Flue**t shapes. Desig**i**g type is like drivi**g a car. If you drive a car, you always take the curve i** a **atural way. If you draw a curve (of a character) o** paper, this is exactly the same. The curve starts smoothly, **ever out of a sudde**. While drivi**g a car, you do**’t start tur**i**g the wheel whe** you are already i** the begi****i**g of the curve. A while before you arrive i** the curve you a**ticipate by leadi**g your car ge**tly i** the right directio**. Thi**k about drivi**g a car whe** you are sketchi**g type o** a paper.&**bsp;

流线型。设计字体就象开车。你在开车的时候，总是会以**然的曲线过弯。当你在纸面上绘制一条曲线（或是字符）的时候，也是同样的道理。曲线平滑的开始，而不是陡然出现。开车时，你不会在已经到达了弯道口之后才开始打方向盘，而是在你预计即将进入弯道的时候，就开始慢慢的将你的车引入正确的方向。当你在纸上画草图的时候，多想想你是怎样开车的。
（下面有图片。）

图片上的文字：
标题：动态的曲线
左：怎样才能最快的驶过这条弯道？
右1：几何曲线
右2：**然曲线
右下：平滑的开始转向，更**然，更快速！

&**bsp;

(4)书法原型

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&**bsp;

Calligraphic origi**. The characters o** the top li**e have a differe**t co**structio** tha** the characters o** the bottom li**e. They have a differe**t calligraphic origi**. It does**’t matter if a typeface has serifs (like Times New Roma**) or **ot (like Arial). It’s about the origi**al way they where co**structed.

图中上下两行字母有着不同的结构，它们来源于不同的书法原型。不管这种字体是衬线字体（如Times New Roma**）还是无衬线字体（如Arial），它们的架构都源于它们的书法原型。

The characters i** the top li**e are co**structed with a poi**ted pe** (calligraphic tool). The co**trast is caused by **gi**g the pressure o** the pe**, **ot because of the form of the pe**. Bodo**i is o**e example of this, but also sa**s serif faces like Helvetica have this origi**. The thickest part will be (mostly) totally vertical. From this perspective there is **o differe**ce betwee** Bodo**i a**d Helvetica. They both have the same co**structio**. O**ly the co**trast varies.

上面一行的字体的书法原型是一种尖头的书法钢笔。其笔画的粗细对比是通过改变笔压来实现的，而与笔尖本身的形状无关。Bodo**i字体就是一个例子，但是象Helvetica这样的无衬线体也是来源于此。笔画最粗的部分几乎都是垂直的。从这个角度来看， Bodo**i和Helvetica是同出一辙的。它们的架构是一致的，只是笔画的粗细对比有区别。

The characters i** the bottom li**e have a origi** which is derived from the broad **ip. The calligraphic pe** itself has a thick a**d a thi** part. The co**trast i** the type is made because of the form of the pe**, **ot because of the pressure. You sla**t the pe** with a** a**gle of 30 degrees o** the paper. I** that way your thickest part of a character will **ot be o** a vertical directio**, but will be o** a** a**gle. Also the thi****est part will **ot be o** the most horizo**tal parts. Typefaces like Garamo**d a**d Mi**io** have this ki**d of co**structio**. But also sa**s serif faces like Gill Sa**s have a co**structio** which is origi**ally derived from the broad **ip.

下面一行字体来源于一种笔尖扁平的钢笔。这种书法钢笔正面宽而侧面窄。字体的笔画粗细是**于钢笔本身形状的差异造成的，而不是笔压。你书写的时候笔身是倾斜的，和纸张形成30度的倾角。因此笔画最粗的部分就不是垂直方向的，而是有一定角度的倾斜。同样的，笔画最细的部分也不是位于水平方向上。Garamo**d 和 Mi**io** 字体就是这种结构。但象Gill Sa**s 这样的无衬线字体也同样是起源于这种笔尖扁平的钢笔。

(5)字符间距

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图片文字说明：

文字间距基础
上：太紧
下：a和e的内部空间应该是相等的
平衡字符的内空间和外空间

Spaci**g. Some words about spaci**g type. Much more importa**t tha** the shapes of the characters, is the rhythm of the type. A typeface with beautiful characters which are badly spaced is extremely hard to read. However, if the shapes of the letters are **ot that good, but whe** they are all perfectly spaced, the type will be fairly easy to read. Defi**i**g the rhythm is more importa**t tha** defi**i**g the shapes.

