Illustrator Fontself Maker Extension Tutorial

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The Fontself Maker extension for Adobe Illustrator allows you to create OpenType OTF fonts directly from your artwork. You can design glyphs, import them into Fontself, adjust spacing, set font metadata, and export fully functional fonts for use in Creative Cloud or any other application.

1. Getting Started with Fontself Maker

  1. Create your letter designs in Adobe Illustrator.
  2. Go to Window → Extensions → Fontself.
  3. Select your artwork (e.g., 26 uppercase characters).
  4. Click New in the Fontself panel.
  5. Drag your characters into the Uppercase section.
  6. Repeat for lowercase, numbers, and punctuation.
  7. Export your font as an OTF file.

Fontself converts Illustrator shapes and paths into fully functional OpenType fonts. It's ideal for hand‑drawn lettering, custom display fonts, and experimental typefaces.

2. What Fontself Maker Does

Fontself Maker allows you to:

You can create uppercase, lowercase, numbers, punctuation, and additional symbols. The extension processes your artwork and builds a complete font file.

3. Installing and Opening the Fontself Extension

Install Fontself using the official installer. Once installed:

  1. Open Illustrator.
  2. Go to Window → Extensions → Fontself.
  3. Prepare your artwork before or after opening the panel.
  4. Click New to start a new font project.

For testing, you can expand characters from an existing font and drag them into Fontself. For commercial fonts, you must use original artwork.

4. Adding Characters to the Glyphs Panel

  1. Create 26 uppercase characters.
  2. Ensure each character is a single path (use Pathfinder if needed).
  3. Select all 26 characters.
  4. Drag them into the A–Z section of Fontself.
  5. Repeat for lowercase characters.
  6. Drag numbers 0–9 into the Numbers section.
  7. Adjust spacing and line height using the +/– controls.
  8. Add punctuation and symbols using the batch glyphs feature.

Batch glyphs may require manual assignment (e.g., comma, period, underscore). Simply click the glyph and enter the correct character.

5. Setting Up Font Information

Fontself allows you to enter metadata such as:

This information is required for proper font identification. Fontself does not store this data between projects, so you must re‑enter it for each new font.

6. Exporting Your Font as an OTF File

To export your font:

  1. Click Export in the Fontself panel.
  2. Save the generated .otf file.

The exported OTF file can be installed on macOS, Windows, or used in other applications such as Photoshop, Affinity Photo, and more.

7. Installing Fonts Created with Fontself

If you want to install the font for use in Creative Cloud:

See: How to install fonts on Windows PC.

8. More Information

For additional details, updates, or support, visit the official Fontself website at fontself.com. It's a powerful and intuitive tool for creating custom fonts directly inside Illustrator.

Fontself Extension FAQ

What is Fontself Maker for Illustrator?

Fontself Maker is an Illustrator extension that converts vector artwork into OpenType OTF fonts.

How many characters do I need to create a font?

You need 26 uppercase letters, 26 lowercase letters, 10 numbers, and optional punctuation or symbols.

Can I export my font as an OTF file?

Yes. Fontself exports fully functional OTF files that can be installed on any system.

Does Fontself support kerning and spacing adjustments?

Yes. You can adjust letter spacing, line spacing, and kerning directly inside the Fontself panel.

Can I use existing fonts to create a new font?

You can use existing fonts for testing, but you cannot legally release a commercial font based on another font's glyphs.