Throughout several years, one question relentlessly tormented me: handwriting or typing? Okay, I’m overreacting, but still. Handwriting doesn’t look as tidy as typing (especially mine) and it takes more time to write down the words on paper and edit them in Paint (so it doesn’t look like complete chicken scratch). On the other hand, text written by hand feels more like it belongs to me than the one I type down. It makes my comics look more natural, for lack of a better word.
I started out by writing Croatian by hand and typing down the English translation, but when I launched my own website, I switch to handwriting for both Croatian and English. I still liked it a little more, warts and all. I tried using paper with horizontal lines, but it didn’t help much, I still had to spent a lot of time editing in Paint. Eventually, I’ve come up with a compromise; make my own font:
The actual image is multilayered and much bigger; this is just the upper left part. I drew a set of Croatian and English letters and symbols in Paint. I copy and paste them to make sentences, which I transfer over to my comics. I often have to shrink or enlarge them, but it’s hardly noticeable. As you can see, I even made a fake brand name and an abbreviation that I plan to reuse. There will probably be more mainstays as time goes on.
I know the way I write the text is kind of unusual, but I’m happy with it; it has both the tidiness of typing and the soul of handwriting. The only think I’m wondering is how to call my own font. Any ideas?