ONLINE VIDEO COURSE

True Italics Course

Professional Italic Typefaces Made Easy

Italics are just slanted letters, right? Well no, and you know it. That’s why you’re here. But do you know how to design italics to peak perfection? In this online video course, you’ll dive deep into the art of designing italic typefaces using Glyphs 3. I’ll take you from the fundamentals of italics, to drawing italics on paper, to advanced techniques in the software. At the end of the course, you’ll be able to create italic typefaces to perfectly accompany your Regular fonts.

High-quality videos

From drawing to typing

Follow along at your own pace

Helpful guidebooks

Full Glyphs Process

By taking this course, you’ll learn everything you need to know to create your own italics as a companion to your base, regular, font. We’ll look at slanting, curve compensation, and italic masters for both lowercase and uppercase letters. Not only that, but we’ll study accents and diacritics, spacing and kerning, OpenType features and punctuation. To help you prevent making common mistakes, we’ll look at the most common ones.

Full Hand-Drawn Process

Before we turn over to drawing vector letterforms in Glyphs, we’ll start off with two markers, a rubber band and my calligraphy template to get a good understanding of the construction of letters. What needs to be thick, thin, curved and shaped in a particular way. This fully hand-drawn alphabet will provide you with a solid base to work from.

Watch the Welcome video

While the trailer is still in the making, here’s the first module welcome video, that gives you a perfect overview what you can expect.

Who is this course for?

All font enthusiasts who’ve already made some Regular fonts and want to progress to exploring italics. Familiarity with Glyphs 3 is a pro, but if you’re up for a crash course challenge, you can follow along with the video and find out how the program works along the way (or you can check out The Font Making Course first!).

Do I need to be able to draw?

No. It helps, but it’s not needed. We start on paper with pencils and my calligraphy template so that you can get a better understanding of italic letterforms before we move the creative process into the software.

What you’ll need for this course:

Mac Computer (Glyphs 3 only runs on Mac OS)

Glyphs 3 installed (you’ll receive a 30 days trial license when you download Glyphs 3)

What do I get when I purchase the course?

Eight modules

For a total runtime of more than 3 hours of high quality videos

Helpful Guidebooks

A 60 page coursebook which includes practice templates as well as more background info

Community Forum

Six months direct interaction with me for even faster learning

The modules in this course

  • Learn what makes italics unique. This module covers the history of italic fonts and why they matter in typography.

    1.1 — Introduction to the course

    1.2 — History of Italics

    1.3 — Oblique vs true italic

    1.4 — Italics in serif and sans serif

  • Start your with paper and pencil, or should I say pencils as we’ll use a double pencil technique. Discover how sketching helps bring your ideas to life before moving to the computer.

    2.1 — Form follows ductus 

    2.2 — Drawing uppercase letterforms

    2.3 — Drawing lowercase letterforms

    2.4 — Drawing figures and symbols 

    2.5 — Drawing the Italic ‘g’ 

  • Get clear on the first steps in creating a typeface. This module guides you through starting your italic design project smoothly.

    3.1 — What slant to use

    3.2 — Straight letterforms 

    3.3 — Round letterforms 

    3.4 — Angled letterforms

  • Learn how to set up your typeface in Glyphs 3. This module shows you how to organize and manage your designs efficiently.

    4.1 —Setting up Italic Master 

    4.2 — Components and reusing shapes

    4.3 —Helpful Plugins and scripts

  • Discover the difference between creating oblique and true italics in Glyphs. This module explains how to construct all characters.

    5.1 — Slants in characters 

    5.2 — Briem Method 

    5.3 — Oblique Sans Serif 

    5.4 — In-strokes and out-strokes

    5.5 — Uppercase 

    5.6 — Lowercase 

    5.7 — Digits 

    5.8 — Punctuation 

    5.9 — Uprights in Italics

  • Explore the advanced features of OpenType fonts. Learn how to add special characters and effects to make your typeface stand out.

