108 [the font!pimp post]
I've been meaning to do a font post for awhile now and I'm kinda procrastinating today so it seemed like a good time to do one :) And then because I'm me (and I like to share, and because I don't actually make a lot of icons with text in them - I seriously had to go trolling for some of these) I thought I'd get everyone involved!
Behind the cut I've posted examples of the fonts I use the most with download links - and I encourage all graphic makers out there to do the same (or comment with the link to an entry you've already made). Pimp the post, pimp your own work - let's share the font love people!
(n/b: all icons in the post itself are by me, and all tips relate to PS - they may or may not be relatable to other programs)
last updated: 12 December 2010
ALBA
Download: @ dafont
Tips: I have the vertical scale at 110 and the horizontal one on 106 for these and anti-aliasing on strong.
ARIAL BLACK
Download: I think this one should be a standard font on your system, but let me know if it's not and I'll get a link.
Tips: I usually have these set at a vertical scale of about 105 with a horizontal scale of 100 and the anti-aliasing at sharp. I also like rotating these ones a bit (edit > free transform) since it does nice things with the placement of the letters.
ARIAL ROUNDED MT BOLD
Download: again, I think this one should be a standard font on your system, but let me know if it's not and I'll get a link.
Tips: I usually have these on the strong anti-aliasing and I've also used the 'stroke' (first example) and 'drop shadow' effects (first and third example) (layer > layer style).
BELL GOTHIC
Download: here.
Tips: anti-alias on strong, and the vertical scale set slightly higher than the horizontal one.
BERLIN SANS
Download: here.
Tips: this is another great font for using free transform on! The 'I'm a lurker' in the second example is HVD Edding 780.
CHRISTOPHER HAND
Download: @ da font.
Tips: I usually use the strong anti-aliasing and have the horizontal scale about 10% less than the vertical one.
FOLKS
Download: @ dafont (I've used 'Folks Bold' on the examples above, but there are others available.
Tips: I usually have these set at a vertical scale of about 95 with a horizontal scale of 185 and the anti-aliasing at smooth.
KING
Download: @ dafont
Tips: I usually have these set at a vertical scale of about 105 with a horizontal scale of 100 and the anti-aliasing at strong.
MA SEXY
Download: @ dafont
Tips: I had this one set at 'bold' and using the strong anti-aliasing.
PYKE'S PEAK ZERO
Download: @ dafont
Tips: I had this one set at 'bold' and used the smooth anti-aliasing. I also had the vertical scale at about 120 and the horizontal at 95.
TIMES NEW ROMAN
Download: this one's on your system already :)
Tips: I had the tracking of these ones set at 170 and the anti-aliasing at strong. (It's the 'CAMELOT' in the second example - the 'for' is a theme for murder).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TINY TEXT
Since the point of the text is to be 'tiny' I usually make it so it can't be read (because otherwise people will try and read it and then they'll ask you questions ;D), but it really depends on you - have a play! It generally doesn't matter what font you use for these since the point isn't to read it. I also usually set the tracking at about 200 or so (generally a large number) so it's easier to see the gaps between words and it doesn't just look like one long word.
TEXT TEXTURES
I actually use these more than tiny text, especially for period icons, and they're great to use on icons where there's a lot of white space that looks slightly unbalanced.
GENERAL TIPS
Play around with fonts - use different colours, different sizes (even within the same word) and different placement. Use different settings depending on the icon - you can sharpen the font, or even blur it slightly to fit the mood of the icon. Generally I try to use colours that are already in the icon, but sometimes contrast works better - experimentation is key with fonts!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OTHER RESOURCES
(a work-in-progress - let me know your links! - see below)
Font download/help sites:
♦ HVD Fonts
♦ Dafont
♦ 1001 Free Fonts
♦ fontaddicts
♦ Font Freak
♦ Handwriting fonts collection
♦ Grunge font collection
♦ How to find fonts with google by lovelamp
♦
Font guides and helpful tips:
♦ Favourite fonts + guide by emmahyphenjane @ killcolor
♦ Tiny text guide by greenie_cgv @ icon_tutorial
♦ Guide for using the font 'clementine sketch' by notashamed @ icon_tutorial
♦ Font guide and download links by ohfreckle @ ownthesunshine
♦ Font Guide + tips by letsey_x
♦ Font guide by neversleeps @ tragic_radiance
♦ Font tutorial by neversleeps @ icon_crack
♦ Font guide and download links by xshoot2thrill @ coupdefoudre
♦ Font guide and download links by tatteredhalo @ th_designs
♦ Small fonts guide by ihearttoronto @ fontaddicts
♦ Favourite icons by ponkie @ ponkiecons
♦ Font post 1, font post 2, font post 3, and font post 4 by neversince @ virtuosities
♦ Font guide by bluebellflames @ insidethebox
♦ Make text your friend 1 and 2 by bethyj @ bethyj_graphics (tutorials)
♦
♦
♦
Favourite fonts by others (listed in the comments):
♦ 'Garamond' by visionsbeyond
♦ 'Plantagenet Cherokee' & 'Birth of a Hero' by ladyadeone
♦ 'BorisBlackBloxx', 'Creatinin', 'GhostTown', and 'Yanone Kaffeesatz' by killmotion
Pimp your fonts!
Have a font that you use a lot and would like to share?
Font:
Examples:![]()
Please credit (for icons):
Can be downloaded here:
Already have a frequently used font post that you want to share? Or know of any font-related links that I can add to the 'resources' section above?
