Are you allowed to tweak the spacing or add/subtract parts? Fontstruct is awesome but sometimes the loss of a kern is catastrophic. Also serifs ruin spacing with the auto spacing. Regarding spacing/metrics and so on please read:

http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/faq/fonts/can_i_control_the_metrics_gener...

Ooooh! I'm in! Guaranteed to place last, but in!

This has no right side serifs extending except for a few letters like x because it plays merry hell with the spacing.

Ooh, Eben, it looks like I'm looking through a microscope at some chromosomes.

It needs to get more chromosome-like before I am done. The p needs fixing for instance - lower connection to the stem...

Beautiful, Eben. Even nicer than I expected. That really proves that we need to refine FontStruct's gallery widget. Love the way you've used smaller dots to emulate antialiasing.

Joe - get your Punchcut boys in here. They have made some excellent text-worthy FontStructions.

Hi, long-time lurker here.
Spent most of this weekend trying to do just what the topic ordered.
Take her out for a spin here: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/1967

Ben Townsend Hamm

Ben, Very Nice!

You forgot to link to yours, Eben. Here it is.

Thanks! I improved it a bit last night. It has fancy numbers now & a better "p" among other things. I will post a new image Thursday.

A spacing workaround: you can add more left sidebearing by leaving grid spaces between your glyph and the left guide. Jordic used this technique on all characters to loosen the spacing on his BB Tempo Extended.

About time i posted something! Here's my second fontstruction. Too bold for a lot of text, but oh well.

Link: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/6962

By request, the image size has been changed to 550px in width. This should solve the scrollbar issue.

This is Eerostyle

"Joe - get your Punchcut boys in here. They have made some excellent text-worthy FontStructions."

And girls!! Punchcut has female employees as well. :)

http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/11154

EDIT: Still tweaking a few things

Sorry Molly! Hadn't seen any of the Punchcut girls on FontStruct, but I could be missing someone.

i am a girl, stewf and you know I am on FontStruct :(

Whoops! And in the top 10 at that! I guess I don't think of Zara as a Punchcutter. Zara is her own entity.

Okay, let's get in there quick before I get put off by everybody else's masterpieces!

Excuse the quality of the image: I'm on a machine that doesn't have access to Photoshop or anything useful, so that was straight out of FontStruct's preview window and saved through Windows Paint! (ahem...)

I have slightly narrowed the cap S since taking this screen shot.

Link: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/12566

______________________________________________
Ever since I chose to block pop-ups, my toaster's stopped working.

I really need to get back to work, so here is my attempt:

It's got several strikes against it in terms of readability as a text face. Most obviously, it's a modern with extreme contrast--so extreme that the horizontal hairlines are merely suggested and not actually connected.

Link: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/12896

Stephen, Eero Saarinen rocks! And so does Eerostyle--it really seems inspired by Saarinen's work. I'm impressed with everyone's work so far.

I NEED TO FIND OUT IF ANY OF YOU HAVE THE "NEW" FREE SCRIPT FONT THE NAME IS "FREE SCRIPT".......IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE AND RIGHT NOW I AM CURRENTLY A STUDENT SEEKING A GRAPHIC DESIGNER'S CAREER......I WOULD DEEPLY APPRECIATE IT.....I LOVE THAT FONT........
THANK YOU AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

MEGANHILL

Excuse the quality of the image: I’m on a machine that doesn’t have access to Photoshop or anything useful, so that was straight out of FontStruct’s preview window and saved through Windows Paint!

Hey, clever trick - that fuzziness really helps iron out one's diagonals! :-)

But seriously, Ubiety works really well! Good job, dtw.

Megan,

This isn't the proper thread to be asking those kinds of questions. Please read the FAQ on Free Fonts:

http://typophile.com/node/14652

http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/avenida

Hammer+Sickler

Permalink: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/12159

Transliterated lyrics from the former Soviet National Anthem.

Note: The lowercase, punctuation and figures are, um, teh suk right now so ignore those.

