Resource: X-Wing Fonts (Targeting Computer Numerals, Astromech Comms, Button Icons -- More to Come)

[EnderSmith]

I've been researching, identifying, and recreating Star Wars fonts for a while, and I wanted to share some of the progress I've made. (Link to the full collection below.)

Targeting Computer Numerals​

This was a hard font to track down. I ended up poring over Letraset catalogues from 1973-1976, but I couldn't find an exact match. Finally I came across "Stencil Scelet," a font published in 1976. I could only find this picture of it, but it's clearly a perfect match:

The only problem was that the font was never digitized. So I recreated it (and added an Aurebesh version for good measure) as "Scelet AF":

Astromech Comms​

The messages that R2 writes to Luke in ESB are completely indecipherable, as far as I can tell. Whether they were ever meant to mean anything specific is up for debate, but what actually appears on screen is gibberish. However, BLIND_LTD recreated that script for Rogue One, (where it appears in X-Wing cockpits). It went on to make appearances in TLJ and TRoS -- enough someone with too much time on their hands to decipher and recreate...

I call it "S-Foil." Here it is compared with the original:

Button Icons​

I decided I should also recreate some of the button icons from the targeting computer while I was at it. I also drew from Rogue One, Solo, and Squadrons, and made it into a font:

The Future​

There are several more fonts I have positively identified, that are on my docket for recreating, including the exterior stencils and some labels from RotJ.

Download the X-Wing Collection​

The X-Wing Collection is free to download. All the fonts are free for personal use, but please contact me to obtain a commercial license before selling anything with these fonts. Please enjoy the interactive demos that I spent too much time on. I will be adding to this page (and this thread) as I finish digitizing more fonts.

Also, feel free to ask questions and request other fonts. I hope I can be a good resource for this forum, because I have spent way too much time researching this topic!

 

[Krats]

Excellent work, thank you for sharing it with us. May I ask what software you used to put all this together?

 

[EnderSmith]

Excellent work, thank you for sharing it with us. May I ask what software you used to put all this together?

I draw my fonts in Adobe Illustrator (not a best practice, but it gets the job done)

I encode my fonts in FontForge (free, open source)

I make my mockups in Illustrator and Photoshop

For research, I use google and the way back machine

 

[belleauwood]

Outstanding work EnderSmith and very generous share.

I will be putting these to use for sure!

Ryan

 

[division 6]

Awesome work.
Looking forward to see what you have next.

 

[protonpack]

INCREDIBLE work!

 

[Rexermus]

I've been researching, identifying, and recreating Star Wars fonts for a while, and I wanted to share some of the progress I've made. (Link to the full collection below.)

Targeting Computer Numerals​

This was a hard font to track down. I ended up poring over Letraset catalogues from 1973-1976, but I couldn't find an exact match. Finally I came across "Stencil Scelet," a font published in 1976. I could only find this picture of it, but it's clearly a perfect match:
View attachment 1471801
View attachment 1471802

The only problem was that the font was never digitized. So I recreated it (and added an Aurebesh version for good measure) as "Scelet AF":
View attachment 1471804
View attachment 1471807
View attachment 1471808

Astromech Comms​

The messages that R2 writes to Luke in ESB are completely indecipherable, as far as I can tell. Whether they were ever meant to mean anything specific is up for debate, but what actually appears on screen is gibberish. However, BLIND_LTD recreated that script for Rogue One, (where it appears in X-Wing cockpits). It went on to make appearances in TLJ and TRoS -- enough someone with too much time on their hands to decipher and recreate...

I call it "S-Foil." Here it is compared with the original:
View attachment 1471814View attachment 1471813

Button Icons​

I decided I should also recreate some of the button icons from the targeting computer while I was at it. I also drew from Rogue One, Solo, and Squadrons, and made it into a font:
View attachment 1471815

The Future​

There are several more fonts I have positively identified, that are on my docket for recreating, including the exterior stencils and some labels from RotJ.

Download the X-Wing Collection​

The X-Wing Collection is free to download. All the fonts are free for personal use, but please contact me to obtain a commercial license before selling anything with these fonts. Please enjoy the interactive demos that I spent too much time on. I will be adding to this page (and this thread) as I finish digitizing more fonts.

Also, feel free to ask questions and request other fonts. I hope I can be a good resource for this forum, because I have spent way too much time researching this topic!

WHOAH! This is awesome! You got all the details.

 

[KitSmasher]

These are awesome!

