font

my font making process

| Mikayla

introducing… shoreline font! (for the fiftieth time haha) but seriously, i’m so excited about this font! i taught myself how to make this font from youtube videos, online articles, forums, and good old trial by error. it took many many hours of staring at the computer screen trying to make every connection between each letter work, and it’s a huge relief to finally finish! i would say that creating a script font for my second ever font making attempt was not the smartest idea because i had to worry about the spacing between each letter and alternatives if something didn’t look right, but i definitely learned a lot.

i’ve been using this font for so many things now – from craft projects to the headers on my notes. it’s very satisfying and easy to just type a header and print it onto a page of notes. if you’d like shoreline font for your own purposes, whether it’s to jazz up your notes or create the perfect flyer, you can purchase this font here at my etsy, shopMik. i wasn’t sure about selling it at first and i know most of us are broke students, but when i considered the time and effort i spent making this font, and the fact that once you purchase this font, you get it forever (!), this font is a really good deal!! and you are supporting me, an artist who is trying to save up enough money to buy a monthly adobe subscription so i can keep experimenting with all the programs, which is an even better cause lol and may lead to some more freebies in the future. any extra money will be donated to my local organization that helps people with disabilities ride horses through a therapeutic riding program that i also volunteer at.

but i get it, if you aren’t interested, keep reading to learn how you can make your own font to wow your friends (free of monetary charges)!

i just want to be clear – i am not an expert on font making. i’m just someone who had a passion and persevered. but i was a complete beginner who managed to make a really cool font, and i gathered a list of helpful resources that i want to share with you in case if you’re interested, which i will link below.

to make a font, you’ll need some computer applications that i believe are only available for mac at the moment. i used Adobe Illustrator, Astropad, and Glyphs to make my font, and i was able to use these for free by starting a free trial for each application. this meant i had to work quickly, but i also didn’t have to pay for these apps – though now, once i save up enough money, i will purchase. i’ve compiled a great list of articles and resources that i used to guide me through the process, and hopefully having everything in one place can help you too. if you have no idea how to use any of these programs, don’t worry, because i didn’t either!

the basics of font making are:

  1. write it out – all the letters, numbers, symbols, and accents you want to be able to use in your font
  2. scan it if it’s on paper, or save as a .png if on an iPad which was what i did, and bring it into Adobe Illustrator
  3. make every letter a vector
  4. use Astropad and an iPad to clean up every letter
  5. import each letter into Glyphs
  6. code in alternatives and ligatures
  7. adjust kerning and every letter combination possible
  8. export!

you can download this list of resources that i used for each step here:

font-making-resourcesDownload

good luck with your font making, and i hope this was helpful!

how to install a font (mac)

| Mikayla

open the font file and download it on your computer.

look in the downloads folder on your computer and find the font file. you should see an .otf file.

open fontbook.

drag the font file into fontbook.

now open the application you will be using the font with. look for the font name (shoreline) and have fun with it!

UPDATE:

i’ve successfully used this font on multiple computers in Pages and Adobe programs, but there are some extra steps you need to take to use it in Word. To make all the letters connect together nicely, this font is packed with ligatures and contextual alternatives, and in order to be able to access those features in Word, you need to change some settings first. Don’t worry, I will walk you through these quick steps right now:

start by opening a new document in word and typing some filler text to work with.

highlight your text and go to format – font, or command D to open up font settings.

this is what the font editor will look like. select shoreline font, and you can see in the preview box how some of the letters are overlapping and there the letters at the end of a word have a long tail. we don’t want those.

go to advanced.

change the settings to match below. you want to turn on kerning, ligatures, and use contextual alternatives.

to save these changes for the future, select “default” in the bottom left corner and select “all documents based on the Normal template.” if you don’t do this, just remember to adjust font settings if the font looks a little weird in the future.

much better! but the bottom of the F is cut off. that is because the line spacing in Word cuts it off. to fix this, simply adjust the line spacing until the bottom of the letter is visible! 1.5 is a good measure, and most schoolwork is double spaced these days anyways.

now have fun with your new font! i’ve had multiple people test out this font, but because it is such a complex script font, there is always a possibility that something doesn’t line up or work properly! if you find any problems, please please email me so i can fix it and send you a revised version of this font!!

diy mini calendar

| Mikayla

ever wanted a mini calendar to stick on your wall or in a bullet journal? if you haven’t, you should definitely consider. calendars are really helpful to put dates in reality and help you plan ahead for the future. it’s also nice just to know what day of the week it is haha 🙂

here’s a quick mini tutorial on how to make your own adorable, aesthetic, mini calendar and a cute stand to go with it:

start by opening any program that allows you to access the fonts you want and to move around text. i’m using adobe illustrator, but pages, photoshop, word, etc. will also work just as well. create a new a4 or letter sized document.

divide your paper into four sections based on the size of your paper. this will be the approximate size of your calendar. i made empty rectangles 4 inches wide x 5 inches long, and duplicated them four times to make 4 even sized boxes. this isn’t necessary, but i wanted some guidelines for where i should place my text.

next, create a text box and type in the days of the week: S M T W T F S. you may have to play around with letter spacing depending on how far apart you want them. you can also create another text box and add in your name or brand to make your calendar look more professional (totally optional). i chose to do these two steps in a simple, sans serif font so that they were easily readable. now for the fun part! choose a decorative font (or leave empty space to hand letter later on) and type in the month names. i’m using my own script font Shoreline, which you can purchase here if you’d like. organize these text boxes to your liking, making sure to leave space above the header for a small design and to write in the days of the week. you could type in numbers, but i chose to handwrite because i thought it would be faster. if you use a thin pen, you can hardly tell the difference.

i was able to fit 4 monthly calendars onto a sheet of paper, so i duplicated this basic template and just changed the names of the month. the advantage to handwriting in the days is that you don’t have to account for the fact that each month starts on a different day of the week!

once you’re happy, print out your calendars. printer paper works, but if you have thicker cardstock, use that as it adds more stability. cut out each calendar.

now for the fun part! it’s time to decorate. go wild with your imagination and try to use materials you already have. i cut out pictures from magazines, used stickers, washi tape, and pens to decorate my calendars. the small size of these calendars is great because you only need one or two elements to fill up the space.

once everything is to your liking, write in the days of the week, and you’re done! easy peasy 🙂

if you’re extra and you want to make a stand to go along with it, here’s how:

find a small box or something similar – i’m using a random jewelry box that i’ve saved. you’ll also need a blade and a binder clip. you can paint your box or cover it with paper; i decided to keep it neutral.

turn the box over so the flat side is facing up. position your binder clip upside-down in the centre and mark how far apart the “handles” are.

take your blade (scissors, craft knife, etc.) and cut small slits in the box.

wrestle your binder clip into the slits and let gravity do the rest! to use the stand, reach under the box, open the binder clip, and clip your calendar in!

easy to use, easy to switch calendars, and easy to customize. all using supplies found around the house!

thanks for reading, and good luck with your calendar making! please share your mini calendars with me on instagram if you do – i’d love to see them! 🙂