I'm sort of liking how chunky and imperfect this is, in a Rodchenko poster kind of way. (All or most of Rodchenko's lettering was hand-drawn). But this still has some trouble spots, like the weight of horizontal strokes in the E don't match some of the others.

I think the A needs to descent below the baseline, like the Cyrillic D, what do you think?

That is truly awesome, I can see it now screenprinted on funky posters in limited edition runs, appearing in images on the web held up by designer's fingers. I haven't had the chance to look at the tool yet but I'm impressed with everybody's efforts.

Here's another one:

http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/bubblewrap

This came out very much like a bitmap font, but with rounded corners. I can't seem to figure out how to control the width of the space. It came out very narrow, so I had to type two in a row to get an acceptable width when I set the sample in Photoshop.

Very nice Mark. By the way, sorry I missed your visit to SF. I was home with a sick 5 year old.

"Hey, clever trick - that fuzziness really helps iron out one’s diagonals! :-)"
...Good point, Eliason. Yeah, sorry about that. Sort of. :-D

Still like Eben's dotted font: kinda reminiscent of Rian Hughes' Monitor but more readable without having to stand well back.

______________________________________________
Ever since I chose to block pop-ups, my toaster's stopped working.

@Joe: Likewise. Sorry to have missed you.

{Edit: forgot to link you up! Leiria is here.}

Mmmm, now that works.

Here's my ever-so-cruddy contribution to this thread. I'm not going to vouch for anything about it other than that I had a tonne of fun making it! Oh, and having used the mighty Windoze paint to create the PNG, the anti-aliasing is screwed up. Best bet is to look at the original.

You can find the original here.

ruben: THAT IS AWESOME! I knew mine was crap but I didn't know just how crap it was until I saw yours...

Oops… I meant «… worked OUT great!» Damned typos! :D

Thank you very much, metalfoot. :)

ruD

Eben's is quite good, and the effect that you get with Joe Pemberton's kicks ass. I'm hoping to see something created on Fontstruct that may become the new Helvetica or the new Caslon… xD

No, serious. I'd really like that.

ruD

Joe, that design is brutal!

Ruben - love your ampersand and especially your asterisk!

Usually when I hear brutal in reference to design it means you're bleeding out of your eyes. Can you clarify? =)

I'd not tried setting Struktur in a paragraph yet, and this reminded me of how much FontStruct needs some metrics control. I added a few ligatures to help with some of the spacing issues (and for extra coolness factor!). Stewf, the left sidebearing trick only works in the FontStruct preview, not in the actually font, unfortunately.

:)

http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/2483

5char

-=®=-

Hooray!

The name will probably change; I was running short on creativity.

http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/13136

Edit: apparently I forgot to turn off spell-check. Oh, well.

Just noticing how a lot of sets look flawless in paragraph (Eric's, Dmitry's and Ruben's just to mention the last ones), a thing you can't tell just by examining the fonts in FontStruct display.

Really surprised by what I'm seeing here! Bravo to all!

I will have to get my revisions down & set a new proper sort of paragraph to see how it compares. This has been a good type battle. I think Rueben's design might make a nice "real" outline font - in the right hands. It has a lovely ampersand.

*crossing my fingers hoping I've got the right hands*

I've been considering that, Eben. Do you think it should completely echo what it looks like on this level or do you think it should have quirks of its own on the outline level, when there's a lot more "pixels" to fill?
I've been thinking: is there a way to embed bitmap fonts onto a regular font? Because I'd like to be able to control hinting on regular outline faces the way you'd make a pixel font and make different typefaces altogether for different screen sizes that would be embedded into the original outline font file…

Oh, and thanks! To Em42 and eliason, too. :)

ruD

Eben's and Ruben's are magical, I've gotta say.

A modest attempt at some kind of bodoni-esque face. Never made a typeface, so fontstructor was lots of fun. I have just fulfilled the minimum - lc - so far.
Link: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/15332

Procrastination spurred this typeface with which I spent very little time.

