To make a TTF or OTF font accessible to GIMP in Windows 10, make sure it is installed properly.
This tutorial will show you how to download a cool font from Google fonts, install it on your system, and access it within GIMP. But before we get into that, let’s take a look at why you may need to install new fonts and where you can get them.
WHY YOU MAY NEED NEW FONTS
Different creative projects require different fonts, and sometimes, what you need isn’t preinstalled on your PC. For a headline or title, you may want a unique serif, display, or slab serif font. For body text, you’ll probably want a neat sans serif or serif font that doesn’t come off as too ordinary and is still quite legible when zoomed in or out. And for something interesting, you might be on the lookout for a cool handwritten or script font that’s got an ornamental yet classic look. There are also a ton of artisanal fonts out there, as many creatives have gotten into making and selling their own fonts.
The bottom line is that whether you are an established or budding creative doing personal or commercial projects, you’ll need to expand your stock of fonts constantly.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND FONTS ONLINE
There’s no shortage of places to find new and unique fonts in TTF and OTF formats. A good place to start is Google fonts because all the fonts are open source, free to download, and free to use for personal and commercial projects.
You’ll also find other websites offering free fonts. Sites like Graphicpear.com and Myfonts.com usually have nice free fonts. However, the catch here is that they’re often only free for personal use only and require you to pay a fee to use them for commercial projects. And with copyrights now increasingly enforced online, you don’t want to risk using an unlicensed font for a commercial project.
Graphicpear.com and Myfonts.com do have an amazing selection of paid fonts. You can also find more at websites like Creativemarket.com and Graphicriver.com. And, if you really want something special, you can commission a graphic designer or font foundry to make you a custom font.
Regardless of where you get your fonts, be sure that they are either in TTF and OTF, as these are the font formats that can be used in GIMP. The format is usually stated in the technical description of the font. If you’re unable to ascertain one way or another, do go ahead and make enquiries from the seller. They’ll tell you what format the font is in and whether you can use it in Open source graphic design software like GIMP.
TUTORIAL: HOW TO INSTALL A NEW FONT
Step 1:Open your browser and go to ‘https://fonts.google.com/’
Step 2:Look through the fonts and click on the one you’d like to install.
For this tutorial, I will install the ‘Explora’ font.
Step 3:Click the font to open the download link. Then click ‘Download Family’
Step 4: Right-click the font .zip file you downloaded and click ‘Extract files’ or ‘Extract here’.
Step 5:Right click the TTF file and select ‘Install’ or double click TTF file to open the font window and click the ‘Install’ button.
Step 6:Now, launch GIMP
Step 7:Create a new 500 x 500 px document, set fill to foreground color, and click ‘OK’.
My foreground color is blue.
Step 8:Click ‘Text Tool’ icon
Step 9:Also, open the font list panel. Go to ‘Windows’, ‘Dockable Panels’ and click
‘Fonts’. Scroll through the panel and click the installed font.
Step 10:Adjust font settings as needed in text tool options.
- Set font type, font size, and text color.
- Set first-line indent with (i)
- Set line spacing with (ii)
- Set letter spacing with (iii)
Step 11:With settings in place, draw a text box on the canvas. Notice a settings panel appears just above it.
Step 12:Type text in the box.
Step 13:To change font or text size, highlight the text and type the font name in the name panel. As you do so, a dropdown list of fonts with the name you enter will appear, and you can click to select a new font to use in your text.
CONCLUSION
Here’s a list of all the places where you can find great free and paid fonts online.
- Google fonts – https://fonts.google.com/
- Graphicpear – https://www.graphicpear.com/fonts/
- MyFonts – https://www.myfonts.com/
- Creative Market – https://creativemarket.com/fonts
- Graphicriver – https://graphicriver.net/fonts
- Open Foundry – https://open-foundry.com/
