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There are some great typefaces that designers have created.  I suppose to a certain extent ‘great’ is subjective, it would depend on what purpose you’re needing the font to serve.  An ad for real estate, plastic doorknobs, or the ever latest version of i-something.  (I’ve included a list of links to some great sites for typeface downloads at the end of this post)

Some type comes with a hefty price tag.  A well done font is no easy task either.  I studied hand calligraphy (not just the swirly swooshy stuff- creating a font by hand) years ago in Chicago.  Difference now is that a majority of that work is done on a computer.  Still time consuming, and involving a lot of tweaking.  It is an art form!

Not having deep pockets, and not working for a large agency my budget for type is unfortunately pretty much nil.  So, given the circumstances I am VERY thankful for creatives who offer fonts for free (commercial use included!).

So why write about this?  I wanted to look into how does a person create a font that could be used in Photoshop- I thought this would be great to create my own hand lettering (for my graphic novel), so my story would keep a consistent look and feel.  I don’t want there to be a rough contrast between the illustration style and font used for lettering, and consistency in lettering is important.  A lot of online tutorials that I found started off fairly calmly, then moved to having to purchase additional software to create the typeface.  Circle complete in my frustration: if I had the funds to purchase the software, I would purchase a well done typeface instead of trying to make my own.  Like I said earlier, creating a good font is a art form!

Enlighten yourself with the links below, I hope they prove to be helpful and educational for you as well.

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