13 February 2013

How To Turn Your Handwriting Into A Font



handwriting fontAdd the ultimate personal touch to any document: turn your handwriting into a font and use that. There’s a lot of creative potential here, and it’s a lot easier to do than you’d think thanks to MyScriptFont.


Friends don’t let friends use Comic Sans. It’s just a bad idea. If you want a font that looks handwritten, don’t mess around: create a custom handwriting font with your own writing and use that.


Once you do so the possibilities are endless. You can easily use your own handwriting for that comic you’re working on. You can add “hand-written” notes to your favorite photo. Or you could just type notes and print them, because you’re too lazy to actually write a letter but want to pretend you did.


It’s entirely up to you, and with MyScriptFont the process to create a handwriting font couldn’t be simpler. Download and print a PDF, then fill in the squares with your own handwritten letters. Scan that, upload and the site will do the rest. Let’s work through the process together right now.


Making Your Handwriting Font


To get started head to MyScriptFont.com. You’ll see the following straightforward instructions:


handwriting font


Download the PDF and print it out. Use a black, felt-tipped pen and fill in all of the letters. Yes: you have to use an actual pen and paper. Accented characters, which you’ll find at the bottom of the page, are optional but recommended. When you’re done, scan your printed document in grey-scale.


cursive handwriting font


Save your scanned file as an image and you’re ready to upload. Head back to MyScriptFont.com and upload your filled in form. You’ll need to wait a while; the processing can take a while.


cursive handwriting font


When it’s done you’ll see a preview of your new font, and be able to download it. My handwriting is terrible, so my font kind of sucks:


cursive handwriting font


Happily my wife Kathy has legible handwriting, so her font works quite well. Check it out:


handwriting font


These handwriting fonta are great for adding a personal touch to documents, so use your imagination. Your handwriting reflects your personality, so this font will as well. Sure, it’s not as flexible or emotive as your actual handwriting, but it’s a great way to quickly add a personal touch to a presentation or document.


Not sure how to install this font on your computer? Don’t worry; it’s easy. Tina outlined how to install fonts on Windows, Mac and Linux, so check that out if you’re not sure what to do with your new font file. On most systems you can simply open the font and click the “Install” button, but the above directions can help if you’re not sure what to do.


Conclusion


Of course, this isn’t the only way to make your own handwriting font: we’ve outlined tools for making your very own fonts before. If you want to try your hand at typography those tools are worth checking out, at least to start with.


Found a font on a piece of paper or online image, but aren’t sure what font it is? Rather than designing it yourself you should check out WhatFont, a site that can identify almost any font. You won’t be disappointed.


How are you going to use your custom font? Let me know in the comments below, along with links to your creations if you’re so inclined to share with the world.


The post How To Turn Your Handwriting Into A Font appeared first on MakeUseOf.



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