I Turned My Handwriting Into a Font. How?

After years of wanting to, I finally made my own font. I can really type my own handwriting. You know how cool that is?

I've been putting this off forever because I thought making your handwriting into a font required some complicated software or deep typography knowledge. You can get by using this service called Calligraphr, where you can simply draw your font on a piece of paper and scan it. And if you happen to have a drawing tablet (like my Wacom tablet I have from my photography editing days), or something like an iPad with an Apple Pencil, you can skip the whole print-and-scan part entirely.

The whole process took a few hours, and I didn’t have to pay anything. This was all free.

Here’s how I made my own font, Idreezus Sans.

<step> <step-number>Step 1</step-number> <step-header>Sign up for Calligraphr</step-header> <step-content>Create a free account at calligraphr.com. Of course. They'll probably email you a confirmation and all that jazz.</step-content> </step>

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<step> <step-number>Step 2</step-number> <step-header>Download a character template</step-header> <step-content>

Go to Templates → Basics → Minimal English. Add Minimal Numbers if you want digits. The free version limits you to 75 characters total, but just the Minimal English + Numbers amounts to 70 total. If you want to add some extra punctuation, you may reach the limit.

I wanted my entire font in caps anyway, so I was fortunately able to avoid the limit by a decent margin, but if you really need to, it’s like $8 a month to pay for the subscription and you can unsubscribe after you’re done. That’s like the cost of a Chipotle bowl. You can do it.

Anyway, download the template as a PDF if you’re going to be scanning it, or a PNG if you’re going to be using another program to draw over it.</step-content> </step>

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<step> <step-number>Step 3</step-number> <step-header>Get the template ready for drawing</step-header> <step-content>

I happened to have a pen tablet from my photography days, so I dragged the PNG into Figma and locked the layer. If you don't have a tablet, just print the template and grab a black pen, or a Sharpie if you want your font to be thicc. You'll need a scanner for later though. Hopefully you live in an ancient house that still has one. If not, to FedEx Kinkos you go.

(Technically, you can use a camera to “scan” the template, but odds are it’s going to be distorted since your photo won’t resemble a perfectly-laid-flat piece of paper. So in my opinion, find a scanner if you care).

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<step> <step-number>Step 4</step-number> <step-header>Fill out your letters</step-header> <step-content>

If using a tablet: Create a new layer in Figma (or your drawing tool of choice) and draw each letter with the pen tool. If using paper: Fill out each box with a black pen. Either way, write naturally and don’t overthink it. The imperfections are what make it yours.</step-content> </step>

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<step> <step-number>Step 5</step-number> <step-header>Get your template digital</step-header> <step-content>If going the tablet route: Export the template with your letters visible and export as PNG. If going the paper route: Scan your filled template. Either way, make sure those four corner markers are visible – Calligraphr needs them for alignment.</step-content> </step>

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<step> <step-number>Step 6</step-number> <step-header>Upload to Calligraphr</step-header> <step-content>

In My Fonts → Upload Template, upload your file(s). Keep "Automatically clean templates" checked. Then boom. You'll see all your characters in little preview boxes. So cute.</step-content> </step>

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<step> <step-number>Step 7</step-number> <step-header>Build and download your font</step-header> <step-content>

Click Build Font. Preview it by typing in the test box. If needed, click “Edit Font Details” and adjust character spacing or the alignment of certain letters. Download the .ttf file, double-click to install, and viola. You have your own unique font. Name it after yourself, you deserve it.</step-content> </step>

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<step-number>Optional</step-number>

<step-header>Bonus Tip: Making It Look More Natural with Character Variations</step-header>

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The thing that bugs me about most handwriting fonts is they're too consistent. Real handwriting varies – you never write the same letter exactly the same way twice.

So I drew all my letters again on a second template. Not dramatically different, just naturally different. When I uploaded this second batch to Calligraphr, I chose "Create variants" instead of replacing the originals. Then, after clicking Build Font, I checked the box for "Randomize characters". Now when I type, Calligraphr randomly picks between the different versions of each letter. Makes everything look way more organic.

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So what’s the point of all this? I use Idreezus Sans for branding stuff – those handwritten touches you see scattered around my website, subtitles in videos, anywhere I want that personal feel without actually handwriting text every time since nobody got time for that.

A few hours of work, and now I have something uniquely mine that I'll probably use forever.

If you've been thinking about making your own font, just do it. Costs nothing, doesn’t take that much time, and you end up with something nobody else has.