字符间距

这里要说一下字符间距。字符的间距要比它的外形重要得多，这关系到字体的节奏。一种间距很糟糕的字体，不管外形如何优美，一样难于阅读。相反的，一款外形稍欠的字体，如果有完美的间距调节，这种字体一样可以易于阅读。因此，定义字体的节奏，要比定义字体的外形更加重要。

The white spaces i**side a**d i** betwee** letters are defi**i**g the rhythm, much more tha** the black shapes of the letters. Whe** you ma**age to create a good rhythm i** your li**e of text, your type gets more readable a**d gives a bala**ced e**d result. While creati**g the black shapes, you have to take the white spaces i**to co**sideratio**. Because the white spaces are more importa**t tha** the black shapes. However, white ca****ot exist without black. Cha**gi**g a white shape, i**evitable will have a** i**flue**ce o** the black shape. From that perspective, o**e colour ca****ot be more importa**t tha** the other.

字体的节奏取决于字符内部和字符之间的白空间，而非字符的黑色形体。如果你能够为你的文本建立一种很好的节奏，你的字体就更易于阅读，并获得均衡的整体效果。从开始创建黑色形体的时候起，你就应该同时把白空间的设置考虑在内。当然，白空间和黑空间是相互依存的。白空间的改变也必然的会影响黑空间的形态。从这个角度来看，我们不能说黑与白哪个更重要。

For example, there has to be a relatio** betwee** the space i**side a** ’**’ a**d the space betwee** the ’i’ a**d the ’**’ (see drawi**g). I** the top row you ca** see the space i**side the ’**’ is much much bigger tha** the space i** betwee** the ’**’ a**d the ’i’. I** the bottom row they are much more equal, a**d i** this way you’ll get a much better rhythm a**d more harmo**y i** your li**e of text.

例如，字母**内部的白空间，以及i与**之间的白空间，两者之间必然会存在着某种关联（见图示）。在上面一行中，字母**内部的白空间要远大于i与**之间的白空间。在下面一行中，两者则要均衡得多，你也因而获得了更好的节奏，整个文本也更和谐。

The same goes for the i****er form of the ’a’ a**d the ’e’ for example. There is a big relatio** betwee** these two forms. If they have (optically) the same amou**t of white i**side the character (=cou**ter), your type will have a better rhythm as well.&**bsp;

同样的，小写a和e之间的内部空间也存在着这种关联。两个形状之间的关系非常紧密。这两个字符的内部白空间（cou**ter，中文术语翻译为字怀/字谷/字币）在视觉上应当是等量大小的，这样你的字体才会有更好的节奏。

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(6)黑与白

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图片上的文字：
注意字符内部和外部的白空间

Black vs. white. Desig**i**g type is **othi**g more a**d **othi**g less tha** harmo**izi**g black a**d white shapes. Black ca**’t exist without white, a**d white ca**’t exist without black. Black, the shape of a letter. White, the space i** or i** betwee** letters. The amou**t of white i**side a character defi**es the amou**t of white i** betwee** two characters.

黑与白

字体的设计，莫过于调整黑白空间的和谐。黑不能离开白而**存在，白也是一样。黑，是字符的形体。白，是字符内部和字符之间的白色空间。两个字符之间白空间的大小，取决于字符内部白空间的大小。

As it is impossible to create a very black character with a big (white) cou**ter form, a black typeface will always have smaller cou**ters tha** a light typeface. He**ce it follows that there is less space i** betwee** the characters (see drawi**g). A light typeface has much bigger cou**ters. The space i** betwee** two letters has to be i** proportio**. As a co**seque**ce there is more white space i** betwee** light letters tha** i** betwee** black letters.

你永远不可能设计出一种笔画极其粗重而同时字怀（cou**ter，字符内部包围的白空间）又很大的的粗黑体。一个粗黑体，其字怀永远要小于一个细线体，因而粗黑体的字符间距也一定要小于细线体（如图）。细线体的字怀很大，其字符间距也必须相应的大，所以细线体的字符之间就需要比粗黑体更大的白空间。

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(7)意大利体与草写体

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Italic vs. cursive. A roma** fo**t ca** be sla**ted (havi**g a** a**gle) a**d a cursive fo**t ca** be upright (totally vertical like a roma**). Urgh!

一个罗马体（roma**，通常也被译作”正体“）可以是倾斜的（有一定的倾角），而一个草写体可以是竖直的（就好像是一个正体一样）。呃？！

The a**gle does**’t decide if a character is a ’roma**’ character or a** ’cursive’ character. This depe**ds o** the co**structio**. To make it a bit more clear, take a look at the four big **’s. As you would expect, the first letter is a roma** character. But the seco**d o**e as well. Although it’s **ot totally vertical, it still has the same co**structio** as the first ’**’. This is called a sla**ted roma**. The third ’**’ looks like a** cursive, but also this o**e is **ot a real cursive. Basicly there is **o differe**ce betwee** the seco**d a**d third ’**’, o**ly some parts of the serifs have bee** cut off.

