Hey there !
I’m working on a variable height font.
As variable height axis is not really something the variable font
format is made for, I’m facing some issues and I have some questions I’d
love to share with those who had this weird idea too ! 😅
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG3T7bruJLg
Has anybody else tried to work on variable height font ?
Comments
That is, for double the size you want half the width. For triple the size you want 1/3 the width. This needs to be a very non-linear axis, if it is expressed in units that will enable the use the designer has in mind.
That may have its own consequences, possibly causing damn big line spacing in some apps, but should work and avoid collisions.
Those are both unsurprising issues. The overall machinery here really isn’t set up to deal with this, so the cost of being able to cope well with the extreme is, the regular-height glyphs will be small.
Adobe’s AFDKO CompareFamily and Microsoft’s Font Validator can also be helpful. Although knowing which errors NOT to worry about is the tricky part.
For these particular errors:
self-intersection: might be an error on your part, depending on what you have. Would need to see some specific glyph contours to judge.
Correct winding directions: usually can be fixed automatically, most font editors can do this.
Vertical metrics: yes, probably an issue. Details needed.
Install on Mac? This is a symptom of something unspecified, need more details
Spacing: sounds like an issue. Again, details and examination needed.
The icons indicate warnings, not errors. They may or may not be problems. You can open the disclosure chevrons to see more detail.
It is a fine idea to contact Monotype as Mark suggests! That said, I will also add that… the wording of that check and error suggests to me that perhaps Monotype is running Apple’s ftxvalidator. If you are running Glyphs, you are on a Mac, and could also run that Apple tool directly and see if you get more specific information from it, directly.
And: you’re welcome. We all get out of our current depth sometimes and need help. Still happens to me, too.
https://typedrawers.com/discussion/comment/52835#Comment_46391
... and then hold down the shift key in the edit view as you move through the glyphs to only show the filtered glyphs.
Export OpenType TT (ttf) + All curves to TrueType = TrueType direction (as expected).
Export Variable TT (ttf) + All curves to TrueType = PostScript direction (hasn't changed).
I wonder why the contour direction hasn't changed for the variable font? Sure I can convert direction manually before the export and will have correct result, but very interesting why it happens.
The width slider could be used to create the same effect as the height slider, if the "Tall" master was repositioned in the design space as the width-min.
So, the height axis is not adding unneeded data to the font file, but the MVAR complications suggest to me this is not worth while. I would reject such a design space if submitted to Google Fonts on this basis.
I would like to see more design apps with VF support allow convenient height scaling using the OpenType-registered Width axis.