Designing with variable components

Gaëtan shows how to draw the word fontra in a copperplate style with just one single variable component:

Notes:

• create one source with line metrics
• draw with basic shape tool
• break contours
• Gaëtan shows two different ways of closing contours
• make only one single variable component with the name “compo”
• add glyph axes
  • weight_left
  • weight_right
• use the variable component “compo” to create the character “o”
• skew variable component with transformation tools by 30°
• fine-tune “o”
• add new glyph axes
  • height_left
  • height_right
• align with the help of a guideline
• adjust spacing
• create “a” based on “o”
• add new glyph axes
  • stem_left
  • stem_right
• add two more points to the contour for the stems
• two different options to slant the added stems
• add stem to “a”
• create character “n”
• add new glyph axes
  • width_left
  • width_right
• adjust spacing
• create character “r”
• create character “t”
• create character “f”
• add font axis “weight”
• add second “weight” source to each character
• go through the characters and adjust the weight of the stems

-> at the end we have a nice copperplate style variable font with a weight axis made with one single variable font component.