That's ok! The fonts already installed on your computer should not deter you from adding text your icons. So maybe you've explored your options and are not really finding particular fonts that catch your eye. is the most widely recognized source of free fonts and an excellent place to begin your quest for a little variety in your text. Simply Google free fonts and voila! there are tons of websites that offer fonts for free. Sometimes you can get lucky and find a clone version of a commercial font (clone meaning an exact or somewhat exact replica of a commercial font) available for free. I recommend avoiding commercial fonts because most of the time they are incredibly expensive. You are required to pay before you can download it. For instance: the commercial font versus the free font. However, when you finally decide to start downloading fonts there are things to watch out for. That's the best place to start if you are searching for new and fun fonts to add to your system. A lot of makers have font guides they've created themselves or have access to font guides posted by others. Don't be afraid to reach out to other makers and ask them what fonts they use and where you can find them. While having hundreds of fonts readily available on your computer is great and quite handy, it's also fun to explore your options and find fonts that may not be available on your system. Trial and error really comes into play here.ÄOWNLOADING FONTS FROM THE INTERNET: PROS AND CONS. If you can barely read the text or make it out chances are the person who's viewing your icons can't either. Put yourself in the shoes of the person who might be viewing your icons. Adding tiny cursive type fonts to icons with a lot of space to them can make the text barely visible or hard to read. Crowding large blocks of text over a subject's face or over a scene doesn't always work. The icon you've created can also influence what font you choose. Random scrolling through your fonts can help you determine what will work best on your icon. Sometimes the font is too large or too small. And one font does not work on every icon. I literally will try out dozens of fonts before I settle on one that I feel works with the icon. The simplest place to start when it comes to choosing a font? Just scroll through what you have and try them all! When I add text to my icons, the majority of my font choices come through random scrolling, believe it or not. This is where you can find the fonts you currently have on your computer. Most often text options pop up in some sort of dialogue box with various options and settings. Open up your graphics program and locate your text tool. Your computer comes pre-packaged with hundreds of fonts. Still at a loss at what to add? Just make it up as you go! There are no rules or regulations when it comes to adding text to your icons. Or take a look at the work of other icon makers to get ideas. Watch the movie or episode of what you are iconning. Try to make your environment as distraction-free as possible. Music is the easiest and most fun text to add. I like to turn on my radio and/or Ipod when I make icons. Use your surroundings to get inspiration. You can tap into so many things: dialogue, emotions, quotes. Specific characters and scenes from tv shows and movies are probably the easiest to work with in terms of text. Obviously, the subject matter of the icon is going to heavily influence the text you add to it. Take a look at the finished product, your icon. Once you're familiar with the ins and outs of your program and its text options you can move on to the next step - adding the actual text to the icon. Photoshop, Paintshop and Gimp all have different ways of handling text. Not all graphics programs are created equal. Next, get acquainted with your graphics program and its text and font options. After you've read some guides and tutorials you should hopefully have a firmer grasp on how the concept works. There are resources around the internet and on Livejournal for icon makers who are interested in adding text to their icons. If you've never added text to an icon before, do your homework first. Should anyone wish to have their work removed, please let us know. Icons and guides used have been credited to their proper creators. Originally written by wickedgrdn and added to by the moderator team of icons_concrit.
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