My question would probably look very strupid, but I’m just starting to get to know Glyphs, so I’ll allow myself to be stupid: can you please tell me if my process of creating font is correct?
Import letters one by one to Glyphs
Set up spacing (start with noononno combination) for all letters
Set up kerning (for each letters separatly? Or is there some magic trick to make process easier?
Set up kerning groups (or it should be the 3d step? If so, how can I figure out kerning groups? For some reason I can’t figure out how to download Set Kerning Groups sript from Github (where is «download» button?)
Add diacritics, set kerning groups in similar letters
Add numbers, marks, etc.
Also wanted to ask - If I set up kerning between for example «a» and «b», then give «aacute» kerning group «a» on the left and right, and then decide to adjust kerning between «a» and «b» again - what will happen to «aacute»?
If I create dlig - should I set up kerning for each pair separatly?
Set up kerning groups before you kern. That will make your life easier. Read the Kerning tutorial.
You download the whole repository, and place it in your Scripts folder.
Not sure I understand what you mean. By its very definition, there is no kerning for individual letters, only pairings of groups or exceptions. There is a recommended workflow described in the tutorial.
Thanks for your reply. I read all tutorials there are on Glyphsapp, there are no tutorials on overall process (what to do first, second, third, etc), this is what I was asking about.
How to download the whole repository on Github? Can’t find anything that resembles "download’ button.
By saying set up kerning for each letter I mean of course set up kerning for each pair of letters.
In tutorial you mention kerning is set before creation of kerning groups, but you are saying it’s easier to set up kerning groups first (thanks for the tip). Can you please comment on the overall process that I’ve listed - are steps in the correct order?
Also still not sure about this - “If I set up kerning between for example «a» and «b», then give «aacute» kerning group «a» on the left and right, and then decide to adjust kerning between «a» and «b» again - what will happen to «aacute»?”
I think that’s typeface design education in general, which is why it’s not explained. I don’t think MS Word manual explains how to write. Sorry to sound dismissive, but I think this kind of question has a better place such as Typedrawers, type conferences, type design classes, etc…
There is one. It’s called Download ZIP and you should look around top right of the repository page.
For that, you have Georg’s “Set Kerning Groups”. Because it doesn’t ask any stylistic question like what kind of g you are using or whether the design is italic, you should review the grouping. Download his repository and find the script here: https://github.com/schriftgestalt/Glyphs-Scripts
It’s better to set kerning groups before start kerning because otherwise you are going to have to convert individual-to-individual kerning pairs to group-related ones. In Kerning window you can find a cog button at the bottom right. Click it and choose “Compress” to convert it. As long as you know how to convert it, then it doesn’t matter which way you start first.
The a and aacute should belong to the same kerning group. In that setup, if you kern a/b, then aacute/b automatically happens and you do not have to do anything with it (unless the acute touches the stem of b and you want to modify the pair, but that’s a story for another day).
You don’t kern each pair. It is only intended for exceptions. For glyphs unusual, irregular shapes like T, A and f. Combinations like a+b usually don’t need kerning (there are exceptions in certain designs).
I’m not asking about process of font creation in general, I’m asking the workflow in this specific programm. I will be happy to watch tutorials, video instructions, etc., but I didn’t find any - only toturials in text format which didn’t explain everything. I will try to learn more and I’m sorry to waste your time. Thanks for your answers - they are in fact very helpful.
You’re welcome, but I do recommend spending your time with written materials like handbooks and tutorials here. After all, type design is about making a reading tool