倾角并不能决定一个字母是一个“罗马体”还是一个“草写体”。关键在于其结构。要理解这一点，看看下面四个大**。你想的没错，第一个是一个罗马体。但第二个同样也是，虽然它并不是完全的竖直，它和第一个**拥有同样的结构。这种情形我们叫做倾斜的罗马体。第三个**看起来很象草写体了。但它实际上还不是一个真正的草写体。总的来说第三个**和第二个并没有多大区别，只是衬线的个别部分被切掉了而已。

Compare the first three letters with the last ’**’. That’s a real cursive. The big differe**ce with the previous three is the co**structio**. The first three are co**structed from separate pe** strokes. The last ’**’ is co**structed out of o**e pe** stroke. This is the basic differe**ce betwee** roma** a**d cursive fo**ts. Not the a**gle, but the co**structio**.

与前面三个**相比，最后一个**才是真正的草写体。它们之间最大的区别在于结构。前三个**的各个笔画之间都是**的。最后一个**完全是一笔写成的。这就是罗马体和草写体之间最根本的区别：不在于倾角，而在于结构。

Ma**y differe**t expla**atio**s ca** be give** for the differe**ce betwee** a ’cursive’ a**d ’italic’ from a historical poi**t of view. However we co**sider this as the big differe**ce: ’italic’ is co**cer**i**g the fu**ctio**, ’cursive’ is co**cer**i**g the co**structio**. Almost a**ythi**g ca** work as a** ’italic’, it does**’t eve** **ecessarily **eeds a** a**gle. Whe** maki**g a fo**t family with a roma** a**d a** italic fo**t, the italic fo**t ca** be co**structed i** ma**y differe**t ways. The third ’**’ i** the example could probably fu**ctio** perfectly as a** italic i**side your family. But do**’t forget, it’s **ot always a real cursive whe** it’s called ’italic’.

如果要从历史的视角来探讨草写体和“意大利体”之间的区别，那就说来话长了。但我们可以从这个角度来考虑：“意大利体”关乎功能，而“草写体”关乎结构。几乎任何字体都可以当成一个“意大利体”来使用，甚至根本不需要有什么倾角。当你**一个包含“罗马体”和“意大利体”的字体家族时，这个“意大利体”可以用各种不同的方式来构建。图例中的第三个**也许就是你字体家族中一个完美的“意大利体”。但不要忘了，一个叫做“意大利体”的字体不一定是一个草写体。

译注：这篇翻的比较别扭。roma**一般译作“正体”，italic译作“斜体”，严格来讲都不是准确的翻译，但却已经是约定俗成的翻译了。正确的翻译应该是“罗马体”和“意大利体”。在Wi**dows上，对99%的用户来说，italic就是斜体的意思，word里面甚至为所有字体都提供了一个“斜体”的功能。但实际上“意大利体”指的是一类字体的统称，并且也并非所有的“意大利体”都是倾斜的。西方拉丁文字系统最早在古罗马帝国形成完整的体系，代表作品就是古罗马的石刻文字，非常庄严而典雅。而后来意大利人从手写体中发展出了意大利体。随着印刷术的发展，意大利体一般用来作为正文字体的一种特殊强调样式，用于注释、引文之类的场合，与正文字体相区别。因此许多比较完备的字体家族都提供了一个叫做“意大利体”的变体，和其正体（罗马体）相比，有些字体中的“意大利体”的字形完全是经过重新设计的，而不仅仅是倾斜那么简单。）

要了解更多有关意大利体的信息，可以参看下面这篇文章。
http://www.logosky.**et/webpage/artreview/italic_fo**t_20060916.htm

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(8)风格的统一

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图上文字：
衬线还是无衬线？看上图，你**己决定。

O**e for all What defi**es if o**e character ca** fit to a**other character? O**ce you made a decisio**, how to apply this to all the other characters i** a fo**t?

是什么决定一个字符能否匹配另一个字符？当你确定了一种风格，如何将之推广应用于字库中的全部字符？

Starti**g poi**t: ’e’ (i** the ce**ter of the drawi**g). Imagi**e you sketched this ’e’, you like it a lot, a**d **ow you wa**t to desig** more characters fitti**g to this ’e’. Where to start? Should it be a serif or a sa**s serif for example?

先从这里开始：图中有一个“e”。想象你刚画好这个“e”的草图，你很喜欢它，然后你想要设计更多的其他字符来匹配这个“e”。该如何开始呢？比如说，它应该是一个衬线字体还是一个无衬线字体呢？

First try: ’i’ o** the left. Sa**s serif. The black part is as thick as the black parts of the ’e’. Same x-height. So this should work you thi**k.

第一个尝试：左边的“i”，无衬线体。它最粗的部分和“e”最粗部分的笔画宽度相同，同样的x-**度。它应该能表达你的想法了。

Seco**d try: ’i’ o** the right. Same thick**ess, the character has the same x-height, but **ow it has serifs.

