Making your first variable font in Glyphs font editor

[@JoseLautaroAguirre]

Hi! Really nice approach to the subject. Glad to ear you. Thanks!

[@ArrowType]

Btw, the font at the beginning of this video is now released! Find it at futurefonts.xyz/arrowtype/kyrios

[@alborzdesign]

I wish the interpolation preview with the slider was built into Glyphs and we didn't need font goggles. Thank you for the amazing video. great pace.

[@ArrowType]

Glad you enjoyed the video! That would be a cool feature for glyphs. If you haven’t tried it yet, check out Variable Font Preview, from Mark Fromberg. It is a paid plugin, but it’s only a one-time cost, has a free trial, and is super worth it if you’re figure out interpolation for the first time (or for any new project, really).

[@ArrowType]

And actually, RoboFont Skateboard is even better in some ways (it is more accurate in complex cases, and ultimately gives more control than Variable Font Preview), but RoboFont can feel a bit sluggish sometimes, compared to Glyphs.

[@hawalk5707]

Thanks for sharing. Can you show us how to create other masters? thx

[@ArrowType]

Happy to share! What do you mean by creating other masters, exactly? Setting up their info, drawing them, or just adding them to the project? To answer the last question: go to Font Info and add them. (glyphsapp.com/learn/multiple-masters-part-1-setting-up-masters)

[@olexpono]

Thanks for the run-down, glyphs is super fun! * (*if you're into drawing bezier curves)

[@lukedorny]

Awesome. Found you. Great video. Thanks.

[@Sea_Nomads]

Epic video! Thank you so much!!

[@RecepTiryaki]

thank u for this 🙏

[@deanenettles206]

The point size of a font is always a little bigger than the size from the bottom of the descender height to the top of the ascender height because you want to leave a little bit of additional space so the ascenders and descenders don't crash into each other. I think the amount you leave is a combination of the type of font (though a given family ought to keep the same amount of space) and personal preference. Is the average about 200 units?

[@ArrowType]

Honestly, I don’t know off the top of my head, but that would be a sensible thing to research & test at the beginning of a project! Also, though, a font’s metrics like typoAscender and typoDescender matter quite a bit, and those are typically set based on accent marks.

[@TwoLeggedTriceratops]

I appreciate all the videos you've made, you deserve more views. I landed here because our company has a subset of unique icons between our products that have differing looks (but the same bones). Then I learned about how you can create variable fonts and seen some of them applied to icons. I think that would be a great use case for variable "fonts" for me, so if one app uses sharp corners or thin strokes it's just a matter of moving some parameters around. I also see from your first video that you have some coding chops so I thought who better to ask - does that seem like a reasonable application? The generic icons will probably just remain as SVG as I'd avoid complexity or any overhead, but then I might be talking in circles because creating variable fonts seem like niche knowledge as well. Browser support for variable icons is pretty good at around 95%. Thanks for reading!

[@ArrowType]

Certainly, I believe that both Apple and Google’s icon sets are made as variable fonts. So, there are good reasons, especially in terms of offering multiple stroke weights. It is a lot of work, though!

[@TwoLeggedTriceratops]

​@@ArrowType Thanks for your reply! I didn't realize Apple had their own, that's nifty but also telling that it may take a lot more effort than it's worth for most companies. Surprisingly I couldn't find any video on KZbin about how to approach making variable glyph/dingbat/icon fonts so if you ever need an idea for a video... not for my benefit of course ;)

[@ArrowType]

Well, yes, making any good font is a lot of effort, but obviously, I think it’s worth it! But, yes, for smaller companies, it is usually a big effort/cost compared to many other priorities. Making a variable icon font is just two things: making an icon font, and making it variable. So, have a look at the GlyphsApp tutorial for “creating an an icon webfont,” and then consider how you could add an extra source to give it a variable range. glyphsapp.com/learn/creating-an-icon-webfont