FontCreator -- Does Anyone Use It?

[FalTorPan]

I just downloaded the trial version of FontCreator from High-Logic. I've designed a font (in Illustrator), and the (likely long-term) goal is to make a TrueType font of it using FontCreator.

Has anyone here used FontCreator? What do you think of it? Have you tried using vector art from Illustrator in FontCreator? How do you do that, assuming it's possible at all?

If/when I finish this font, I might make a font that I've wanted for about 15 years -- a font based on Franz Joseph's hand-made, templated lettering as seen in the callouts of the Star Fleet Technical Manual and Star Trek Bleuprints.

 

[FalTorPan]

I just finished creating my font's first two glyphs -- the uppercase "H" and lowercase "h." This is kind of fun!

 

[DEWLine]

As a matter of fact, I bought the FCP myself a few years ago. Still planning on getting back to the font projects I've been using it to build sooner or later. Preferably sooner.

 

[doctorwho 03]

I downloaded this program last year to create a font that resembled the lettering in Grease. A friend of mine was in a high school production of Grease and my dad and I filmed it and made a DVD for her.

It's a pretty slick program. I was able to import screencaps from the movie and sort of trace over the actual letters so they looked the same. I just wish I was able to buy the full working version because I can no longer use the trial version.

 

[FalTorPan]

It's good to hear other people's positive experiences with the software. I had designed my font using an old version of Adobe Illustrator, so I haven't had to create the font entirely from scratch. I am drawing them from scratch within Font Creator. I need to see if the software can import vector art directly from Illustrator.

 

[Reverend]

I know that if you save your alphabet as a reasonably large B&W jpg or bitmap, you can import it and FC will auto trace the lettering for you. Not sure about importing vector data directly though, I've only been fiddling with it for a few days myself. Made a nice accurate Minbari font already.

 

[Forbin]

It's things like this remind me of my Amiga almost 20 years ago. I had a cool 16-color bitmap font creator program for it. There are still things I can't do with a PC that the ol' Amiga did.

 

[FalTorPan]

I've heard many people say things like that about the Amiga. I never used an Amiga. What sorts of things could be done with an Amiga that can't be done now? You've piqued my curiosity!

 

[Reverend]

Play Xenon 2 and not have the music sound like total crap...other than that, I don't remember. I had an ST instead.

 

[Albertus]

It's good to hear other people's positive experiences with the software. I had designed my font using an old version of Adobe Illustrator, so I haven't had to create the font entirely from scratch..............

I have to admit, I fail to see the allure of fonts or of creating your own, but I recognise their importance. I guess someone has to do it, otherwise we would have no letters at all.

Star Trek has some of the most recognisable fonts in the world, but as much as I love and recognise them, I don't see the appeal to create them.

A long time ago, I used to work in advertising and the amount of time taken by the art execs over a font was stupefying. (no wonder advertising costs so much........lol)

Good luck in your efforts, perhaps one day, you will design a welcome replacement for Times New Roman.


Not my thumb... It is an eraser.

 

[Forbin]

I've heard many people say things like that about the Amiga. I never used an Amiga. What sorts of things could be done with an Amiga that can't be done now? You've piqued my curiosity!

One of the main things I miss is Deluxe Paint and Photon Paint. Raster paint programs that included fairly amazing animation ability for the time. Keyframing, morphing, ease-in and ease-out settings...

Nothing you can't do in Flash these days, I guess, but much easier to manage than Flash. And of course, the most color you could get out of an Amiga without a Toaster was 8-bit (4,096 colors) and ther highest available res was only 768 pixels wide. Bit still, in 1987, it was awesome.

Plus, of course, it was the platform for which LightWave was developed. I never could afford that, but I had a few very cool 3D rpgrams like Sculpt/Animate, and Caligari (which is still around as TrueSpace).

 

[DEWLine]

You are making me nostalgic for my Algonquin Animation classes, friend.

 

[Forbin]

Oh, and there was a plug-in video transfer device that only cost about $35. It let you record the Amiga's output right to a VCR, and it had simple chroma key (black) capability. I used to use it to do titles for videos of local theater group productions.