How to Design Your Own Font (Step by Step)
Learn the process. Then decide if designing your own font is worth your time.
Designing your own font is one of the most rewarding things you can do as a designer. It gives you a new creative outlet and allows you to build something you can sell or use across future design projects.
Daggers display font showing custom layout and skull graphic.
I design and sell fonts in my shop, and every time I release a new one designers ask the same questions:
How do you make a font?
What software do you use?
Is it hard?
This guide walks you through the exact steps I use when designing fonts from scratch. No gatekeeping.
If you want to learn the process so you can make your own font, keep reading.
If you want to see some of the fonts I’ve designed, check out:
Browse fonts: https://www.dristydesign.com/shop/all
Daggers font letterset showing A–Z and numbers.
Step 1: Start With Pencil and Paper
Every font begins analog.
I always start by sketching on paper. No rules. No constraints. Just exploring shapes and styles until something feels interesting.
Why paper?
Because you can move faster. Your hand makes creative decisions before your brain overthinks it.
Badge design featuring my Ridgeline font.
Step 2: Move Into Illustrator
Once I have an idea I like, I photograph or scan the sketch and bring it into Adobe Illustrator.
This is where refinement happens. I start tuning:
Thickness
Angles
Curves
Character balance
Here is a quick video showing my process from sketch to vector:
Watch the video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz6S0RDr8oH/
Ridgeline font character preview.
Step 3: Rough Vector Concept → Clean Vector Letterforms
My workflow:
Create rough vector shapes of letters.
Use guides for baseline, cap height, and x height.
Refine curves and corners until each letter feels consistent.
Beginner mistake: Not using guides.
Guides are what make a font feel professional and uniform.
Tomahawk font along with tomahawks and snake illustration.
Step 4: Build the Font File
Once the vectors are ready, I import them into a font-building plugin.
My setup:
Sketch with pencil + paper (or sometimes Procreate on iPad)
Adobe Illustrator for vector cleanup
Fontself, an illustrator plugin to assemble the font, adjust kerning, and export
Fontself converts your vector letters into a real font file:
.OTF — ready to install and type with.
Tomahawk custom font alphabet.
Common Beginner Mistakes
Skipping guides in Illustrator
Inconsistent thickness between letters
Not kerning the font. Font self has a “Smart Kern” feature that saves tons of time.
How Long Does It Take?
For me, fonts are passion projects. I work on them in my free time.
The most time-consuming part:
Dialing in every letter to feel consistent, including numbers and special characters.
Where Do Font Ideas Come From?
Anywhere.
A sign on a building
Video game or movie
Typography out in the wild
Or I get inspired by the hobbies I’m into at the moment
My fonts tend to feel bold, rugged, and outdoors inspired because that is some of the stuff I love: bold designs, edgy letterforms, being in the great outdoors, etc.
Take a look at some fonts I’ve made and the different styles between them. Maybe they can spark and idea for you.
Browse fonts: https://www.dristydesign.com/shop/all
Quick Answers:
What software do I need to make a font?
Adobe Illustrator + Fontself plugin is the easiest setup I’ve found.
Is it hard to make a font?
No, but it takes time and some attention to detail.
Where do I start?
Start on paper. Do not jump straight into the computer.
Can I sell my own fonts?
Yes. Many designers create and sell fonts as a revenue stream.
Who makes custom fonts for companies?
I’ve had some clients hire us to make a font for their brand. Sometimes it starts with custom made type for a design that we later decide needs to be a full font.
Click below to learn more about getting started on custom logo design, badge artwork, and apparel graphics that speak to your audience.