Pixel Font Builder

A library that helps create pixel style fonts.

Installation

pip install pixel-font-builder

Usage

import datetime
import shutil
from typing import Literal

from examples import build_dir
from pixel_font_builder import FontBuilder, WeightName, SerifStyle, SlantStyle, WidthStyle, Glyph, opentype


def _create_builder(outlines_style: Literal['SquareDot', 'CircleDot'] | None = None) -> FontBuilder:
    builder = FontBuilder()
    builder.font_metric.font_size = 12
    builder.font_metric.horizontal_layout.ascent = 10
    builder.font_metric.horizontal_layout.descent = -2
    builder.font_metric.vertical_layout.ascent = 6
    builder.font_metric.vertical_layout.descent = -6
    builder.font_metric.x_height = 5
    builder.font_metric.cap_height = 7

    builder.meta_info.version = '1.0.0'
    builder.meta_info.created_time = datetime.datetime.fromisoformat('2024-01-01T00:00:00Z')
    builder.meta_info.modified_time = builder.meta_info.created_time
    builder.meta_info.family_name = 'My Pixel'
    if outlines_style is not None:
        builder.meta_info.family_name = f'{builder.meta_info.family_name} {outlines_style}'
    builder.meta_info.weight_name = WeightName.REGULAR
    builder.meta_info.serif_style = SerifStyle.SANS_SERIF
    builder.meta_info.slant_style = SlantStyle.NORMAL
    builder.meta_info.width_style = WidthStyle.MONOSPACED
    builder.meta_info.manufacturer = 'Pixel Font Studio'
    builder.meta_info.designer = 'TakWolf'
    builder.meta_info.description = 'A demo pixel font.'
    builder.meta_info.copyright_info = 'Copyright (c) TakWolf'
    builder.meta_info.license_info = 'This Font Software is licensed under the SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1.'
    builder.meta_info.vendor_url = 'https://github.com/TakWolf/pixel-font-builder'
    builder.meta_info.designer_url = 'https://takwolf.com'
    builder.meta_info.license_url = 'https://openfontlicense.org'
    builder.meta_info.sample_text = 'Hello World!'

    builder.character_mapping.update({
        ord('A'): 'CAP_LETTER_A',
    })

    builder.glyphs.append(Glyph(
        name='.notdef',
        horizontal_origin=(0, -2),
        advance_width=8,
        vertical_origin=(-4, 0),
        advance_height=12,
        bitmap=[
            [1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1],
            [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1],
            [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1],
            [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1],
            [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1],
            [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1],
            [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1],
            [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1],
            [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1],
            [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1],
            [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1],
            [1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1],
        ],
    ))
    builder.glyphs.append(Glyph(
        name='CAP_LETTER_A',
        horizontal_origin=(0, -2),
        advance_width=8,
        vertical_origin=(-4, 0),
        advance_height=12,
        bitmap=[
            [0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0],
            [0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0],
            [0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0],
            [0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0],
            [0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0],
            [0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0],
            [0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0],
            [0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0],
            [0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0],
            [0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0],
            [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
            [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
        ],
    ))

    if outlines_style == 'SquareDot':
        builder.opentype_config.outlines_painter = opentype.SquareDotOutlinesPainter()
    elif outlines_style == 'CircleDot':
        builder.opentype_config.outlines_painter = opentype.CircleDotOutlinesPainter()

    return builder


def main():
    outputs_dir = build_dir.joinpath('create')
    if outputs_dir.exists():
        shutil.rmtree(outputs_dir)
    outputs_dir.mkdir(parents=True)

    builder = _create_builder()
    builder.save_otf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel.otf'))
    builder.save_otf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel.woff2'), flavor=opentype.Flavor.WOFF2)
    builder.save_ttf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel.ttf'))
    builder.save_bdf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel.bdf'))
    builder.save_pcf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel.pcf'))

    square_dot_builder = _create_builder('SquareDot')
    square_dot_builder.save_otf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel-square_dot.otf'))
    square_dot_builder.save_otf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel-square_dot.woff2'), flavor=opentype.Flavor.WOFF2)
    square_dot_builder.save_ttf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel-square_dot.ttf'))

    circle_dot_builder = _create_builder('CircleDot')
    circle_dot_builder.save_otf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel-circle_dot.otf'))
    circle_dot_builder.save_otf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel-circle_dot.woff2'), flavor=opentype.Flavor.WOFF2)
    circle_dot_builder.save_ttf(outputs_dir.joinpath('my-pixel-circle_dot.ttf'))


if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

Coordinate Systems

Use the same coordinate systems as OpenType.

Horizontal Layout

Vertical Layout

Supported Output Formats

Format	File Extension
OpenType	.otf, .otc, .woff, .woff2
TrueType	.ttf, .ttc, .woff, .woff2
Glyph Bitmap Distribution Format	.bdf
Portable Compiled Format	.pcf

Dependencies

• FontTools
• BdfFont
• PcfFont

References

• FreeType Glyph Conventions - Glyph Metrics
• OpenType Feature File Specification

License

Under the MIT license.