Handwritten Font Tutorial

Hello, All!

As the weeks wind down, we get closer to school starting and I find myself wondering how I can make this year "easier." This makes me chuckle a bit - it's never easy the first weeks in kindergarten. Kindergarten is where the action is! Even so, after last year, I find myself finding little tidbits of how to make the year smoother.

Last year, I had lots of handwritten notes home on student behavior (positive and corrective). I have carpel tunnel and so this can be difficult on a regular day -- not to mention, writing the six to eight notes home daily. So, I thought creating my own handwritten font would be a great way for me to write notes home that would still have a personal feel, that I could type out (I type much faster than I write - techy gen. here!)

Hope you find this tutorial helpful.

This was my first attempt at creating a font of my own. There are a few problems with this font. The most glaring problem is when you write a contraction.

The space is humongous.


Another problem with this font is printing in large-scale. The website generates vector points, which do their best to create graphics that can be scaled to any size; however, this means jagged edges.

As you can see, the edges are not clear and are jagged. Printing with a large font, might not fit to your liking. The large-scale fonts only amplify these imperfections; however, to offset these imperfections, try using a bold font to smooth out the edges.

Some of my letters are slanted forward and some of them are straight up and down; that is mostly my human error.

Overall, I am happy with the font and plan to use it in the future for writing notes home for my students! I am a cursive writer, and writing in print is a struggle for me.  I also am a much faster at typing, but typing in regular fonts seems impersonal and distant. This way, my students can read along, it is somewhat personal and I do not have to hurt my hand trying to write only in print.

TO CREATE YOUR OWN FONT:
Step 1: Visit MyScriptFont.com

Step 2: Download the template provided.

Step 3: Write in a thin to medium tip black ink marker on the provided template.

Step 4: Scan in your font on 300 DPI, or if you’re unsure, a high resolution.

Step 5: Upload the scanned template.

Step 6: Name your font

Step 7: √ Select True Type Font for a Macintosh Or √Open Type Font for Windows

Step 8: Click “Send File.”

Step 9: An image with the font line: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,” will show up. Then you go download the font to your computer.

Step 10: Download to Font Book for a Macintosh and for Windows Users, download to your Font Folder.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Mandy Fyhrie