What Character Design Resources Are Available on Type Design Resources?

Updated

Type Design Resources lists character design material mainly under its Character design heading, with the most specific entry being GT Academy, an ongoing series of Instagram posts on how to construct certain glyphs. The site treats character design as part of learning type design rather than a separate curriculum, so the practical path is to pair glyph-construction guidance with a beginner introduction and the software you plan to draw in.

What the site lists for character design

The page evidence supports these entries as character-focused or directly useful for drawing glyphs:

Resource Format What it covers
GT Academy Ongoing Instagram post series How to construct certain glyphs
Design with FontForge Guide Introduction to type design, described as useful regardless of software
Getting started with type design by Jonathan Hoefler Introductory guide Entry into type design practice
Glyphs Tutorials Tutorial collection Most tutorials are noted as useful to non-Glyphs users too
Ohno Essential RoboFont Video class Introduction to the classic RoboFont editor
Type Design School by Lynne Yun Video guide Basics of type design
Ohno Type School Article series Teaching the basics of type design

The site's own framing places these under Learning type design, with Character design as one of its headings alongside Software, Community, and Media. That means character design guidance is presented as a component of learning type design, not as a standalone library of per-letter exercises.

How to use these resources together

A workable sequence for someone starting with glyph construction:

  1. Read one introduction first. Design with FontForge is described as a fantastic introduction regardless of which software you use, so it works as a software-neutral starting point.
  2. Pick your drawing tool. If you use Glyphs, the Glyphs Tutorials apply directly; the site notes most of them remain useful for non-Glyphs users. If you use RoboFont, the Ohno Essential RoboFont video class introduces that editor.
  3. Study glyph construction. Use GT Academy's Instagram posts to see how individual glyphs are built, and the Ohno Type School articles for the underlying basics.
  4. Check the books section for deeper reference. The site lists Designing Type by Karen Cheng and Designing Fonts: An Introduction to Professional Type Design by Chris Campe and Ulrike Rausch, among others, as book resources.

Expected result: after steps 1–3 you should be able to draw a basic glyph in your chosen editor with an understanding of the construction decisions behind it. The site does not describe a formal exercise set or a character-design-specific course beyond GT Academy, so treat the Instagram series as illustrative guidance rather than a structured curriculum.

Practical notes and common sticking points

  • GT Academy is on Instagram. The site describes it as an ongoing series of posts, so expect short-form, per-glyph content rather than a sequenced course. Following the account is the access route implied by the listing.
  • Software choice affects which tutorials apply most directly. The site explicitly flags that Glyphs Tutorials are broadly useful beyond Glyphs, which suggests beginners need not switch tools to benefit.
  • Workshops and courses are listed separately. If you want live instruction on drawing characters, the site points to workshops such as Cyrillicsly (Cyrillic type design), Letterform Archive events, Type Design Class by Viktor Baltus, and Type@Cooper, plus courses including the Plantin Institute's Expert class Type design and I Love Typography Academy. These are listed as workshops and courses, not as character design resources specifically.
  • The site suggests following type conferences for workshops and events throughout the year, which is a way to find character-level instruction that the static list may not capture.

What the site does not provide

The available page evidence does not include pricing, login requirements, or enrollment details for any of these resources, so check each provider directly before committing time or money. There is also no indication of a dedicated character design section with its own exercises beyond the heading and the GT Academy entry.