第二个尝试：右边的“i”。同样的宽度，同样的x-**度，但这次它有了衬线。

The bowl of the ’e’ is **ot o**ly havi**g a certai** thick**ess, but the ’e’ also has co**trast. The ’i’ o** the left has **o co**trast at all. Therefore these two characters do**’t belo**g to each other. The ’i’ o** the right however has the same ki**d of co**trast as the ’e’, just because it has serifs. Just those ti**y serifs make sure there are thick a**d thi** parts, like the ’e’ has. This mea**s that the starti**g poi**t, the ’e’, already defi**ed that the rest of the fo**t ca****ot be a sa**s serif typeface.

“e”的字碗不仅仅有着一定的宽度，同时还有着粗细的对比。左边的“i”完全没有笔画粗细的对比。因此这两个字符不是完美的一对。而右边的“i”有着和“e”同样的粗细对比，是因为它有了衬线。这细细的衬线让它象“e”那样拥有了粗细的区别。这就是起点。这个“e”，已经决定了这个字体中的其余字符不应该是一个无衬线字体。

Of course, every so called rule is there to be broke**. Me**tio**i**g this, does**’t mea** you ca**’t make a fo**t which has a** ’e’ combi**ed with a** ’i’ like the o**e o** the left. Everythi**g is possible of course. But **ow you realize better what you are doi**g, also whe** you do**’t do it. Still get it?

当然了，每一条所谓的规则到最后都会有例外。从这个意义来说，你完全可以把中间的“e”和左边的“i”配一对做一个字体。没有什么是不可能的。但现在你已经能够更深刻的意识到你为什么这样做，抑或是你为什么不那样做。还能理解吗？

(9)可读性

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Readability.&**bsp; The o**ly importa**t aspect of a text typeface is the readability. Ma**y decisio**s ca** i**flue**ce the readability. Which co**trast you create, the le**gth of the asce**ders a**d desce**ders, the rhythm, the black**ess of a type, the stre**gth of the curves a**d the bowls, etc.

可读性是正文字体的唯一考量指标。你对字体所做的许多决定都会影响可读性。例如采用怎样的粗细对比，上伸部和下伸部的长度，字体的节奏，黑度，曲线和字碗的力度，等等。

Most of those decisio** apply to all the characters i**side a fo**t. These have to be defi**ed first. For example the co**trast. The characters o** the top li**e (see drawi**g) have a much bigger co**trast tha** the characters o** the bottom li**e. The type o** the top li**e will be more suitable for display use, the type the bottom the bottom li**e more for text use. Not o**ly because of the differe**ce i** co**trast, but also because the characters o** the top li**e are much more co**de**sed. This makes them less legible i** small sizes, but more eye-catchi**g a**d flexible for headli**es. Defi**i**g the co**trast a**d the width are decisio**s which cou**t for every si**gle character i** a fo**t.

大部分的决定会影响到字体中的全部字符。下面这些是应该首先考虑的。比如说粗细对比。图例中上面一行的字符笔画粗细对比明显要比下面一行的要大得多。上一行的字体更适合做特排字体，而下一行更适合做正文字体。不仅仅是因为它们粗细对比的差异，还**于上一行的字符的字宽更小，因而在小尺寸下更难以识别——但是却更能吸引眼球，在**标题的时候也更具灵活性。所以在定义字体的粗细对比和宽度的时候，要考虑到字体中的全部字符。

But also while desig**i**g every si**gle glyph, you ca** create details which improve the readability of a fo**t. For example, the ear of a ’g’ ca** make sure the reader’s eye will follow the horizo**tal readi**g directio** more flue**tly. The ’g’ o** the bottom li**e will work much better i** a text typeface for small sizes (see drawi**g).

不过，在设计每一个具体字符的时候，你可以通过增加一些细节来提升该字体的可读性。举例来说，小写字母g右上角的字耳会有助于阅读者的视线更平滑的水平移动。如果用作正文字体，图中下面一行中的"g"在小尺寸下的表现会相当不错。

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(10)比例

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Proportio**s. Which x-height to defi**e? Which desce**der depth? Defi**i**g these proportio**s are esse**tial, a**d very stro**gly co****ected to the purpose of the type. The proportio**s withi** a certai** typeface are i**flue**ci**g the way your type will work & look. For example, it’s impossible to create a space savi**g **ewspaper typeface with a** extremely wide body width.

x**度应该定多**？下伸部应该多长？确定这些比例至关重要，并且与字体的用途紧密相关。字体的比例将影响其外观及应用。比如说，如果你想设计一种节约版面的字体，那就不能给它设置极大的字宽。

Extremely short desce**ders will give a stra**ge look to a text typeface. Eve** worse, they might **ot be visible at all a**ymore. But extremely short desce**ders ca** also be a smart decisio**, while creati**g a display or headli**e type. For a text typeface the asce**der height should be as big or, eve** better, bigger tha** the** cap height to give a optical pleasurable result (see drawi**g).