Some of these remind me of the old bitmap fonts on the original Macintosh. Kottis's is Chicago and Ruben's is New York.

Do you think it should completely echo what it looks like on this level

It doesn't have to no, and it is probably not a good idea actually. There does need to be a relationship for sure but what that is precisely is better determined by how it would look in outlines and in print. It's a tough thing to do if you have never done it but it might be rewarding/fun too.

Thanks Ben!

Dmitri, I love that lowercase. Lots of great stuff here. And even more gems at FontStruct. Great way to end the Battle for the week.

James, I know I'm getting old. In my day brutal meant punishingly uncomfortable.

And, I have to point you to the Punchcut crew at FontStruct. Look for commandzed (Zara), nathancox (Nathan), b boy stylez (Justin), garphynk (Gareth) and sorry Molly, I don't know your user name.

Stewf, looking forward to future generations of FontStruct. Kudos for such an innovative product. I had a moment of joy when I downloaded my FontStruction (free) and installed it with Linotype's FontExplorer (also free).

Eh eh, Fontstruct is so much fun. I didn't know about such a ¡ awesome ! toy.

If you want to look at it with more detail:

http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/14322

He he. André

Yeah, thanks, laserj! "Magical" certainly is a great compliment! Maybe even a bit of an overstatement… :P

Bo constructor is looking pretty good in a paragraph, Fredrik.

ruD

Ruben:
Sua fonte Leiria é coisa de profissional, e é difícil acreditar que seja montada com FontStruct. Gostaria de "adotá-la" para meu uso. Os algarismos "elzevirianos" (é assim que se diz?) são esplêndidos. Só me faz falta - para escrever em alemão - o eszett (ß). Parabéns aqui do Brasil!
Your Leiria font is professional work, and it is hard to believe it was assembled with FontStruct. I would like to "adopt" it for my use. The old-style figures are splendid. For me it only lacks - in order to write in German - the eszett (ß). Congratulations here from Brasil!
Ronald Kyrmse
ronald.info.ms

Obrigado, Ronald! I'm glad you like it. :)

I didn't even know the word "elzeviriano", but I just checked and it does exist; it refers to the characters used by the Elzevirs, apparently – whom I'd never heard of… —, but I don't really know if that's how you'd refer to oldstyle figures. Most of what I've learned about typography is in english, so I don't even know the portuguese words for most things… in fact, I'm so used to hearing and reading english that sometimes I have a hard time thinking in portuguese. :P Not that I can't communicate in portuguese, though.

Anyway, your wish is my command! The eszett is done. Tell me what you think of it, because I'm not used to it and I've never drawn one before, so I'm not sure if it's ok…

ruD

I just tried it. It probably needs a larger eye, doesn't it? The bottom curve gets a bit too dark… anyway, tell me what you think. :)

Corrected it, think it's ok, now.

ruD

Zara just reminded me, this Battle isn't over until Tuesday. So, um, git 'er done.

Workin' on that kerning... You never did say if that was a-cheatin'...

Uniball Serif: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/9974

BONUS: Can anyone guess where the name Uniball comes from?

Very Nice indeed.

Those serifs really help with the spacing/kerning on a pixel level, geez… I had to mangle some of the letterforms so the final kerning wouldn't be so terrible… so this really isn't Leiria Sans as I initially intended it to be. I called it Leiria Bad Sans Informal; with this name, it's actually not bad. :P

Nate, Uniball's sweet! Congratulations! Uniball… they make pens, right?

ruD

@ruben: Thanks. And yes Uni-ball is a pen brand but it's not the whole story behind the name.

See, a tool so simple that a project manager can use it!
http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/15551

Revised EXP

The lower case is kerned now and has complete serifs but the upper case is not done.

