Quick Guide To Creating A Variations Font

1. Open a TrueType font suitcase from within Mutator (Command-O) (or drag and drop the font suitcase on the Mutator application icon). This font will be modified to include Variation data.

2. Open a TrueType font as a Template (if you require a template to work from). A Mutator template is simply another font used as a guide when creating glyph variations. A grayed outline of the current template glyph can be displayed, along with its on/off curve points.

3. Next, create and define an axis.

To create the axis: Open the Axes window, and type in (Command-N) (or use Toolbar shortcut). This will bring up a window where you define various aspects of this axis: the Name, Tag, and Min and Max Values.

• Name. The name of the axis is the name of the variation which will be exported to an application, such as Weight, Width, or Optical Size.
• Tag. The Axis tag is used only by an application. Apple has standardized the tag names of some axes:
  • wdth - width
  • wght - weight
  • opsz - optical size (in which case, you define the min and max as point sizes)
  • slnt - slant (italic)
• Min and Max values. These fractional values are weighed against the regular value. For example, in an axis where you are going to vary a font's width, the minimum value will be the narrowest end of the spectrum, and the maximum value will reflect the heaviest form.

To see the axes you have defined, pull down the Axis menu. The last items on the menu list will show the axes names along with the numbers (rounded) you defined as the min/max values. To toggle between the weights, type Command-1, Command-2, etc. The menu will update to show which value is selected. The three possible values are indicated by either a plus (Max value), minus (Min value) or no symbol (Regular value), as follows:

• + indicates maximum value
• - indicates minimum value
• (nothing) indicates regular value

4. Now you can create the data which will define the shape of a character for the Min and Max values. To do this, you move the key extrema points on the current outline to the new, Min or Max, location. The action of dragging the points will create a set of deltas at a particular location, or a tuple.

• Note: You can also specify point deltas in the Deltas window by typing (Command-N).

After you move all the key extrema points, recalculate (Command-R) (or use Toolbar shortcut). Do not recalculate before moving all the key points. Mutator will automatically interpolate the untouched points based on the movements of the key ones. Repeat until desired outline is achieved.

• Note: Touched points (on/off curve) will be red in color. Untouched points will be blue.
• Tip: Turn the Original Outline option on to see the differences between the glyph's current and original outlines.

---

Back To Contents