Redrawing decals: font finder web sites

[SolarYellow]

I've been redrawing some decals because I wasn't satisfied with the quality of scans that are available. I asked a friend who formerly worked as a graphic designer about sites to ID fonts. He shot me back the following list:
https://www.myfonts.com/pages/whatthefont

https://www.whatfontis.com/

https://www.fontsquirrel.com/matcherator

https://helpx.adobe.com/fonts/using/visual-search-adobe-fonts.html

https://www.fontspring.com/matcherator

So far, I've only needed the first one, and it's worked great. The sites point you to places to buy the font, but I take the name to Google to find a free download of the font. Install the True Type Font .ttf and it lets me generate a perfectly crisp and scaleable image of the logo just by typing. Works in Word and AutoCAD. I'm sure I'll be doing others.

Note: I had to manually futz with the kerning for the Wizard in AutoCAD, making each letter a separate object to get the spacing between them perfect.

The images below are just screen captures from Word. Shaded backgrounds are cropped from available scans. White backgrounds are the typed name in the respective font ID'ed using the site above.

 

[mh9162013]

Just bookmarked this post, thanks!

 

[bad_idea]

Just bookmarked this post, thanks!

Same.

 

[jqavins]

Wow! So many uses, for and beyond rocketry.

 

[Hobie1dog]

1001 fonts is a great site ( it actually has 31K fonts)
dafont is another one ( 10K fonts)
I've gone through over 100,000 fonts trying to find the one I want

 

[jqavins]

Do you have an example of text you're trying to match? Have you tried any of the search sites above?

If one doesn't have an example, but just something in one's head, I wonder if one could take text in a font that close, modify it by hand (or on screen) to be even closer, and then see what the sites above come up with.

 

[SolarYellow]

Just posting up to note, this approach is completely breaking down on trying to match old stencils from photographs of scale subjects. There are nearly infinite variations of stencils, and the resolution of the photos is generally poor. Getting close, but not close enough. Thinking it may actually be easier to redraw the text directly if I want to match these photos. For the most part. One good hit out of five images I tried.

 

[Vlad1054]

Thanks!

 

[Lotronex]

This may be overkill, but you can try contacting a graveyard/cemetery to see if there monument engraver can help you match a font. I once did some IT work for someone who did this. It's not uncommon for someone to die, the monument to be created, but then to leave blank spaces for spouse/children on the monument. When it came time to update the monument, he would roll up, take a picture, try to match the font, but often times, especially older monuments, the font couldn't be found. So he had special software (Gerber Omega with some special font plugins I think) he would then use to modify the fonts to match. Once he finished the design, he would cut it out on a rubber sheet using a vinyl cutter, then sandblast the monument in place. He did it all from his truck, so he could be in and out in no time.

 

[SolarYellow]

That could be useful. I've run into a few scale and pre-computer model subjects where I think it likely that the font was hand-drawn or hand-painted on the decal sheet or rocket itself. Unsurprisingly, there aren't commercial fonts that come up matching quite right. A good example is this simple one:

(Image from Wikipedia)

Almost certainly hand lettered on the rocket, especially as it's not a stencil. (Although it could be a stencil with the cutouts filled in.) I can't find any font that has the horizontal bar on the A that low. Given the small number of letters and the lack of reason to modify the text, I figured I'd just redraw it in AutoCAD.

 

[jqavins]

(Although it could be a stencil with the cutouts filled in.)

If you look carefully, the cutouts are not fully filled in. It's pretty plain to see on the S, and closer inspection reveals it on the U, the A, and some other spots I'm not certain about.

A quick Google image search for army stencil fonts comes up with several fonts that are close, but I see what you mean about how low that bar is on the A. some of what I found has it remarkable low, but not as low as that.

This is a physical stencil set, but the images may be helpful in redrawing or attempting to identify.

 

[Vlad1054]

I've been redrawing some decals because I wasn't satisfied with the quality of scans that are available. I asked a friend who formerly worked as a graphic designer about sites to ID fonts. He shot me back the following list:
https://www.myfonts.com/pages/whatthefont

https://www.whatfontis.com/

https://www.fontsquirrel.com/matcherator

https://helpx.adobe.com/fonts/using/visual-search-adobe-fonts.html

https://www.fontspring.com/matcherator

So far, I've only needed the first one, and it's worked great. The sites point you to places to buy the font, but I take the name to Google to find a free download of the font. Install the True Type Font .ttf and it lets me generate a perfectly crisp and scaleable image of the logo just by typing. Works in Word and AutoCAD. I'm sure I'll be doing others.

Note: I had to manually futz with the kerning for the Wizard in AutoCAD, making each letter a separate object to get the spacing between them perfect.

The images below are just screen captures from Word. Shaded backgrounds are cropped from available scans. White backgrounds are the typed name in the respective font ID'ed using the site above.


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View attachment 619624

Has anyone tried repainting decals lately? I was struggling to find the right font for my latest project. I came across this great link where you can learn more here to a font search site that might help. Not only is it great for fonts, but it also contains some useful tips for creating a trading platform. Take a look and let me know if it helps with your sticker adventures! Happy rocketry!

Good job!