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unexpect result from an action in Fontlab
The line on the right is the original vector.
The line on the left was the result of;
>Tools >Action >Effects > Shadow. (values set to H 50, V-50 width line outline 10)
The action created a number of extra glyphs which we superfluous, but understandable, as they were at intermediate points between existing nodes on the original line. Some of were actually necessary to keep the distance between tin in-line and outline consistent.
What was a puzzling and a little annoying was that at random intervals - not in every glyph but often enough, Fontlab inserted nodes on top of each other and some nodes that effectiely folded the line back on itself.
Does anyone have any clues to why this happens or ways of preventing it from happening?
Thanks
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21 May 2011 — 5:07pm
I suspect this is a result of the curve being kind of weird to begin with. I can't see the whole path, so I may be wrong, but that on-curve point is in a very awkward position that doesn't really fit the technical definition of a well-drawn path. So it's probably not what the kind of path the code was written for.
22 May 2011 — 9:15am
Does anyone have any clues to why this happens
FontLab's path outlining routine is buggy, and often creates snails or overlapping nodes.
or ways of preventing it from happening?
Do path outlining in FOG: its routine usually results in too few, rather than too many points...
22 May 2011 — 10:33am
IMO "Contour > Paths > Make Parallel Paths" is the smoothest FontLab tool for this sort of thing.
25 May 2011 — 8:55pm
Thanks gents.
Awkward curves... perhaps, but not in every instance. I like to think it is something as straight forward as that because that I can recognize and fix. What I'm looking for is predictability.
FOG I ain't got at the moment. Sounds like fun though. I can have a feast or I can have a famine.
The thing I was after was the drop shade effect and, while I can see how I'd be able get that with "> Make Parallel Paths", but not without an extra step or two which could result in an entirely new set of artifacts in need on a manual clean-up.