Making proofs with DrawBot ↩
While designing a typeface, it is important to proof glyphs in context in order to evaluate things like shape consistency, spacing, character set, etc.
Using DrawBotAn open-source macOS application and code library for generating graphics with Python., we can generate all kinds of proofs with code – inside and outside of RoboFont.
Using DrawBot in RoboFont
DrawBot is not embedded in RoboFont, but it can be installed as an extension. The extension makes the DrawBot environment available in RoboFont, with full access to the RoboFont APIApplication Programming Interface. – so you can use for example CurrentFont() or CurrentGlyph() directly in your DrawBot scripts.
- Using DrawBot as a module
- The extension installs the
drawBotPython module, which can be imported and used in your scripts to generate graphics without the UI. - Using DrawBot with vanilla
- DrawBot has a
DrawViewobject which can be used together with vanilla – so you can create custom interfaces with DrawBot-based views.
Making proofs with DrawBot
There are two ways to create a font proof using DrawBot:
- Drawing directly from UFOs
- You can draw glyphs from the current font into a DrawBot canvas using the
drawGlyph()function. This approach is useful when drawing single glyphs or small amounts of text. - Setting text with test fonts
- You can also use RoboFont’s built-in test install function to generate and install a test version of the font, and then use DrawBot’s text setting functions to set some text with the font. This approach is recommended for setting body text and for proofing kerning, OpenType features, hinting, etc.