Using DoubleType

Prerequisites to this document are install and basics. Please read them if you haven't yet. This document is a step-by-step tutorial to create an example typeface.

starting DoubleType

On Windows, double-click on doubletype.jar. On Linux, setup the path to java and type the following:

$ java -jar doubletype.jar

In case you see Japanese user interface, you can switch that into English from language menu, english.

new typeface

Click on file menu, new typeface.... It would ask for the file name of your typeface, so type in "foo". Next you would have to pick a directory where the program would create your typeface files.

Typeface dialog would pop up. Fill in author, year, and license. You can always edit them later. In the code pages section, pick Latin 1 windows-1252 and add it to the code page. By doing this the font file will be recognized as "western".

You can change the metrics, but for this tutorial, just leave them to the default values.

Click close button. Wait patiently while the program generates glyphs for ASCII character set. ASCII covers the basic alphabets.

typefacedialog.gif

search for glyph

First letter to make is "T". Click on search button, and type "T". Glyph form for "LATIN_CAPITAL_LETTER_T" will open.

mode and action

On the top side of the glyph form are mode options, and on the right side of it are action options.

using Rectangle module

Click on module mode. Grid and lines would show up. From the top, the lines are ascender line, meanline, baseline and descender line.

adding module

Click on add action, then click on to the drawing pane.

addmodule.jpg

point mode

Click on point mode to see the module in point view.

removing point

Click on remove action, and click on the orange point object that says 3.

removepoint.jpg

Now remove point 2.

moving point

Click on move action. Then drag point 1 above point 0.

movepoint.jpg

zoom in

To get finer control of the points pick 1024 from zoom.

moving module

Click on module mode. Click on move action. Drag the module on the baseline, and the third pixel from the left.

Move the points so the module is vertical and 7 pixels high. Remember that the cap height is lower than the ascender line?

add another module

Add another module to make the horizontal stroke. Leave the right most pixels blank as right side bearing. I usually set no left side bearing.

anothermodule.jpg

building typeface

Since we have a glyph, let's build a TrueType file to see how it looks.

Click typeface menu, build TrueType. Wait while TrueType file is being built. After it's done, preview form will show the TrueType file.

previewform.jpg

tweaking

Looking at the built TrueType, the horizontal bar looks too thick on 14 pt. I would like it to be 1 pixel wide, but it seems it's coming out as 2 pixel.

change body size

Change point / em to 14 on the draw pane.

preview mode

Click on preview mode to confirm the horizontal stroke is coming out too thick. You can move it slightly lower to avoid the upper pixels.

compound glyph

Next, we will make h by combining two glyphs.

adding empty glyph

Go to typeface menu, add empty glyph. Enter glyph's name as "vertical". Now you have a glyph that's not tied to any character code.

copy and paste

Go back to LATIN_CAPITAL_LETTER_T, click on module mode and pick action. Then click on T's vertical stroke. From the keyboard, press Ctrl + C to copy the module into clipboard.

Now go to "vertical" glyph we created and press Ctrl + V to paste the module. Align the module to y-axis, then move the top point till the ascender line.

adding include

Click on search button, and search for h. Click on include mode, and add action, then click on the drawing pane. File open dialog will pop up, so select "vertical.glyph" file. Add another module to complete the shape of h.

curves

curve.jpg

Right-click on the point to make it off-curve.

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