correct node placement?

hyeeun

This is my first time writing a post, so there may be mistakes.
If there are any, please let me know. Thank you.
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I feel lost....

I'm unsure where the correct positions for D1 and D2 should be, and I don’t know what factors to consider in making this decision...When it comes time to finish a long curve, I feel like just placing D1 and D2 points, relying on intuition.
The curvature of P1 and P2 also looks awkward.

I want to move the point located at the very tip of the stroke (the sharpest point) to position A.
However, no matter how much I adjust it, the handles connected to the extremity get tangled or just don't look natural. The overall balance doesn’t seem right either.

Should D1 and D2 be positioned on parallel lines?
Would it help if the positions of D1 and D2, as well as the length and angle of the handles coming from those nodes, were all identical to achieve a smoother connection to the extremity?

What is the ideal position for D1 and D2, and how can I make P1 and P2, which connect the extremity to D1 and D2, look more natural?

I would greatly appreciate any advice 

*I’m also attaching other letters that I’ve drawn to clarify the issue.

Yves Michel

I should say there are no rules: it all depends on the shape you want to achieve.
Personnaly, I would'nt be satisfied with the lower end of the vertical stroke (the "stick" on the right).

Concerning the placement of the A point, I use the ability of Fontlab 8 to move a node while staying on the curve, thus not changing the curve (of course this changes the handles. I don't know if this functionality is available on the other softwares.

John Hudson

As a general rule, first try to place nodes at extrema with perpendicular control handles, and see if it is possible to define the curve as you want it in this way. If it is not, then move to angled control handles or, in the case of short, shallow curves, dispensing with nodes along the curve. Nodes at extrema enable accurate calculation of bounding boxes and, hence, things like sidebearing values, so although not as critical as they were for rendering in lower resolution environments, they remain a useful technique to always try first.

If you are running into many situations where you can’t get the kind of curve you want, that is usually an indication that your UPM value is inadequate to represent the fine details of your design. In that case, doubling your UPM value and scaling up the outlines and metrics will usually help (I recent quadrupled the UPM value of a project, and have had a much easier time with fine details since).

hyeeun

Yves Michel said:

I should say there are no rules: it all depends on the shape you want to achieve.
Personnaly, I would'nt be satisfied with the lower end of the vertical stroke (the "stick" on the right).

Concerning the placement of the A point, I use the ability of Fontlab 8 to move a node while staying on the curve, thus not changing the curve (of course this changes the handles. I don't know if this functionality is available on the other softwares.

Thank you! I'll adjust that part(the lower end of the vertical stroke)again. 

hyeeun

John Hudson said:

As a general rule, first try to place nodes at extrema with perpendicular control handles, and see if it is possible to define the curve as you want it in this way. If it is not, then move to angled control handles or, in the case of short, shallow curves, dispensing with nodes along the curve. Nodes at extrema enable accurate calculation of bounding boxes and, hence, things like sidebearing values, so although not as critical as they were for rendering in lower resolution environments, they remain a useful technique to always try first.

If you are running into many situations where you can’t get the kind of curve you want, that is usually an indication that your UPM value is inadequate to represent the fine details of your design. In that case, doubling your UPM value and scaling up the outlines and metrics will usually help (I recent quadrupled the UPM value of a project, and have had a much easier time with fine details since).

Thank you for your response!
I tried placing nodes at the extrema. It seemed insufficient with only nodes having vertical handles, so I added nodes with horizontal handles as well. I like how it turned out, but is this what you meant?

Also, could you clarify what you mean by 'nodes along the curve'?

John Hudson

Yes, what you illustrate is a nodes-at-extrema approach.

Also, could you clarify what you mean by 'nodes along the curve'?

Simply the presence or absence of a node on a curve. If a curve is short and/or shallow, it is sometimes better not to put a node on it. A typical case is the curved tips of a serif, e.g.

 

Georg Seifert

I tried placing nodes at the extrema. It seemed insufficient with only nodes having vertical handles, so I added nodes with horizontal handles as well.

Extreme points are both vertical and horizontal. 

 I like how it turned out, but is this what you meant?

In this case, you might not need the extreme points and you could use the setup as seen in the background. Pick the one that makes it easier to draw the shape you like. 

Mark Simonson

The main reason to place nodes at the extrema is that it helps with hinting. So you only need them for curve nodes that are likely to be hinted, usually the top, bottom and sides of the major curved paths of glyphs.