Questions about adding font to an image

CathleenT

CathleenT

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I just finished painting my front and back covers for Dragon Hoard, which should tell you something about my computer art skills. Okay, I have some basic ones; I certainly know how to use the rubber stamp tool and blur tool and all that, but nothing can get me itching to hold a paintbrush faster than trying to make an image on computer. Just going through stock photos was enough to get me to dig out my paints. Sooo much easier to paint what I want than try to adapt something else.

Anyway, I've got this image which seems pretty good. I've gotten some writer beta critique on it as well as feedback in my art class. (They really have no idea what to do with me. Everyone else is painting landscapes and flowers and such. I'm the only one painting a smug dragon. But they like it now.)

So now I've got these images, and scanning them is no problem, but I should really add words, and that brings me to font. It's a fantasy, so I want to go with an all cap, heavy serif font. It seems like I can either add font in Photoshop or on Canva, and I'm looking for suggestions on what would be the most productive.

I can find plenty of free fonts online, and some of them look quite appealing, but I have no idea how to get from downloading the file to using the fonts. And the fonts available on Photoshop seem rather limited. Don't get me started on what's available on Word. They don't even have a decent Garamond. Ugh.

Does anyone else here add their own font? The images were made with font in mind, so that shouldn't be much of a problem--it's just finding the correct program to add them.

Any suggestions in this area would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

Part 2: Posting images

How do I go about this? I know I'm not supposed to hot link. I can save the image as a draft on my blog, and that gives me a URL. Is there some sort of code that's not too difficult for then adding the image to this page? Thanks again. :)
 
Toothpaste

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1. Huh. It shouldn't be a big deal to add a font to your library. Have you tried just clicking on the file that you downloaded and see what happens? That's all I do. And then I just follow the steps as instructed (which is basically just clicking on "accept" or "upload") and then it gets added to the library and then you open up Photoshop and there's the new font! (I highly recommend Photoshop over Canva btw, I find the latter infuriating personally in its lack of options and if you have Photoshop - not everyone can afford it which is why developers have created all these other cheaper options - definitely go with that).

If clicking on the font file doesn't work, google is your friend. I don't know what kind of computer you have but basically type in "How do I add a new font to my font library on a Mac" or whatever.

Caution: many font sites might allow you to download their fonts for free, but using them for commercial purposes is something else. Read the license agreement that comes with each font. Some of them are free, but those that aren't are still pretty cheap to license though, like $15. I recommend downloading a bunch of fonts. Finding your fav and THEN licensing it. You don't have to license any of the fonts you choose not to use.


2. I use Photobucket.com. I upload my image to that site, scale it, and then copy the link they create for the image. It's free and easy to use :) .
 
Brightdreamer

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Toothpaste said:
Caution: many font sites might allow you to download their fonts for free, but using them for commercial purposes is something else. Read the license agreement that comes with each font. Some of them are free, but those that aren't are still pretty cheap to license though, like $15. I recommend downloading a bunch of fonts. Finding your fav and THEN licensing it. You don't have to license any of the fonts you choose not to use.
Click to expand...

+1 - Just like images, just because you find it "free" doesn't necessarily mean it's free for commercial use. Check the licenses. (There are a few sites - such as Font Squirrel - that gather free-for-commercial fonts. Others should come with a "readme" file detailing acceptable usage and/or how to obtain commercial rights.)

If you're using a PC, download the file - it'll usually be compressed as a ZIP file. Then unzip it. Windows may have a free one, and there are many free font unzippers online (I use IZArc, and have been happy with it.) I usually unzip to my Desktop so I can find it easy. Then, in Windows 7, you can right-click and install... though be sure to open it and see if it's a font you want. (Some fonts, especially freebies, aren't complete character sets - always double-check!) It should show up in your Fonts folder, and be available in all programs that use TrueType and OpenType fonts - including Word and graphics programs.

And I, too, use Photobucket. It's not quite as user-friendly as it used to be, prone to hang-ups when uploading images, but it does the job.
 
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kevinwaynewilliams

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For free fonts, check out the League of Movable Type:

For an interesting range of fonts that are creative enough to stand out without getting sloppy or whacky, I've always liked Greater Albion Typefounders.

As for the installation tools: yes, in Windows, it's as simple as finding the file (maybe a folder or two in the way, but it will be a .ttf or .otf file), then right-clicking and choosing Install

I've always used Paintshop Pro For one cover, you can get by with the free trial, but it only costs $100 for a license. In pretty much all programs, you are going to use the same steps:
  1. make a scan of your painting
  2. edit the image with the program
  3. crop it to the appropriate size
  4. add a new layer
  5. place your text in the new layer
  6. Save the result as a new filename
 
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CathleenT

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Thanks, all. It's so annoying; I neglected to bookmark the site I downloaded fonts from, so I'll have to go fishing in Google later, but they made a clear distinction about which fonts were available for commercial use.

As for number 2, I'm afraid my question is even more basic. I have a Photobucket account; I can load an image onto there and get an address that way, too. But then what do I do? Do I just plop that address into the reply box? How do I get it to show up on AW? Something like: pic="address"? That's the step I'm missing.
 
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kevinwaynewilliams

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CathleenT said:
Thanks, all. It's so annoying; I neglected to bookmark the site I downloaded fonts from, so I'll have to go fishing in Google later, but they made a clear distinction about which fonts were available for commercial use.

As for number 2, I'm afraid my question is even more basic. I have a Photobucket account; I can load an image onto there and get an address that way, too. But then what do I do? Do I just plop that address into the reply box? How do I get it to show up on AW? Something like: pic="address"? That's the step I'm missing.
Click to expand...

Hover over the little icons as you edit, and you will find that the one that is one over from the rightmost is "insert image". That should help you insert an image.
 
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