    6.1 — What are OpenType features 

    6.2 — Stylistic Sets 

    6.3 — Historical forms 

    6.4 — Ligatures 

    6.5 — Historical ligatures 

    6.6 — Swashes

  • 90% of your kerning issues can be resolved with good spacing. This module helps you make your typeface look neat and balanced.

    7.1 — Spacing 

    7.2 — Kerning 

    7.3 — Kerning Groups

  • Avoid and fix common mistakes in type design. This module provides tips to ensure your final typeface looks professional.

    8.1 —Common Mistakes and how to fix them

Full Access

Instant access to all modules so you can practice at your own paces

Easy to Follow

Short, to-the-point, modules you can do at any time

At Your Own Pace

Learn at your own pace, in your own time, anywhere in the world

By the end of the course you'll have gained:

An in-depth understanding of letterforms angles and strokes

Insight into how to construct every italic letterform, punctuation mark, number, accent, and diacritic

The confidence to make design choices that make a font that’s entirely you.

Meet your instructor:
Viktor Baltus

I’m a Dutch typedesigner with a passion for calligraphy and typography. I spent years learning the rules of type design and getting a feel for what makes fonts work. Now, I have decided to make the journey easier for type designers coming onto the scene now.

Since launching Type Design Class, I’ve had the privilege of helping over 2000 students learn the art of typography.

I teach in a clear and concise manner, so my students can grow quickly as designers. Whether you’re looking to pick up new design skills or just brush up on your knowledge, I’m here to help.

I’m proud to say that our platform has become one of the leading names in online typography courses, and I’ve even had the opportunity to partner with industry leaders like Glyphs, The Futur, Goodtype, and Fontself.

What people say about my courses

  • "I absolutely love the Font Making Course, and find myself returning to the lessons regular. There’s so much knowledge to glean here!"

    Elliot Jay Stocks

  • "I'm so grateful to have taken this course, because without Viktor I wouldn't be where I am today."

    Stacy ‘Blanc Salváge’

  • "I would highly recommend this course if you're serious about type, it will make you love it even more!"

    Adam Vicarel

  • "Besides the very detailed structured course Viktor gives invaluable feedback. This is the perfect combination."

    Michael Leonhartsberger

  • "The course is full of useful knowledge and tips to learn and yet it is explained simple and easy to follow. So I was able to learn it step by step without being overwhelmed."

    Saori

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Yes. Once you’re enrolled, you have the flexibility to start at your own pace, whether that’s next week, a few months down the road or even next year. 

    I want the courses to fit into YOUR schedule, not the other way around.

  • You’ll get full access to all videos, plus all the guidebooks. No need to wait for new content to appear, you can dive right in!

  • Yes! With the online True Italics Course you can learn at your own pace, in your own time, anywhere in the world. Stuck with a technique? Simply scroll back in time and start over.

  • Best to take this course if you already have some experience with font making. Take the Font Making Course first. I will teach you all the steps you need to take to create your own professional font.

  • This course is focused on Western European Latin languages. That includes English, your basic upper- and lowercase, and everything beyond like punctuations and diacritics. We do not draw Arabic, Cyrillic, or Devanagari characters.

  • In order to add italics as a secondary font, you'll need Glyphs 3. A 30 days trial version is available if you download Glyphs from their website.

  • You can order your course on this page. You will receive an email with links and instructions for accessing the course material.

  • Let’s be honest, ‘life long access’ is not something you can really claim. You’ll have access to the course material for a minimum of 5 years, or as long as it is relevant to Glyphs software.

  • I understand the confusion, glyphs with a lowercase are what you design in a font file. Glyphs with an uppercase is the software, also referred to as Glyphs App, or Glyphs 3.

  • The price is shown without VAT because some customers (e.g., businesses) can reclaim VAT, and VAT rates vary by country. The total price, including VAT, will be shown at checkout based on your location. Please fill in your Business Vat ID upon checkout.

Any additional questions? Feel free to email us at info@typedesignclass.com

True Italics Course

Professional Italic Typefaces Made Easy

Full Access to all 25+ videos

Helpful Course Guidebooks

6 Months of Community Forum Access

Calligraphy Template

Free Updates