Make Your Own Font in 4 Easy Steps
Calligraphr
Calligraphr makes it easy to make your own font from your handwriting. This free app is a great way to personalize your digital work. Unfortunately, I have the handwriting of a three year old, but I assume most of you have much better penmanship. Why not transform your handwriting into a one-of-a-kind font in four easy steps? It’s quick, easy, and free.
Step One: Fill Out the Template
After creating a free account, you are prompted to create a template. For a basic font (letters, numbers, and common punctuation), you’ll select “Minimal English” and “Minimal Numbers.” Templates are available for more than 70 languages. Math teachers are going to love the more than 250 characters available for mathematical and set notation. Note: free accounts are limited to 75 characters, or “glyphs” in a font. Next, you’ll download and print your template. You then fill out the template with a black pen. Writing each character is the most time consuming part of the process.
Step Two: Scan and Upload Your Template
Taking a picture with your tablet or phone will work in most cases, but a scanner or a scanning app is recommended. I recommend Scannable for iPad users. Now return to Calligraphr, click on “My Fonts” in the top menu, then select “UploadTemplate.”
Step Three: Build Your Font
Once your font is uploaded, you’ll get to preview each character. You can make basic adjustments, set letter spacing, word spacing, and font size. Paid accounts can even adjust spacing for single characters.
Step Four Download and Install Your Font
After building previewing your font, download the file ending in .ttf. Installing fonts can be accomplished by double clicking on the downloaded file on some systems. You can also refer to the videos and tutorials on how to install fonts on a PC or Mac in this post: Spice Up Your Lessons with More Than 30,000 Free Fonts.
More Features to Make Your Fonts Even Better
Variants
You can create more than one version, or “variant” of each character. Choosing to randomize these variants provides a more hand-written appearance. Note: Free accounts are limited to two variants per character.
Ligatures
Paid accounts allow users to create ligatures. Ligatures provide a way to give your font a hand-written appearance by merging two or more characters together into a single unit.
Need Help Getting Started?
Create a Free Account at Calligraphr and check out their tutorials:
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Awesome tip, I look forward to sharing with my future teachers at Kansas State.
Thanks Cyndi! It looks like you have some awesome resources on your site. I’ll have to spend some time checking it out.