Hello,
I read about how Ikarus would let someone trace physical fonts and turn it into digital type. I know that DTL OpenTypeMaster exists, and it supports Ikarus. My question is if special hardware is required to use the print-to-digital conversion. My assumption is yes, but I am way out of my league here. A pre-emptive "Thanks" to anyone who helps.
0
Comments
Could you guide me through a process of using Ikarus to make a font? I know that I can do better on paper, and my original question was mainly to find out whether or not it was possible to do such a thing.
i do not have a tablet and cursor. the procedure implies, the digital image ends up in the open/double-clicked glyph space of your font file.
as written above, digitizing is very simple. you need to mark up curves in your template (yes, 10 cm cap height is fine) every 15 degrees. this is for curves. iow, a quarter circle has 6 (curve-)marks (of same distance if exactly circled) in total. use drawing tools: ruler, geo triangle , degree meter.
straight lines need only start and end, just like other formats.
this will end up in a typical IK outline as shown above in Franks post. ikarus exports PS1 fonts and EPS files, IK format will be translated into beziers.
details are tricky. fewer marks on curves will not be satisfying in expression, more do not improve :-) study available images of IK-outlines. maybe here: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Ikarus_Outline_Description.jpg
i remember being stunned by the results. it is simple, fast and accurate. maybe you can source the parts and figure out a workflow that suits you. i am not technically gifted. i do not know the current possibilities with dtl products.
i wrote:
you need to mark up curves in your template (yes, 10 cm cap height is fine) every 15 degrees. this is for curves. iow, a quarter circle has 6 (curve-)marks (of same distance if exactly circled) in total.
this seems not to be correct.
it is a long time ago, sorry. here it says, approximately every 30 degrees for curve points. that's four marks for a quarter circle. less work!
I experimented with Intuos3 equipment (couldn’t find any Intuos2) attached to my Mac running OSX 10.4.11 / classic mode, using the USB port. The Mac is fine with it, but not Ikarus: the tablet is not recognised by the application.
Digitising is possible using DTL IkarusMaster in demo mode. Results vary, depending on original drawing size and accuracy in placing the lens cursor. Keep in mind IK UPM is 15’000.
The demo app allows to save in IK format, which can be opened in Ikarus to export EPS.
Looking at my testing, a perfect IK outline is hard to get right away. It needs manual editing, at least for me. But editing IK is fantastic, due to its formula. It works dependant to its adjacent points. It feels almost "organic" to me. Smallest corrections of points redraw the entire curve. That's why it is important to have the right amount of points at the right place.
One should consider scaning/tracing, too (not to worry about lens cursors and tablets), manual editing is probably inevitable anyway. Further, a IK outline turned into Bezier (I did not experiment with TT) will add curve points where needed. That’s not a problem if the target is a static font (vs. a variable font). (And let’s not forget about aligned points, consistent stem widths, overshots – more?)
What I describe here is most likely themed in Dr. Karows book “Digitale Schriften”, but I binned my copy years ago.
I could not figure out what the latest DTL software does in regard of compatibility of platforms, digitisers and scanning/tracing.
Please correct me where I am wrong, it’s trial-and-error :-)