如果下伸部很短，字体看上去会很怪。或者更糟，阅读者可能根本无法发现它。但很短的下伸部也可能是一个聪明的决定，当它用于特排字体或者标题字体的时候。 对一个正文字体来说，上伸部最好是和大写**度一样（或者更**一些更棒），以获得良好的视觉效果。如图。

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(11)小型大写

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Small caps. You could guess it already from the **ame, small caps are small capitals. Capitals which have the same height as lowercase characters.

你可能看名字就猜出来了，小型大写就是小号的大写字母。和小写字母一样**度的大写字母。

Why are small caps **eeded? Because of several typographical reaso**s. First of all a whole word set i** caps will look awful, it will drow** out the rest of the text. Seco**d, i** lots of typefaces the capitals are **ot desig**ed a**d spaced to work together, but to be followed by a lowercase character. Small caps however are desig**ed to purely work together. They will give a more pleasurable, harmo**ized result.

为什么会需要小型大写？基于几个排印上的原因。首先，全部设置大写的单词看起来一塌糊涂，会让所有文本湮没其中，难以辨识。其次，大部分字体中的大写，根本就不是为大写连排而设计的，它们的大写字母间距是为后面跟随小写字母而设计的。小型大写才是专为大写连排而设计的。它们会得到更舒服和谐的效果。

Havi**g said that small capitals are capitals o** x-height, it’s mostly **ot 100% true. To optically give them the same height, the small caps will have to be slightly bigger tha** lowercase characters of the same fo**t (see drawi**g).

前面说小型大写是和小写字母一样x-**度的大写字母，其实是不太准确的。要得到和小写字母同样的视觉**度，同字体的小型大写就必须比小写字母稍微的更大一些。

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(12)花式大写?

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Swash caps? Admitti**g that it’s **ot the most urge**t issue to lear** i** typography, it’s i**teresti**g to quickly pay atte**tio** to this topic. Not every fo**t family has a Swash varia**t. Most commo** are swash capitals, but also swash lowercase characters a**d swash-begi****i**gs a**d -e**di**gs exist.

我承认，这不是学习字体设计最迫切需要了解的一节，但是这个话题很有趣，我们稍稍关注一下就好了。不是所有的字体家族都包含有花式的变体。最常见的一般是花式大写，但同样也有花式的小写以及花式的首字和尾字。

Sometimes you wa**t to set a whole li**e i** capitals. It’s possible to do this with roma** capitals, although sometimes it’s better to choose small capitals which are desig**ed for this purpose. Roma** capitals are **ot, but mostly they do**’t cause problems. Swash capitals however do. Swash capitals are mostly desig**ed to give some extra visual pleasure to your desig**s. The caps are mea**t to be followed by lowercase characters (**umber 1), or used as a** i**itial (**umber 2), but **ot to be combi**ed with eachother. O**ly with some fo**ts it’s possible to combi**e swash capitals with **ormal roma** caps (**umber 3).

有时候你想要设置整行的大写。可以用大写正体来完成这一任务，虽然小型大写可能是更好的选择——那才是为此而设计的。大写正体不是为了大写连排而设计的，但多数情况下它们也不会造成麻烦。而花式大写就不一样。花式大写的设计目的通常是用来为设计增添一些额外的视觉愉悦。其大写是为后面跟随小写字母而设计的（图1），或是用于首字下沉排版（图2），但绝非用于大写连排。只有某些特定的字体才有可能出现花式大写与普通正体大写的连排（图3）。

(13)x**度

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图中文字：
上右：正文字体拥有一致的视觉**度。（而物理尺寸是不一样的）
下右：特排字体的x**度更偏向于物理尺寸上的一致。

x-heights. If you make a light weight a**d the black weight of o**e typeface, you’ll have to make sure that the black weight has a bigger x-height tha** the light weight (top li**e drawi**g). If this is **ot the case, the black weight will look optically too small whe** it’s combi**ed with the light weight i** a li**e of text.

如果你**一个包含轻磅（细线体）和重磅（粗黑体）的字体，你应该确保粗黑体的x**度应当比细线体的略大（见图中上一行）。否则，当粗黑体和细线体在同一行中连排时，粗黑体看上去就要比细线体要小得多。

I** display sizes this is **ot exactly the same. If the type is pri**ted i** big sizes there ca** be a much smaller differe**ce betwee** the x-height of the light a**d the black weight (bottom li**e drawi**g).

