that seem to be the primary way to enter characters into font software for editing.

I would like to do just the one font. This is not a for-profit project, so it'd be great if the software didn't cost half a fortune. I would, however, prefer the font is complete, functional and useful for anyone deciding to utilize it. This cursive handwriting of my mother's -should- be captured while she's here; It is both unique and elegant, so I am hoping this project is possible.


TLDR; What would you recommend as the best way for a noob to create a font from cursive handwriting?

@KenS: to be realistic, you're not going to be able to make a good cursive font as your one-and-only font. That would be similar to being a straight A student in 6th grade, who was promoted to high school senior, and expected to excel at that level. It could be done, but both you, and your mother, will be disappointed in the results.

At the same time, however, designing a unique and visually appealing script font is very difficult, for anyone other than Måns Grebäck and a handful of others. In fact, many 'original' font designs are digitalizations of script styles that originally appeared in old books, magazines or advertising. The designer sees an old match book cover from the 1950's, and extrapolates what the unseen letters would look like, if rendered in the same style. There's nothing wrong with doing that; even the "Myfonts" designers do that, all the time.

If your mother's calligraphy is, indeed, unique and elegant, why not scan a sample of it, post that sample in this thread, and see if any designers are interested in developing her handwriting into a font. Save your scan in .png format of .tiff, and make it big. Your goal should be to convince a font designer that making a digital version of your mother's handwriting is a better idea than the font they would otherwise do next. The quality of your mother's handwriting, and the quality of your text sample scan, will likely determine whether there is any interest from the designers, and whether that interest comes from the "A", "B", or "C" list of skill.

The impression I get is that you are very interested in having your mother's handwriting be available in digital form, but it's less important to you to create that digital form yourself.

We frequently receive requests in the DaFont forum from people who want to have someone create a custom made font, for their personal use. They usually include a .jpeg image with the letters 15 pixels tall, and ask if they can have it ready by Friday. This is a different situation.

Keep in mind, however, that making a good quality font takes a lot of time and skill. If someone decides to make a font based on your mother's handwriting, the font designer, rather than your mother, ought to own the distribution rights to that font, and any income generated from commercial use. If she's willing to make that concession, someone here may be willing to accommodate you.

@metaphasebrothel, Thank you very much for your response and for taking the time to share your insights!

From reading about font creation, I surmised font designers had to possess a high level of skill and artistic talent. I was/am hoping there is software to assist with overcoming some of the difficulties. Thanks to you, I now understand that cursive script is so far past the typical font creation capabilities as to place those designers in a class unto themselves. That must be why there is a dearth of educational information specific to that process.

My mother's handwriting is not so much a skill as it is a trait. It is not a learned form of calligraphy, just the handwriting used throughout her life. I do not currently have a sample to post, but it is a left-handed reverse overhand scroll type of handwriting. My niece owns a wedding photography business and finds her grandmother's handwriting perfect for creation of wedding invitations. That use, plus an expected future where handwriting will likely become a lost skill, prompted the initial idea.

My mother has no clue I am pursuing this as a potential project. There exists -zero- interest in deriving income from font creation. She is 80 and doesn't need income; I've no interest in profit either. This project exploration's purpose is to determine how to capture the skill for posterity, perhaps even for legacy, then simply release it for free under a Creative Commons license. Even though I own businesses and have no problem with companies making money, I would not be comfortable simply handing over her personality as structural elements for some future product for sale.


I do intend to pursue this, and am still very much in need of recommendations for software and the process to follow. Is there some paragraph or series of holalphabetic sentences I could have her write which would encompass the necessary characters for a cursive script?

Back when I was in high school in the early 70s, I took a typewriting class (before computers using real typewriters ). There were sentences named pangrams which we typed over and over for practice. Repair technicians typically used a pangram to test the typewriters.

Logically, I would assume someone somewhere has developed a series of pangrammatic sentences which would allow the capture of all cursive script components needed to start a project? For those few individuals well-versed in the artistry of cursive script creation, what would their preferred workspace look like?

Thank you for your help, Ken

KenS, if you want to try to make this font yourself, you could read about the various font editing programs on the market in the DaFont FAQ section: http://www.dafont.com/faq.php#create

I use one that's not on that list - ScanFont 3, from FontLab. Unfortunately, ScanFont 3 is no longer sold, and it doesn't work with Windows operating systems that are more advanced than XP. FontLab currently sells a product called ScanFont 5, but it has little in common with ScanFont 3. ScanFont 3 is a stand-alone font editor. ScanFont 5 is a plug-in for FontLab's Studio5 product. The FontLab applications also tend to be considerably more expensive than font editors sold by other software companies.