Creating a bold version.

heners
26.Apr.2006 3.48am
heners's picture

Hi,

I have created a font in Fontlab. I went to use the inbuilt function to make it bold and the characters have become distorted, additional points have been added and the height in some characters has decresed - do you know what is causing this and is there a way to create a bold version of the type face without these errors occuring?

Thanks.

dstype
26.Apr.2006 5.03am
dstype's picture

Yes! There is no way of just "bolding" a typeface.
You just have to design the bold version. You should understand the specific needs
of your own typeface. Turning bold is not just pressing a button, that's why designing type takes so much time.


heners
26.Apr.2006 5.22am
heners's picture

Thanks for the reply, I knew I would have to make some minor alternations to the font, but not to the extent that it occured.


Nick Shinn
26.Apr.2006 12.46pm
Nick Shinn's picture

However, once you understand how the "Bold" and other transformations work, it is possible to design your face with these in mind, to make "bolding" easier.

Certain kinds of typeface are more amenable to "push button" bolding, for instance light, monoline faces.


dezcom
26.Apr.2006 12.53pm
dezcom's picture

The promise of "Auto" is rarely kept. As Nick says, you can learn some ways to make bolding automation less destructive but there is no avoiding a sound thorough redraw. Think of "Auto" as a starting point only.

ChrisL


Miguel Sousa
29.Apr.2006 1.12am
Miguel Sousa's picture

> and the height in some characters has decresed

This happens when the outlines are in the wrong direction.
Reverse the contours to counterclockwise (Type 1) direction.