Author Topic: Vectorize my handwriting!  (Read 4200 times)

Offline Gabby10109

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Vectorize my handwriting!
« on: June 02, 2016, 05:30:39 PM »
Greetings awesome people!

  I hope you guys are all have a fantastic day!  I soon will be buying a custom made ergonomic oblique holder by the lovely and talented Lindsey Hook! #HooksHolders  I want to have my handwriting of my name engraved onto the flange. I would like to do this myself, but I don't know how! Any tips would be amazing. I've heard that most people use Adobe illustrator.

Offline Bianca M

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Re: Vectorize my handwriting!
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2016, 06:06:33 PM »
I use Illustrator.  In fact, I'm vectorizing some of my script right now. :D Does she absolutely need a vector file?  Or can she use a bitmap image?  Vectorizing can distort the artwork, so I would avoid it if possible. 

Offline Karen Gray

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Re: Vectorize my handwriting!
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2016, 04:32:21 AM »
Do you want to create an actual font or just a vectorised word for "branding" type used, pens, notebooks etc?
Illustrator can obviously vectorise really well, I mean that's it's day job, but it cannot create useable fonts. There are a few ways to create real and useable fonts from handwriting though (another one of my summer projects) I will be trying to produce a fully working font between Illustrator and Inkscape before term starts back (so I can use my font for projects this year, because why the hell not? :p If you want it as a font, I can talk you through the method once I get to grips with it, or if I have time create the .otf from your writing for you.

With CS6 and CC there is a really very good image trace that has a lot of customisable options. Do you have either of these programs?
Mummy of loveable monsters / Wife and Carer / Scottish Mythical Fantasy Writer / Author of The Saga of Thistles and Roses / Graphic Design Student / Lover of Typography and Hand Lettering, Watercolour and Photography - Basically... A Little to the Left of Normal.
https://thistleyroses.wordpress.com/

Offline Bianca M

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Re: Vectorize my handwriting!
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2016, 02:12:40 PM »
Karen,

I know a lot of us have had problems vectorizing our calligraphy after CS4. When I need to vectorize, I open up CS4, which I've kept on my computers specifically for this purpose - otherwise, I'm using CC.  I have tried and tried to get a good result from CC, but just cannot get it! Might you have any tips? 

Thanks!

Offline Karen Gray

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Re: Vectorize my handwriting!
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2016, 12:26:13 PM »
Probably ;) there are always wee shortcuts and tips for doing fiddly things.
Depends on the specific problem you're having. CS6 and CC moved a lot of stuff about in the tools and menus which isn't helpful I know. Conveniently for me I was using GIMP until I went to college and got a student subscription. So I came into CC without having to try and convert from an older version of the software.

Anyways what specific issues are you having with it? I can have a look and note down a few tips if you like :)
Mummy of loveable monsters / Wife and Carer / Scottish Mythical Fantasy Writer / Author of The Saga of Thistles and Roses / Graphic Design Student / Lover of Typography and Hand Lettering, Watercolour and Photography - Basically... A Little to the Left of Normal.
https://thistleyroses.wordpress.com/

Offline Gabby10109

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Re: Vectorize my handwriting!
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2016, 11:05:34 PM »
The custom engraving would be by Chris Yoke. It's all on his website. I only see a vector file.

Offline Bianca M

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Re: Vectorize my handwriting!
« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2016, 11:49:02 PM »
Karen - thanks! I just now saw your response. It seems that Illustrator has been updated, because now I can achieve a satisfactory result - almost as good as when I use CS4.  Before this was impossible for me to achieve!  Hallelujah.

Gabby - you will need to live-trace in Illustrator.  Scan in at 600dpi minimum (I go for 1200dpi).  I scan in B&W, save as a .tif and then live trace in illustrator. If you have photoshop, that is helpful for cleaning up anything you need to.  These are the settings that worked for me in Illustrator (I have saved them as a preset that I named... Calligraphy! Obvi  ;))

Offline Bianca M

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Re: Vectorize my handwriting!
« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2016, 11:58:23 PM »
Also, you may want to check out Erica's photoshop tutorial.

http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=28.0

Offline AEN82

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Re: Vectorize my handwriting!
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2016, 03:50:39 AM »
Ah, found it.

     So, I was trying to find a bookmark that had links to software programs that allows users to create 'Typefaces' or 'Fonts' if you prefer. I finally found it and there are several options for you to take when making a 'Typeface' - all require varying degrees of loot and technical proficiency. You would want to have your 'lettering' reference converted into a vector format, and then bring it in to one of the programs listed below. You might be able to bring your reference straight into one of these programs, but I haven't played with any of them to see how easy that might be.

The list of programs comes from the following blog/website : I Love Typography.com
The direct link to the blog-post with the font programs is here : http://ilovetypography.com/2007/10/22/so-you-want-to-create-a-font-part-1/

Here are the programs :

FontLab Studio : WIN/MAC : http://www.fontlab.com
Font Forge : Opensource : http://fontforge.github.io/en-US/
DTL FontMaster : WIN/MAC : http://www.fontmaster.nl
FontCreator : WIN : http://www.high-logic.com/font-editor/fontcreator.html
TypeTool : WIN/MAC : http://old.fontlab.com/font-editor/typetool/
Fontographer : WIN/MAC : http://old.fontlab.com/font-editor/fontographer/

---

I wanted to comment on scanning handwritten lettering ...

     Be sure to check the technical specifications of your scanner to verify it is able to scan in documents higher than 300 DPI, it may sound odd but where I work has several scanners that list the maximum resolution at 9600 DPI in the technical specifications, even though the scanner setting options lists 12,800 DPI as a scanning option. There's a whole argument here just waiting to happen so I won't get too technical about it, but I will leave a few articles that discuss scanning photographs, and you can decide for yourself if you need to scan anything higher than 900 DPI.

1 ) The DPI You Should Be Scanning Your Paper Photographs : http://www.scanyourentirelife.com/dpi-should-be-scanning-your-paper-photographs/
2 ) Scanning Your Photos More Than 300 DPI Will Not Give You More Detail : http://freescanningtips.blogspot.com/2011/07/scanning-your-photos-more-than-300-dpi.html

Remember, the web - and by extension any HD device (minus Retina and 4K devices), cannot 'see' the detail you are using with resolutions higher than 900 DPI. If you are doing 'print' or enlarging photographs or hand-lettering, then you might want to consider scanning images higher than 900 DPI.