Journal link:
Credit:
What the link is:
Comments! Pimps! Questions! Anything font-related is welcome!
(also free free to bookmark - I'll try and keep the page updated as I find things)
Behind the cut I've posted examples of the fonts I use the most with download links - and I encourage all graphic makers out there to do the same (or comment with the link to an entry you've already made). Pimp the post, pimp your own work - let's share the font love people!
(n/b: all icons in the post itself are by me, and all tips relate to PS - they may or may not be relatable to other programs)
last updated: 12 December 2010
ALBA
Download: @ dafont
Tips: I have the vertical scale at 110 and the horizontal one on 106 for these and anti-aliasing on strong.
ARIAL BLACK
Download: I think this one should be a standard font on your system, but let me know if it's not and I'll get a link.
Tips: I usually have these set at a vertical scale of about 105 with a horizontal scale of 100 and the anti-aliasing at sharp. I also like rotating these ones a bit (edit > free transform) since it does nice things with the placement of the letters.
ARIAL ROUNDED MT BOLD
Download: again, I think this one should be a standard font on your system, but let me know if it's not and I'll get a link.
Tips: I usually have these on the strong anti-aliasing and I've also used the 'stroke' (first example) and 'drop shadow' effects (first and third example) (layer > layer style).
BELL GOTHIC
Download: here.
Tips: anti-alias on strong, and the vertical scale set slightly higher than the horizontal one.
BERLIN SANS
Download: here.
Tips: this is another great font for using free transform on! The 'I'm a lurker' in the second example is HVD Edding 780.
CHRISTOPHER HAND
Download: @ da font.
Tips: I usually use the strong anti-aliasing and have the horizontal scale about 10% less than the vertical one.
FOLKS
Download: @ dafont (I've used 'Folks Bold' on the examples above, but there are others available.
Tips: I usually have these set at a vertical scale of about 95 with a horizontal scale of 185 and the anti-aliasing at smooth.
KING
Download: @ dafont
Tips: I usually have these set at a vertical scale of about 105 with a horizontal scale of 100 and the anti-aliasing at strong.
MA SEXY
Download: @ dafont
Tips: I had this one set at 'bold' and using the strong anti-aliasing.
PYKE'S PEAK ZERO
Download: @ dafont
Tips: I had this one set at 'bold' and used the smooth anti-aliasing. I also had the vertical scale at about 120 and the horizontal at 95.
TIMES NEW ROMAN
Download: this one's on your system already :)
Tips: I had the tracking of these ones set at 170 and the anti-aliasing at strong. (It's the 'CAMELOT' in the second example - the 'for' is a theme for murder).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TINY TEXT
Since the point of the text is to be 'tiny' I usually make it so it can't be read (because otherwise people will try and read it and then they'll ask you questions ;D), but it really depends on you - have a play! It generally doesn't matter what font you use for these since the point isn't to read it. I also usually set the tracking at about 200 or so (generally a large number) so it's easier to see the gaps between words and it doesn't just look like one long word.
TEXT TEXTURES
I actually use these more than tiny text, especially for period icons, and they're great to use on icons where there's a lot of white space that looks slightly unbalanced.
GENERAL TIPS
Play around with fonts - use different colours, different sizes (even within the same word) and different placement. Use different settings depending on the icon - you can sharpen the font, or even blur it slightly to fit the mood of the icon. Generally I try to use colours that are already in the icon, but sometimes contrast works better - experimentation is key with fonts!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OTHER RESOURCES
(a work-in-progress - let me know your links! - see below)
Font download/help sites:
♦ HVD Fonts
♦ Dafont
♦ 1001 Free Fonts
♦ fontaddicts
♦ Font Freak
♦ Handwriting fonts collection
♦ Grunge font collection
♦ How to find fonts with google by lovelamp
♦
Font guides and helpful tips:
♦ Favourite fonts + guide by emmahyphenjane @ killcolor
♦ Tiny text guide by greenie_cgv @ icon_tutorial
♦ Guide for using the font 'clementine sketch' by notashamed @ icon_tutorial
♦ Font guide and download links by ohfreckle @ ownthesunshine
♦ Font Guide + tips by letsey_x
♦ Font guide by neversleeps @ tragic_radiance
♦ Font tutorial by neversleeps @ icon_crack
♦ Font guide and download links by xshoot2thrill @ coupdefoudre
♦ Font guide and download links by tatteredhalo @ th_designs
♦ Small fonts guide by ihearttoronto @ fontaddicts
♦ Favourite icons by ponkie @ ponkiecons
♦ Font post 1, font post 2, font post 3, and font post 4 by neversince @ virtuosities
♦ Font guide by bluebellflames @ insidethebox
♦ Make text your friend 1 and 2 by bethyj @ bethyj_graphics (tutorials)
♦
♦
♦
Favourite fonts by others (listed in the comments):
♦ 'Garamond' by visionsbeyond
♦ 'Plantagenet Cherokee' & 'Birth of a Hero' by ladyadeone
♦ 'BorisBlackBloxx', 'Creatinin', 'GhostTown', and 'Yanone Kaffeesatz' by killmotion
Pimp your fonts!
Have a font that you use a lot and would like to share?
Font:
Examples:
Please credit (for icons):
Can be downloaded here:
Already have a frequently used font post that you want to share? Or know of any font-related links that I can add to the 'resources' section above?
Journal link:
Credit:
What the link is:
Comments! Pimps! Questions! Anything font-related is welcome!
(also free free to bookmark - I'll try and keep the page updated as I find things)