![]() ![]() I find this style the easiest to draw, because drawing a serif essentially involves drawing a short straight line. Sometimes you'll see them called Neoclassical, but it's not as common. However, they're not really modern anymore, so now they're most commonly referred to as Didone (which is apparently a portmanteau of Didot and Bodoni, but Bodoni got the short end of that stick if you ask me.), in homage to the typefaces that pioneered this style. They were entirely new designs, and began a modern era of typography, so instead they became known as Modern. This was confusing because they weren't a new take on a classic style, like transitional was to old style. When this style first came out, typefaces like this were referred to as Classical. This style has probably gone through the biggest identity crisis. Sometimes you'll see this style with ball terminals (as in the lowercase c and a in the image above), but otherwise, this style maintains a very modern, clean, unornamented appearance. ![]() ![]() This serif can be seen in type styles like Didot and Bodoni. This is the style I showcased in my Vectorizing Serif Lettering tutorial. It's a very high-contrast style between thick and thin strokes, with narrow, unbracketed serifs. The hairline serif is pretty unmistakable. Soften the transition into each serif with a smooth, rounded edge. Then, draw a thin, square-edged rectangle for each serif. Draw a letter as you normally would, giving all of the body some weight, and thicken the down strokes - the weight contrast in this style is more pronounced than old style serifs. It's known as "transitional" because this type style is a big step toward modern styles, but keeps characteristics of old style serifs.ĭrawing this style is a little tougher as it demands more consistency than the old style serifs. This type style feels much more machine made and modern, as the 90-degree angles and perfectly straight lines are difficult to achieve by hand. The brackets of transitional serif fonts are rounded and smooth but the edges of the serifs are very square. The curved edge that connects the stroke and the serif is a bracket, so you'll often see this style referred to as bracketed. John Baskerville was the English printer and typographer who pioneered this style thanks to some advances in printing methods, so Baskerville is a shining typeface example. Transitional serifs are more pronounced and sharper than old style serifs. Then, draw a thin, rounded rectangle for each serif. If you look closely at Garamond, every 90 degree angle has been softened with a rounded edge, including the transition into each serif. Then thicken the down strokes a bit - the contrast in this style of type is not very dramatic. ![]() Draw a letter as you normally would, giving all of the body some weight. For a good example of this style, take a look at Garamond.ĭrawing this style is relatively easy, as imperfections are part of the historic, handmade charm of old style serifs. This type style has a hand-crafted look, rather than the sharper, more machine-made look of a transitional or modern serif. This serif style has smooth, rounded transitions between the thick and thin strokes, and the transition into the serifs (which have slightly rounded edges) is a very gradual, smooth slope. Old-style serif fonts meant to imitate brush strokes of old school scribes, so they have a softer, rounded appearance. Other basic typography anatomy terms ( this drawing from SeanWes is a great visual dictionary). Let's try to clear things up! Important Terminologyīefore we get started, there are some important terms that we're going to be repeating.īracket: This is a rounded line that connects a serif to the stroke of the letter for a smooth transitionĬontrast: In this case, we'll be referring to the difference between the thickest part of the letter and the thinnest. Serifs have been classified many different ways, but the terminology gets confusing. There are a lot of overlapping terms for the same types of serif, which can make knowing what's what as clear as mud. Over time, the terms for different serif styles have evolved, but confusingly, the old terms are still used (resulting in multiple names for the same style). Serif styles are one of the staple classifications of typography. A serif is that little extra stroke found at the end of main vertical and horizontal strokes of letterforms. ![]()
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