For this project, I would like to create a calligraphic font with unusual swashes. I have two ideas for this and would love any advice on which one of them is the most unique & feasible.
Idea #1: Swashes Hijack X Height
Inspired by some of the Arabic typography in this Wael Morcos article!
I would probably try to exaggerate the swashes even more, making them fill the total x height to disrupt the visual flow less. For example, the swash of the q could go higher, and that of the k could go lower, to make them more similar to the b. Like this:
Idea 2: Swashes for Miles
I love using swashes to fill empty space in the ascender & descender heights in calligraphy, and want to create a font that would lean into that idea hard. I would use very complex ligatures to achieve an effect similar to the pieces below. It occurs to me that this would probably be a better project to code than to implement in FontForge, because then I could dynamically extend the swashes rather than assemble hundreds of ligatures by hand. However, I do have a soft spot for obnoxiously tedious projects, and I like the idea of pushing FontForge to its limits. Thoughts?
