Font-making guide
How to make a font: a practical workflow from first glyph to export
Learn how to make a complete font, choose foundational letters, reuse shapes, refine spacing, proof your typeface, and prepare dependable font files.
Making a font is not the same as drawing a set of attractive letters. A usable typeface is a connected system: curves repeat, proportions relate, spacing creates rhythm, and every exported glyph has to behave alongside its neighbors.
The fastest path is to establish a small visual vocabulary first, then derive the rest of the character set from those decisions. This guide lays out that workflow in an order that keeps revision affordable.
H O V n o
Related forms
Spacing proofs
Validation
TTF / WOFF2
1. Define the job before you draw
Start by deciding where the typeface will be used. A compact display face for posters needs a different character set, spacing strategy, and level of screen optimization than an everyday text face. Write down the intended size range, language coverage, tone, and first release target.
A narrow first target is useful. You can prove the design with a small set of letters without pretending the font is finished. Once the system holds together in words, expand coverage deliberately.
- Choose a display, text, handwriting, or utility-font goal.
- Set an initial character recipe, such as uppercase display or Basic Latin.
- Pick a few proof words that expose the personality you want.
2. Build foundational letters and forms
Do not work through the alphabet in order. Begin with glyphs that establish the main construction rules. An H can define vertical stems and crossbars. An O establishes round overshoot and curve tension. A lowercase n can establish the stem, shoulder, and x-height. A lowercase o carries the round lowercase logic.
Small forms matter too. A dot, comma terminal, apostrophe, or accent can become a reusable component. Linked instances let one correction propagate to every glyph that uses the form. Detach an instance only when a specific character truly needs to diverge.
- Start with H and O for uppercase structure.
- Add n and o for lowercase rhythm.
- Create reusable dots, accents, terminals, and repeated stems.
- Test combinations such as HOHO, noon, minimum, and adhesion.
3. Draw economical, editable outlines
Use the fewest points that describe the form accurately, but do not chase a low point count at the expense of shape. Place smooth anchors at meaningful extrema and corners where the direction actually changes. On a smooth join, handles should share a tangent; on a corner, the two sides may need independent directions.
Broad curves should feel intentional rather than lumpy. Inspect the outline at normal proof sizes as well as close zoom. A technically smooth curve can still look flat, swollen, or pinched when rasterized.
- Keep handles aligned through smooth anchors.
- Avoid clusters of short segments that fight one another.
- Preserve true corners on serifs and terminals.
- Check counter shapes, not only the black outline.
4. Derive related characters without cloning mistakes
Once the foundations work, derive related glyphs. An F can begin as an E with the lower arm removed. A P can share construction with an R before the leg diverges. Accented letters can combine a finished base with linked mark components.
Copying is a starting point, not a substitute for optical adjustment. The C is not merely an O with a section deleted, and a lowercase b may need different joins than a rotated d. Reuse structure, then judge each character in words.
- Reuse components for shapes that must remain identical.
- Duplicate and detach when optical corrections need independence.
- Build accents only after their base letters and marks are stable.
- Keep contour direction and overlaps valid after combining forms.
5. Establish metrics, spacing, and rhythm
Set the baseline, x-height, cap height, ascender, and descender from the design rather than treating them as paperwork. Then establish representative side bearings. Straight-sided letters, rounds, and diagonals usually need different spacing patterns.
Proof strings make spacing problems visible faster than isolated glyph boxes. Establish general spacing in Typelure. Record pairs that need individual kerning, then finish those adjustments in a production tool that stores kerning data; Typelure does not currently support that step.
- 1
Set control glyphs
Space H and O for uppercase, then n and o for lowercase.
- 2
Propagate
Use those bearings as starting values for related forms.
- 3
Proof words
Read paragraphs, headlines, numerals, and punctuation in context.
- 4
Record exceptions
Flag pairs such as AV, To, and punctuation for a later kerning pass in a production tool; do not damage dependable base spacing to force them closed.
6. Complete, validate, and export
A font is ready when the promised character coverage, metadata, metrics, and outlines are internally consistent. Look for empty encoded glyphs, accidental open contours, duplicate mappings, extreme bearings, and shapes that fail at intended sizes.
Export a desktop font for installation and a compressed webfont for the browser. Reopen the output in a separate application or test page. The exported file, not the editor canvas, is the final product.
- Confirm every advertised character is present and mapped correctly.
- Review words at small, normal, and large sizes.
- Validate names, vertical metrics, widths, and contour integrity.
- Keep source projects and versioned exports so changes are reversible.
- Review licensing before distributing source artwork or derived fonts.
Frequently asked questions
How many characters do I need to make a font?
It depends on the promise you make to users. A display prototype can prove its style with a small set, while a practical Basic Latin font needs letters, numerals, punctuation, symbols, spacing, and metadata. Publish a clear coverage list instead of relying on a single universal number.
Can I make a font without uploading an existing font?
Yes. Start with a blank project, draw foundational glyphs, and expand the family from those forms. Importing an existing font is optional.
Should every curve use as few points as possible?
Use as few points as the form needs, not an arbitrary minimum. A simple curve should stay simple, but corners, inflections, and tight transitions need enough structure to preserve their character without overshoot.
Primary references
These references support the standards and file-format details in this guide. Typelure-specific behavior is described from the current product implementation and is dated above.
- OpenType specification — Microsoft Typography
- C0 Controls and Basic Latin — The Unicode Consortium