Made my first Letter ever! Feedback is appreciated

Isak Samuel Abelsen
Isak Samuel Abelsen Posts: 2
in Technique and Theory
Here is my first ever letter, made in Glyphs. Please i need feedback so i can learn! Also need tips for plugins that is good for Glyphs :smiley:


Comments

  • Thomas Phinney
    Thomas Phinney Posts: 2,883
    Nice start! Congrats.

    The topmost point of the arch curve, both the inner and outer contour, are a bit too far to the right and feel like they have just the slightest bit of a kink in the curve.

    The bottom left part of the bowl is a bit squished in, and the bottom-most control point can move a bit left (mostly outside, but the inside a smidge as well). Note that moving the control point alone is not enough to fix the outside, the handle will also have to be lengthened.
  • Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian
    Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian Posts: 2,044
    edited February 2021
    Is it an "a"?  ;->  Any letter can work... if it works will all the other letters. So now you have to make some more. I'd recommend you do the "e" next.

    Even just with this one letter though there's something that can be pointed out: establish how thin you'll go, and use that for all the thinnest parts. So for example if the bottom connection is your thinnest, make the curling-in part at the top the same (or vice versa).
  • Isak Samuel Abelsen
    Isak Samuel Abelsen Posts: 2
    @Hrant H. Papazian Thanks so much, ive been reading about optically balancing tho. How do i know when to break out of following "rules", such as making all my thinnest parts the same?
  • Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian
    Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian Posts: 2,044
    Isak Samuel Abelsen said:
    How do i know when to break out of following "rules"
    "The gods refuse to answer. Because the gods do not know."
    — William Addison Dwiggins
  • John Hudson
    John Hudson Posts: 3,186
    There are two basic questions to ask in type design:

    1. Why is this the way it is?

    2. What are the implications of this being the way it is?

    The first question forces us to look at things and think about them. If we can’t come up with an answer to the first question, then we probably won’t be able to think through the second question. The more distinctive or unusual features a letter has, the more instances of this question there are, the more reasons why to consider.

    The answer to the first question can be ‘Because I like the way it looks’, but that shouldn’t be the first answer, only the last, after all the other possible answers have been considered (because it is the least useful answer). And if ‘Because I like the way it looks’ is the answer to the first question, that doesn’t get you off the hook for the second question, because everything in type design has implications beyond itself.

    The second question forces us to look at things in relationship to other things, and to think about those relationships. If I make the upper terminal of the a in a particular way, what implications does that have for the terminals of c f j r s? If the bowl of the a joins to the stem in a particular way, what implications does that have for the bowls of b d p q?
  • Nick Curtis
    Nick Curtis Posts: 118
    I find it pleasing to the eye; however, I have some doubt about its ability to maintain its unique character at smaller sizes.
  • Daniel Calders
    Daniel Calders Posts: 16
    With regards to your question about Glyphs plugins: 
    • Glyphs has a very welcoming and active forum, see https://forum.glyphsapp.com/
    • The most basic plugins for someone starting imho are Angled handles, Stem Thickness and perhaps Red Arrows

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