I'd change one or two things – I think the hyphen needs to be a bit lower, for example –, but otherwise, that looks great, Eben. :) Isn't it a bit too tight, though?

ruD

Nate: Of course Uniball is an anagram of Lubalin!
Ronald Kyrmse
ronald.info.ms

Ruben: Thanks for the eszett! Obrigado -
Ronald Kyrmse
ronald.info.ms

Lexip

A: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/15694
B: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/16435

Ruben I tried it wider. I think I would end up deciding depending on how big or small it was going to be viewed. In metal type the spaces between letters get bigger as the font get smaller. Here is EXP2 suited to smaller settings. Now with Caps. And a fixed Hyphen.

It might be fun to kern this for optical & print rather than grid & screen based purposes...

And maybe make some contextual shapes. :-) the "r+a" looks good. The "s+a or m+a" could use an extra small dot on the end of upper left arm. Milan needs fixing (M+i)

Quote.
I guess the competition have got'em dotted out by Eben's font. LaserJ font gives me some ideas and question is, can I use it for free? Learning as a Unique Individual seems fun and I vote for it to be used only in 72 pt or up. Eero Saarinen is unknown to me but it actually could end up used on a architect business card. SlabStruct Too is awesome and makes me cry, as I lost a slab serif to a melted hard drive ;;;-). The Mole is still working and "O blowed"(ed) my had off... Jongseong Modulern also works great in 3 inches size :-) The Avenida do Senhor de quarenta e dois anos está à medida and I wonder if sua Illvstríssima Vosmicência náo será un heterónimo deveras fortíssimo... I did indeed required a backup plan before the fall of that hard drive and I excuse myself but I get to say I would like to make a recut of it but shaded to fit it in a cartel españolo, As for the Hammer+Sikler it is a marvelosity with wrong reading R´s, hehe. Bublewrap appears to have been sketched before proceeding to moving the blocks in place. Leiria which was never meant to be so large or small has already been targeted to be noqued asap. Metalfoot's font would work great if plated from 24 points and up. The Terrible thing is that I love back letter. T80´s cyrillic paragraph looks like hieroglyphs to me but the readable part actually collects my sympathy for the sinking "i". Hooray Doc Dr, I guess you gave me a idea: I will include the spell checker red dots in all of my typos and the "W" is evi-lish plus stylish. Bo Constructor is a PIXdoni of elevated stature and therefore extrim good at larger sizes. Hofwebber´s fast creation so far is awesome when used as 10 inches sizes. AGL's (who is this guy Anthony?) is a effort dimmed by a prosthetic hand. Thank God the text is not mine ;) Russelin 5char looks very cool; to be complete the puzzle I would ad a swastika ornament. Natecox Unibal Serif will be download know. Mollymonter´s chickens actually are looking at ya. Eben's Revised EXP has got a small cap kern treatment and the text is good (where does it come from?). And to complete this comment Leiria Sans Is not bad at all, I will not try to predict if it will remain untouched...
Unquote.

¡ Hehe !

André

And here I thought I was the only one with nothing better to do, André! :P

Those anagrams always slip right by me! You're right, Ronald! And you're quite welcome. :)

Lexip and Lexip B would be great if it wasn't for that pesky spacing problem… I hope they come up with some sort of spacing control that allows us to better fontstruct soon.

And you're right, Eben; it would depend on whether we used it for display purposes or for running text. But I do seem to have a tendency to always kern everything on the wide side… (this reminded me of that song: “Hey, babe… kern the face on the wide side…”)
Anyway, that's a tough kerning job you've got there (not that there are many easy ones, I guess).

Overall, I think I'd vote for Uniball (and it rhymes, too).

ruD

Ronald wins. Uniball is indeed an anagram for Lubalin. I knew if anyone could decipher and appreciate a lame type nerd anagram joke it would be Typophiles.

Nice stuff, everyone!

A new battle has just been posted: http://www.typophile.com/battle22

I think there's some very nice work been done here. My vote would go to Eben (cleverly managing to get both the first and last words... ) or Mark's Bubblewrap, as I think they make excellent use of - while highlighting - the modular structure of our new favourite online app. I'm hooked.