The caps only need to be marginally taller than the lowercase. Working at such small sizes, you'll notice that legibility benefits from a wider character body. Here's a quick example I threw together to illustrate the specific considerations with that requirement.įor starters, I sliced a pixel off your height. Since you mentioned the need for lower case at 6 x 12.
Having a second monitor around for this "reality view" makes things much more convenient. The computer is our friend in this confusing situation: Just keep a second window open with a 100% view so you can see how your design is really looking. In other words, you create and modify your shapes at ridiculously close distances all the while considering what it will look like when viewed at it's normal size. Sometimes a hole in the grid is the "thin" line between two thick strokes.ĭesign up close from far away: That is the the pixel font designer's challenge. So two squares aligned to 45° become a diagonal line. They are meant to be "perceived", that is the gaps in the design are filled in by the brain. You'll notice something in even the best pixel fonts: They look terrible when you get close and try to figure them out. But lowercase can get quite small as well: Gillespie's Minx provides and excellent reference point for what I would consider the smallest reasonable lowercase alphabet. An all uppercase font can fit in a smaller grid because of the relatively simple shapes and lack of extenders (below the baseline and above the cap height). You'll need to clarify whether or not you want a lower case. Where does your pixel font need to fit? Would your game benefit from easily read text or does the text need to stay out of the way and only be available to "decipher" when needed?
Where to startĮvery design problem starts with a constraint. Another question here dealt with those micro designs and may give you further reference. Joe Gillespie's MiniFonts designs will help you understand designing at the legibility threshold. The smallest types I've seen work successfully are 7px designs. Obviously a larger grid gives you more room to work.
There really isn't an ideal pixel grid, per se. The one big exception is that you know what the medium will do with pixel fonts - a very big advantage. Pixel fonts aren't terribly different from tiny print fonts when you get right down to it*.
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