Question -you say "Scelet AF" is free only for personal use and to contact you for a commercial license, but if it's a font created in 1976- wouldn't the rights to Stencil Scelet belong to whomever created the original typeface? Or did you change it in some way?

I understand that you digitized it, and certainly the alternate Aurebesh version is your creation.

Just asking the question- you did a great job on these!

 

[thd9791]

I'm amazed you were able to find that first font, great, great work! My girlfriend is a graphic designer and specifically asked this over my shoulder, what programs you used

I draw my fonts in Adobe Illustrator (not a best practice, but it gets the job done)

I encode my fonts in FontForge (free, open source)

I make my mockups in Illustrator and Photoshop

For research, I use google and the way back machine

 

[EnderSmith]

These are awesome!

Question -you say "Scelet AF" is free only for personal use and to contact you for a commercial license, but if it's a font created in 1976- wouldn't the rights to Stencil Scelet belong to whomever created the original typeface? Or did you change it in some way?

I understand that you digitized it, and certainly the alternate Aurebesh version is your creation.

Just asking the question- you did a great job on these!

Fonts are a weird case, copyright-wise. The specific font (the file that is) is copyrightable, but not the design? I'm not 100% clear on the specifics, just that each digitization, so long as it doesn't copy the actual data of another digital font, is separately copyrightable.

For instance, these are all Eurostile, and each one has a separate license:

• Eurostile URW
• Eurostile Mecanorma
• Eurostile Linotype
• Eurostile SH

I also expanded the character set (besides the Aurebesh version), creating the punctuation and symbols myself.

 

[Vagabond Elf]

Fonts are a weird case, copyright-wise. The specific font (the file that is) is copyrightable, but not the design? I'm not 100% clear on the specifics, just that each digitization, so long as it doesn't copy the actual data of another digital font, is separately copyrightable.

For instance, these are all Eurostile, and each one has a separate license:

• Eurostile URW
• Eurostile Mecanorma
• Eurostile Linotype
• Eurostile SH

I also expanded the character set (besides the Aurebesh version), creating the punctuation and symbols myself.

Technically, a "font" is a computer file that tells the computer how to render a given character. The collection of characters is most correctly called a "typeface." Since "Stencil Scelet" is not a computer file, the rules that apply to it are those that govern typefaces, not fonts.

According to this website:

Font and Typeface Legal Tip Sheet

United States law has a specific exception for typefaces stating that they cannot be copyrighted. They can be patented, and the name of the typeface can be trademarked, but no part of a typeface can be copyrighted.

It worth noting that that website is from 2014, and while I expect it's still accurate or it would have been pulled down, the site itself also notes that copyright protection for typefaces was historically a non-issue because of the time involved to copy them; it was almost always easier to just buy the license or use an existing one or design your own. With the dominance of computer-design this has changed, and the law is slowly starting to change too.

However, assuming the summary offered there is still correct, you're not stepping on anyone else's IP with these files. At least not in the US; as always, laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and it's entirely possible that typefaces are copyrightable in other jurisdictions.

Also: thank you for this! I like to do Star Wars fan art and having good "computer display" fonts will be very helpful!

 

[EnderSmith]

Technically, a "font" is a computer file that tells the computer how to render a given character. The collection of characters is most correctly called a "typeface." Since "Stencil Scelet" is not a computer file, the rules that apply to it are those that govern typefaces, not fonts.

According to this website:

Font and Typeface Legal Tip Sheet

United States law has a specific exception for typefaces stating that they cannot be copyrighted. They can be patented, and the name of the typeface can be trademarked, but no part of a typeface can be copyrighted.

It worth noting that that website is from 2014, and while I expect it's still accurate or it would have been pulled down, the site itself also notes that copyright protection for typefaces was historically a non-issue because of the time involved to copy them; it was almost always easier to just buy the license or use an existing one or design your own. With the dominance of computer-design this has changed, and the law is slowly starting to change too.

However, assuming the summary offered there is still correct, you're not stepping on anyone else's IP with these files. At least not in the US; as always, laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and it's entirely possible that typefaces are copyrightable in other jurisdictions.

Also: thank you for this! I like to do Star Wars fan art and having good "computer display" fonts will be very helpful!

Thanks for explaining this better. As I said, fonts [and typefaces] are a weird case.

 

[Bjorn]

EnderSmith, I love the research that you have put into these. Super cool !!!

 

[3Dsf]

Marvellous work!