但在特排使用中，情况就不太一样。当字体大字号印刷时，两者的x**度之间的差异就微乎其微了（参见图中下一行）。

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(14)粗体

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Bold-faced. Si**ce the i**troductio** of the computer, type desig** has become available to a wide audie**ce like **ever show** before i** history. Of course the digitalizatio** makes ma**y acts easier a**d particularly faster. This does**’t mea** it automatically gets better, but that’s a**other story. For example, ma**y fo**t software programs have i**cluded a** optio** to ’bolde** up’ your regular weight. The outli**es of the perfectly desig**ed fo**t get expa**ded, but the program is tryi**g to fool you. That’s **ot a bold. It’s a limousi**e which got quickly exte**ded by a local blacksmith. The co**trast will probably be destroyed (see the seco**d ’a’ i** the drawi**g). Doi**g this by ha**d will give a much more pleasurable result. No matter how well fo**t software programs will improve i** the future, there is o**ly o**e thi**g that really cou**ts i** the e**d: your critical eye.

计算机的普及，使得广大的用户得以接触到字体设计，这在以前是从未有过的。数字化让许多操作变得更简单和快捷，但不意味着它会**动的获得更好的结果，那完全是两码事。举个例子，许多字体软件都包含一个字体“加粗”选项，能将原先完美设计的字体轮廓加以扩展。但实际上软件只是在欺骗你。那并非真正的粗体，那只是一辆**村里的铁匠临时改长的“加长型”豪华轿车。笔画的粗细比率可能全被破坏了（见图例中第二个a）。手工操作的结果会更令人满意。不管将来的软件如何进步，最终起决定作用的东西只有一个：你锐利的眼光。

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(15)线稿的数字化

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图片上的文字：
右：为初学者热身
下1：将控制点限制在水平或者垂直方向上
下2：只在必要的地方使用节点（能用一个点完成的，就不要用两个点）

Digitizi**g sketches. Whe** the ha**dmade sketches o** paper are ready to be sca****ed, take care of digitizi**g them i** a proper way. More specifically, take care while co**verti**g your sca****ed image ma**ually with a Bezier based pe** tool. Too ma**y poi**ts o** a character, or poi**ts at the wro**g positio** ca** have a **egative i**flue**ce at your fo**t.

线稿的数字化。在纸上画好线稿之后就可以扫描了，这时候要开始要注意，要用正确的方法将其数字化。说的更明确一点，在你用贝赛线钢笔工具手工描摹你的线稿的时候，要留神。一个字符如果有太多的节点，或者是节点放置在不正确的位置上，都会给你的字体带来负面的影响。

Too ma**y poi**ts (=**odes) ca** **ot o**ly cause tech**ical problems -e.g. the pri**ter ca**’t pri**t the fo**t a**ymore- but it is also much harder to co**trol the shapes of a character. Co**trolli**g a curve betwee** two **odes is much easier tha** **gi**g a curve with twelve **odes. Of course it’s possible, but it will **ot e**d up i** a flue**t form.

过多的节点不仅仅会导致技术上的麻烦，例如打印机无法打印输出，还会使得字符的外形更加难于控制。在两个节点之间控制一条曲线，要远远容易过操纵一条有12个节点的曲线。当然这并非不可以，但多余的节点必然会导致外形的不平滑。

Havi**g the **odes at the wro**g positio** ca** cause tech**ical problems -e.g. it’s impossible to hi**t the fo**t perfectly- but also practically it is recomme**dable to put **odes at extreme positio**s at your glyph. For example, digitizi**g a** ’o’ would o**ly **eed 8 **odes. Four at the outer form, four at the cou**ter form. Putti**g **odes at extreme positio**s (most top & dow**, most left & right) mea**s the BCP (Bezier Co**trol Poi**t) will always be totally horizo**tal or vertical. I** that case they are much easier to co**trol. I** most software programs you ca** use shift key to keep the BCP totally horizo**tal or vertical.

节点放置在错误的地方也会导致技术问题，例如无法实现字符在屏幕小字号下的完美显示（hi**ti**g-在计算机屏幕上显示小字号时的优化显示技术，是设计者嵌入字体内部的提示信息）。建议是，把节点放置在字符的"顶点"位置。举例说明，用贝赛线绘制一个“O”要用到8个节点。外面4个，内部的字怀4个。将节点放置在顶点（最上点、最下点、最左点和最右点），意味着BCP（贝赛线控制点）将全部是水平或者垂直的。这样它们就非常易于控制。在大多数的软件中，你可以用shift键来将BCP（贝赛线控制点）的移动限制在水平或垂直方向上。

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(16)复制粘贴?

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Copy-paste? Whe** you have created a few basic characters, you also wa**t to create the rest of the alphabet. But how? Copy a**d paste? Euhm, **ot really. Although, this ca** help you o** the way.

当你设计了几个基本的字符，你还想继续完成整个字母表。该怎样做？复制粘贴？嗯，不完全对，但，也会有助于你的开始。

There are some thi**gs which you ca** do, a**d some which you ca****ot do while copy-pasti**g. Some forms ca** be just the same. The asce**der of the ’l’ a**d ’h’ for example. But maybe the bowl of the ’d’ a**d ’q’ as well. O**ce you created a ’d’, this could work fi**e as a starti**g poi**t for a ’b’ a**d a ’p’, by rotati**g the ’d’ 180 degrees.

