A pixel font which combines four experimental techniques at once:
1. Structurally disconnecting the stems from the open parts of letters.
2. Allowing glyphs to extend beyond the reaches of width and starting position.
3. Designing glyphs specifically to connect and form new shapes, rather than simply allowing shapes to emerge from existing characteristics.
4. Designing glyphs so that the overall font is free of a need for kerning.
*
Alternates are now on UPPER CASE. I'll continue to update this as I get more ideas!
*
Original size: 6.75pt (use multiples of this value for pixel perfection)
I decided to make a design which incorporated the thinnest/lightest weight lines possible in FontStruct. This is the result; I'll add more if people like it.
These 1/32 lines cannot be accurately nudged, so a unique line has to be built for each vertical position where I want a line. These lines also cannot be centered on a place where two curves meet (such as the middle of B or R). This introduces some unintentional asymmetry to the design, but I like it, so I'll keep it.
There is also the problem that forming a diagonal line of the same line weight is nearly impossible. While angled 1/32 lines can be formed, their angles are all close to 0. No method exists for making a line which slants at 45 degrees while also being 1/32 weight. So, I had to make some thicker lines in certain areas. I don't think they detract from the design, but if you scrutinize this enough, you'll notice them.
A double-line style with a twist. Named for the Exage Viral Armada (EVA), a mutagenic virus featured in several of my own games and stories. EVA causes rapid limb bifurcation and the spontaneous generation of butterflies, both of which can be seen in various glyphs from this design.
The exact rules for this are somewhat complicated, and based on structural as well as visual analysis. The basic idea can be seen on glyphs like k and x: Closed loops (double line) are joined by single lines which turn back on themselves to create the illusion of more lines. Of course, this idea had to be modified for most of the other glyphs, for the sake of stylistic consistency and visual interest. Particularly, almost all the spurred glyphs have the double-line structures open up to form the spurs.
This is a cloneVersion 1.3: Added Polish.
* $ * £ * ¢ * ¥ * $ * £ * ¢ * ¥ * $ * £ * ¢ * ¥ * $ * £ * ¢ * ¥ * $ * £ * ¢ * ¥
Another simple experiment with composites, this time trying to make a font which can easily accomplish a "diamond encrusted" or "disco floor" style effect within my graphics software.
SPOILER: I succeeded. :D
* $ * £ * ¢ * ¥ * $ * £ * ¢ * ¥ * $ * £ * ¢ * ¥ * $ * £ * ¢ * ¥ * $ * £ * ¢ * ¥
This is a cloneTHE MOMENT YOU STEP INTO SPOOK MANSION, YOU REALIZE YOU DONE GOOFED UP. THE DOOR SLAMS SHUT BEHIND YOU AS SCARY PIANO MUSIC BEGINS TO WASH OVER YOU AND TERRIFYING KICK DRUM SOUNDS BEGIN TO PUMMEL YOU. WITHIN MOMENTS, YOU ARE DROWNING IN A SEA OF EERIE AMBIENCE. "WOE BETIDE THE FOOL WHO CONSPIRES TO TAKE MY RICHES!", SHOUTS A GHOSTLY VOICE SOMEWHERE BEHIND YOU. YOU TURN, BUT NOTHING'S THERE. BOO! LOL....................................................
Complete Sheikah Alphabet from Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Includes J, Q, Hyphen, Exclamation Mark, Digits, Vertical Line, Period and Question Mark.
Exact thickness, angles and spacing.
(The "Period" and "Question Mark" characters are never used in game and only appear in the game files. The "Vertical Line" character only appear in the "gyro" controls in "apparatus" shrines and is not otherwise listed in the file that list all other characters. It is not known if those characters should be considered cut/scrapped and if they are canon or not.)
---
This font has been superseded by the following (it's identical but you can also change characters to their "pins" variant if you put them in "bold"):
sarinilli.deviantart.com/art/BotW-Sheikah-Font-669623758
---
Updated March 5, 2017: The Hyrule Compendium in game shows that that was believed to be digits 1-5 (pins) is actually digits 0-4. Also, it shows that pins are actually in inverted colors.
Updated April 4, 2017: Added a dummy character so that a line spacing of 1.0 will not juxtapose glyphs vertically (a minimal white space will be kept).
Updated April 11, 2017: A datamining of the game reaveals that what was believed to be the "Space" and "Period" characters are actually the "Hyphen" and "Exclamation Mark". Also, the "Period" and "Question Mark" do exist in the game files but are never used in game. Source: spriters-resource.com/wii_u/thelegendofzeldabreathofthewild
Thanks to CalicoStonewolf on DeviantArt.com for providing that link!
---
Initial Sources:
- james0x57.github.io/sheikah/ (They've got digit corners wrong. Digit 5 is missing and digit 0 is invalid. Digits are their "pin" variants instead of the actual symbols.)
- imgur.com/a/PnlGQ/ (For Q. Source unknown. They have errors in J, U, W, Y and hyphen.)
- neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=207210063ost207210063 (Original decipherer.)
- gamnesia.com/journals/entry/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-how-to-decrypt-hylian-runes (For J.)
AZUL is BLUE in Spanish. I choose the word blue because it always reminds me of ultra bold fonts. But i feel like just "BLUE" looks dumb so i choose "AZUL" instead. Btw blue in Chinese is "lan". Just imagine "LAN" as it's name lol.
Least important stuff :
I got this idea when i was thinking about if I design a poster for a JoJo character. it'd be Kira Yoshikage. And I was like "Gotta need a ULTRA bold font to show he's really danger" Now you know this totally unuseful thing :P
A little more important stuff :
This font is free for all use.
DO NOT PRESS THE B SYMBOL WHEN YOU USE THIS FONT. SERIOUSLY, DO NOT
lqi laugh quietly inside
Small-grid doodle which creates new combinatorial forms.
I considered this design rather rough and unappealing until I gave it negative spacing. This caused the forms to merge together in unpredictable and interesting ways. The lesson here is that sometimes the metrics, not the aesthetics, are what "make" or "save" a design.
Some kind of great big ol' chain.
In retrospect, I think it looks like a jewelry chain from a dwarven civilization. Perhaps the hypothetical jeweler cut and ground the stones in an imitation of some dwarven font!
When glyphs are used in isolation, they somewhat resemble carved signets or seals. Increasing the letter spacing allows you to create a variation of the design. (This is something that must be done in-software since the font will render as monospaced by default.)
*
12SEP2018: Added lowercase... the low resolution combined with the design method make it very difficult to render distinctive lowercase versions of every letter, but I'll keep working on it. There's a lot of similarity between pairs like S/5, Z/2, etc., so this font is most effectively used in forms of writing wherein context suffices to inform the reader as to the identity of each glyph (lists, prose, and technical writings). If you want to use this in a password system or something, I recommend using one case's glyphs only.
*
Design Rules:
1. Negative spaces will be areas of 0.5 bricks' effective length or width.
2. Negative spaces may exceed the 0.5 measurement only by increments of 0.5 and in only one dimension at a time.
3. Glyphs will fill their framed canvasses to the greatest extent possible while adhering to the other rules.