Turn Vectors Into A Font File (.ttf)

In this tutorial we'll be taking vector letters and generating a font file from them in TTF format. To accomplish this we will need to download Font Forge- a free and open source font editor that lets you edit and create fonts of your own.

Once opened, all we have to do is copy and paste each character into the menu, title the font, then export it as a .ttf file. Watch the tutorial for complete instructions.

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[Stratelier]

Note that you can create an "SVG Font" _entirely within your Inkscape document, _ then load the SVG file directly into FontForge (it will just read the file's SVG Font table), which cuts down on the actual time required to compile the font.

Years ago (like 2015) I practiced a bunch of lettering, scanned the results, imported them into Inkscape to trace/refine the glyphs and ultimately (via FontForge) built a working font file with it. Font building is itself a HUGE iceberg with a lot of depth to get lost in.

[aurisbunni]

I can't believe importing SVG from Inkscape to FontForge is as easy as that, but at the same time it make so much sense since SVGs are simply just instructions on how to draw stuff.

Fantastic tutorial, Nick.

[kevinfoo]

As a sign guy, rounded letters sit below the base line and above the height. For instance the letter 'o' is typically larger than the squared letters. If the 'o' is the same size as a squared letter, it will visually look smaller, hence the size difference, Hope Fontforge recognises this.

[frankiet-h]

Really great tutorial Nick, please never stop making videos, they're always so useful, easy to understand and replicate, and your delivery is really uplifting in a really tough time. Thank you :)

[euansmith]

Fantastic! I've been wanting to do this for ages but have never known how. This is a real and concise tutorial. 😍👍👍👍

[gerritjordaan]

Holy moly!! Thanks Nick. This is a great tutorial. I have been aiming to design my own font for years, but havn't had the chance to do so. 2 things I wish to know further is.. Opentype fonts with different swirly variations. Like for instance a Handwriting font that flows into each other. I see people using Glyphs on Mac doing that and I was ondering if the same can be done with Font Forge.

[JosephAlanMeador]

Ah man, I've been wanting to make a font for a while! Gonna try this. Thank you Nick!

[jbgra]

Another great tutorial! Thanks as always Nick!

[lynnebizlyne]

Excellent tutorials for Inkscape. Will share your link with others👍 Thank you for sharing

[michaelsalais]

Excellent and straight forward. Thanks, Nick!

[IronEchoDesign]

I learned everything I know from you, Nick. Still learning now. Always wanted to play with font creation and you’ve led the way once again. 🙏

[pixelrancher]

I'm seeing some new fonts in my future.
Thanks Nick!

[chayanui]

you were mentioned the previous vdo about Inkscape where you did create the font for this tutorial. Which vdo is that ? I would like to start with that one first. Thank you

[DavidCollinsRivera]

Excellent job, Nick! I've been wondering for a while how to go about doing this!

[Sim]

The Unity game engine does not really support vector graphics, and I've been thinking about a way to have simple resizable icons, and making an icon font worked great. Ran into a couple issues with the more complicated ones (mostly intersection errors), but hey! Still much better than nothing

[adagio]

So pleased to have discovered this tutorial. I will be giving this a try very soon. Thanks for uploading...

[ToniTerremoto]

Nick, amazing tutorial. Tx a lot from Barcelona. Nice to follow your channel ❤🎉

[williamdoust]

Thx Nick, best video I've seen, that is practical, accessible and gives us a sense of quick completion and possibility.

Can you do the same oeocess with chromatic fonts, but obviously woth a different ooen source software? - is that even possible. Would be am interesting follow on.


Very grateful 🎉✌️👍👏🥳.

[timetraveller]

Wonderful ! Is there a helpful inkscape template for font creation so I don't need that resizing step ?
You know, the height, baseline and descender limit, and other stuff.
Also, what is the size based on anyway? vectors don't have a standard size do they?
Thank you Nick !

[OldRedandGold]

I just found your channel after many frustrations trying to DIY Inkscape. I'm trying to create my own custom font for a logo of my own, but, I'm having a hell of a time, so do you have a video for how you created those letters in Inkscape? Thank you very much.