有些东西是复制粘贴可以完成的，有些则不是。有些形状是完全一样的。比如“l”和“h”的上伸部。“d”和“q”的字碗也有可能是一样的。当你完成了一个“d”，你就可以把这个“d”旋转180度，以此为基础完成“b”和“p”的**。

Copy-paste should **ot **ge the co**trast i** your typeface. Whe** you make a typeface based o** the broad **ip, horizo**tal a**d vertical flippi**g will disturb the a**gle of your co**trast, a**d will destroy your shape. However, by rotati**g a (part of a) character 180 degrees, the co**trast remai**s perfect a**d u**touched.

复制粘贴不会改变你字体的粗细比率。但如果你设计的是基于平头钢笔书法原型的字体（参见第四节-书法原型），那么水平或垂直镜像的造字方法，就会影响字体粗细对比所形成的角度（译注：对于这个角度，有一个更准确的术语：stress，应力），从而破坏字体的形状。不过，通过把一个字符（或其部件）旋转180度的方法来造字，则不会有损于粗细比率的完美。

But copy-paste does**’t bri**g you all the way there. It ca** work as a starti**g poi**t, but ma**ual adjustme**ts will be mostly **ecessary. For example, if you have a ’**’, you ca** quite quickly make a ’m’ a**d a ’h’, but also a ’u’ (see drawi**g). Copy, paste a**d rotate the ’**’. The** cut some serifs, a**d... **ot ready yet! If you cut away the serifs, also o** the i****er side of the ’u’, the white space i**side the ’u’ will get bigger the** the white space i**side the ’**’. This has to be optically corrected.

复制粘贴大法并不是万能的，它只能作为一个起始点，大部分的时候都需要手工的调校。比如说，你已经有了一个“**”，你不但可以用来快速生成一个“m”和“h”，还可以用它来**一个“u”（如图）。复制，粘贴，然后旋转这个“**”。切除不要的衬线，然后就…等等，还没完！当你切除了内部的衬线之后，内部的白空间就会比“**”的要大，所以必须进行视觉上的微调。

O**e solutio** for this could be to make the ’u’ a bit more **arrow, or maybe a**other solutio** could be to make the serif o** the top a bit lo**ger (which also makes the i****erform smaller of course). Whatever way you do it, make sure the i****er forms have (optically) the same amou**t of white space. O**ly i** that way you’ll get a harmo**ious rhythm i** your type.

一个解决方法是把“u”稍微挤压一点，或者还有另外一个方法，加大内部右上角的衬线，这样也能把内部的白空间减少一些。不管哪种方法，都必须确保字体的内部形状在视觉上拥有同等的白空间。只有这样，你的字体才能够获得和谐的节奏。

(17)形态的平衡

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Bala**ce shapes. If you make both of the i****er forms (cou**ters) of the ’B’ exactly the same, the top cou**ter will optically look bigger. Your character will look plumby, like it’s falli**g dow**. If you make the top cou**ter smaller tha** the bottom o**e, your character looks much more bala**ced.

如果你把字母“B”上下两个内部形状（字怀）弄得完全一样，上面的字怀在视觉上就会更大。你的字母看上去就好像站立不稳，摇摇欲坠。如果你把上面的字怀弄得小一些，整个字符看起来会更平衡。

The cou**ter of the ’B’ does**’t have to be exactly the same as the cou**ter of the ’P’ for example. If you would make them exactly the same, the right sidebeari**g of the P would be much too big. So you have to bala**ce the black a**d white spaces i** every character separately. However, there must be a relatio**ship betwee** the amou**t of white space i**side a ’B’ a**d i**side a ’P’.

同样的，字母“B”字母“P”的字怀也不需要完全一样。如果两者完全一样，“P”的右部空间就显得太大了。所以对每个字符的黑白空间你都要进行单独的平衡。但是，“B”和“P”两者内部白空间的大小一定存在着某种关联。

About maki**g a lowercase ’r’: it’s **ot a** ’**’ with a** amputated leg. Your ’r’ ca** get very weak a**d soft i** that way. You ca** make it much stro**ger if you let the e**di**g of the ’r’ follow the horizo**tal readi**g directio**. I** that way, the space o** the right side of the ’r’ will be more ope**, a**d more bala**ced. It will **ot disturb the rhythm of your type because the right sidebeari**g ca** be much smaller. The whole letter ca** be made more **arrow as well. As a co**seque**ce the white space i** the top of the ’r’ could be has to be **ged. I** case you **ge that form, optically you’ll **ot co**fuse the ’r’ so quickly with the ’**’ as well.

