[comp.sys.amiga] Multi-color fonts

alien@cpoint.UUCP (Alien Wells) (01/12/89)

I just created a multi-color font.  I am posting this to comp.sys.amiga
because it was done on the Amiga.  I am posting this to comp.sys.next 
because I remember a previous discussion about multi-color fonts in this 
group, and since the reason for the font is different than those discussed.

I am working on an application where I have made extremely heavy use
of shading in all of the graphics - control buttons, icons, etc.  This 
gives a consistent 3-D effect with the lighting appearing to come from the
upper right.  I have 5 grays, 3 greens, 3 browns, etc - in fact, I found 
the number of colors available on the Amiga to be a significant restriction.

When we were basically done with the product, we had a little time left over
to play around.  (Yes - a unique situation!)  I decided that the 'dullest'
part of the user interface was now the font!  The single color font looked
incredibly 'flat' with all of the '3-D' graphics surrounding it.

In order to make the text look like it fit, I created a 4-color font which
has shading consistent with the rest of our graphics.  (Yes, the Amiga does
not support multi-color fonts, I actually made 3 fonts and overlaid them,
each in a different color.)  A sample example of an 'a' might look like:

		 ********
		%:::::::%*
		       :%*
		 ******%%*
		%%%:::::%*
		:%*    :%*
		:%*****%%*
		 ::::::::*

where : is the darkest color, % is the medium color, and * is the bright
color.

papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa) (01/12/89)

In article <1959@cpoint.UUCP> alien@cpoint.UUCP (Alien Wells) writes:
|I just created a multi-color font.  I am posting this to comp.sys.amiga
|because it was done on the Amiga.  I am posting this to comp.sys.next 
|because I remember a previous discussion about multi-color fonts in this 
|group, and since the reason for the font is different than those discussed.
....
|In order to make the text look like it fit, I created a 4-color font which
|has shading consistent with the rest of our graphics.  (Yes, the Amiga does
                                                              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|not support multi-color fonts, I actually made 3 fonts and overlaid them,
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|each in a different color.)

You must be kidding.  Products that support multi-color fonts have been
available on the Amiga for over a year.  The specification was published
quite a while ago, even in magazines such as Amazing Computing (I recall
John Foust wrote that one).  The spec are "backward" compatible with the
original 1 color fonts, so that old programs will still be able to use one
plane of the colorfont.  "Read more about it", then speak.

-- Marco Papa 'Doc'
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