🧩 My First Font Development Journey

👋 Introduction

Hello everyone! I go by FirmanPhntom68 on social media, but you can call me Firman. This is my first time seriously releasing a digital product. Before this, I dabbled in selling digital goods like mobile credit and electricity tokens, but only my close relatives ever bought them.

I've worked on many online projects before, such as automated spreadsheets with Google Apps Script and business forecasting tools (graphical & simplex method) using Google Sheets, which I intended to open-source. However, I never released them because I didn’t know the right platform.

This devlog focuses on my journey of creating my first font—a project born out of my struggle with unemployment for eight months. Finding a job in my country is tough, so I tried everything until I came up with the idea of creating fonts as a digital product.

✍️ The Beginning

When I started, I had no experience in font-making. I turned to ChatGPT for advice and decided to create a pixel-themed font. My initial inspiration was Times New Roman, but its complex licensing led me to search for an open-source alternative. That’s when I found PT Serif (Google Fonts). I took the initiative to design a pixel version of PT Serif.

To create the initial rough font, I used Pixel Studio on my phone, designing each character on a 16×16 px canvas.

⚙️ Challenges & Development Process

At first, I struggled with sharp diagonal letters like "W." But with practice, I adapted. After three days of designing, I needed a tool to convert my font images into .ttf (and later also .otf). This led me to FontForge, an open-source font editor.

😓 Struggles with FontForge

I initially thought I could import my PNG sprite sheet directly, but I was wrong. I had to cut each letter into individual parts, manually import them into FontForge, and then redraw everything. 😭

Thankfully, FontForge’s autotrace feature helped me speed up the process (though it later caused issues). I also learned shortcut keys to work faster:

• CTRL+Shift+T for autotrace

• CTRL+Shift+I for importing images

After converting my images into vector glyphs, I encountered critical errors while generating the font:

• "Self-intersecting path" – caused by sharp diagonals colliding.

• "Coordinates must be integers" – because TrueType fonts require exact whole numbers.

🔧 Fixing the Errors

To fix the self-intersecting path, I had to slightly shift lines outward—sacrificing pixel-perfect aesthetics but maintaining functionality. I also rounded all coordinates to whole numbers to meet FontForge’s requirements.

🚀 Finalizing & Release Decision

Initially, I wanted to sell this font, but remembering my past struggles with digital sales, I reconsidered. Instead, I decided to release it as an open-source font with donation options. That way, anyone can use it, and if they appreciate my work, they can support me voluntarily.

I hope this font gains recognition and proves useful to people. Seeing my work being used by others would bring me great happiness. 😊

🙏 A Reflection & A Prayer

I believe that goodness is always repaid. In my Islamic belief, Allah guarantees the sustenance of His creatures, just like how birds leave in the morning hungry and return home full.

"If you truly put your trust in Allah, He will provide for you as He provides for the birds: They leave in the morning hungry and return in the evening full."

📖 (Hadith narrated by Tirmidhi No. 2344, Ahmad No. 205, Ibn Majah No. 4164 – Sahih by Al-Albani)

I pray that this font becomes a pillar of my livelihood, just like a fisherman waiting for his catch. I also pray that my work remains halal and beneficial to many. 🕌

I may not be a great designer, but I want to contribute something valuable. Even if my ideas don’t always sell, I am happy to share them. Thank you for reading about my first font-making journey! ❤️

From BitType Studio (FirmanPhntom68)

Translated by Google Translate (Indonesian to English)

Enhanced by ChatGPT