说到怎样做一个小写的“r”：它绝对不是一个把一边腿锯断的“**”。如果那样做，你的“r”会被弄得非常的虚弱。如果你让“r”的末笔顺着水平的阅读方向，就可以让它看上去更健壮。同时“r”的右部空间会更开放，更平衡。这不会有损于字体的节奏，因为“r”右部的安全空间可以设置得非常小。整个字母可以做的更窄。这样一来，“r”顶部的白空间就不得不改变。形状改变之后还有一个好处，你就不会在匆匆一瞥之下把“r”错看成“**”。

译注：

sidebeari**g 字符前后预留的安全空间（或者叫缓冲区），以避免前后字符笔画发生碰撞。分为左部空间和右部空间。
参考链接：http://www.myfirstfo**t.com/glossary.html

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(18)字距调整

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Ker**i**g. K**owledge about ker**i**g will give a deeper u**dersta**di**g of type. However, forget about ker**i**g for **ow, spe**d your time o** other thi**gs. It’s much more importa**t to properly space your characters.

字距调整的知识会让你对字体的理解更进一步。但我们现在先暂时把它忘记，先花点时间看看另外的东西。如果你想正确的设置字符间距，这个要重要得多。

A ker**i**g pair is a tech**ical issue for optical reaso**s. Simply said: whe** o**e certai** character is followed by a**other character you ca** defi**e a differe**t space i** betwee** these two characters. This space ca** vary from the the **ormal spaci**g (right sidebeari**g of the first character + left sidebeari**g of the seco**d character). The differe**ce ca** be positive or **egative; you ca** add more space for a certai** combi**atio** or you ca** reduce the space. A ker**i**g pair ca** tech**ically be impleme**ted i** a digital fo**t file.

字距配对（ker**i**g pair）是一种因视觉需要而做的技术处理。简单说，在两个特定的字符连排的时候，你可以为它们单独指定与众不同的字符间距。这个间距可以不同于标准间距（前一个字符的右部安全空间+后一个字符的左部安全空间）。这个间距可以是正的也可以是负的，你可以为某个字符对设置更多或更少的空间。数字化的字库文件中可以实现这种字距配对。

I** some cases ker**i**g is i**evitable a**d **ecessary. Whe** a capital ’A’ is followed by a lowercase ’v’, a big white space will appear which ca****ot be solved by adapti**g the spaci**g of the characters. Cha**gi**g the spaci**g would mess it up whe** they would be combi**ed with other characters agai**. For this occasio** a ker**i**g pair is **eeded (see drawi**g). I** the sketch you o**ly see some examples where the ker**i**g pair is **egative; reduci**g space. But you ca** also imagi**e a positive ker**i**g pair whe** a ’f’ is followed by a bracket for example; "f)". More space has to be added to avoid those characters overlappi**g eachother.

有些场合这种字距调整是必不可少的。当一个大写A后面跟随一个小写v的时候，两个字符间就会出现巨大的白空间，这是普通的字符间距所无法解决的。如果改变它们的间距，它们和其他字母连排的时候就会挤成一团。这时候就需要字距配对来处理了（如图）。图中只出现了字距配对为负的例子——缩减空间。但你可以想象一个字距配对为正的例子：一个小写f后跟随一个括号，例如：“f)”。这时候就需要加入更多的间距以避免两个字符重叠在一起。

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(19)连字

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Ligatures. I** a very few cases they are esse**tial. Some well k**ow** ligatures are ’fi’ a**d ’fl’. The i**evitable **eed for a ligature is depe**di**g o** the desig** of a fo**t. Not every typeface will **eed a ligature for a ’fi’ combi**atio**. But i** some cases the dot of the ’i’ is i**terferi**g with the ’f’. Get rid of all that a****oyi**g row but maki**g a ligature, o**e glyph which represe**ts two (or more) characters. Next to a fu**ctio**al aspect, there is a** aesthetic aspect of ligatures. You could create a ligature for a ’st’ combi**atio**, or maybe for ’**ky’ or ’ism’. A**ythi**g is possible. Admitti**g that also this is **ot the most urge**t issue i** type desig**, it’s a**other obstacle o** the road to perfectio**!

只有极少数的场合才需要用到连字。比较常见的连字有“fi”和“fl”。连字是否必不可少，取决于字体的设计。不是每种字体都需要"fi"的连字组合。但有些时候字母“i”上面的圆点会和前面的“f”相撞。一劳永逸的解决方案是做一个连字，用一个字符代替两个（或更多的）字符。连字的出现的原因，除去功能上的需要，还有审美意义上的。你可以做一个“st”的连字组合，或是一个“**ky”或“ism”。任何字符都是有可能的。这个章节同样也不是学习字体设计最迫切需要的知识，但这是通向完美之路上另一道必须逾越的障碍。

（译注：到今天为止，整个《字体设计基础》系列文章就全部翻译完了。了却一桩心事。感谢大家一直以来的支持。）