COMBAT A Typeface
Designed by Madi Nalley
Contents Process
2
Motions and Motivations
6
RWBY, The Series
8
Combat Ready Type
10
Exhibition: Putting Combat into Context
13
Process When I realized I wanted to make a typeface for a graphic novel, I realized the letterforms need to give a nod towards the action and non-stop movement of the imagery within the novel, but should not outshine the imagery entirely.
Consistent, modest line weights with flowing sweeps of motion were the first things that I aimed to capture within Combat.
I noticed that the typeface Futura LT Book is utilized in the end credits for the RWBY series. This is where I got my idea for even and consistent line weight throughout the whole of the letterform, if possible.
Respectively, I wanted the typeface to have more movement than Futura, but not as much movement as typical manga/comic book type, and much more controlled line weights.
My initial goal to start with was finding the perfect balance between the two— not too still, not too active.
In order to maintain consistency throughout the entire alphabet, I spent countless amounts of time studying which parts of the letters acted as the “building blocks”, and could be repeated throughout the characters.
For example: the slightly-off-center ‘o’ shape is repeated through the letters a, b, d, q, and p, and the curved ‘l’ shape is repeated throughout b, d, p, q, h, and t.
My sketchbook has multiple pages full of sketched-out letterforms, repeated over and over until I was happy with the final result. From there, the letters moved onto graph paper, and then into Illustrator for final rendering.
Of course, from sketchbook to computer screen, multiple tweaks and changes were made throughout the development process. You’ll notice that on graph paper, the minuscule ‘t’ is more curved, while the digital shape is slightly straighter.
This is only one of many changes I made. These changes were made for the purpose of a more legible, cohesive typeface.
Tt
Motions and Motivations RWBY exists as an animated series with hard-hitting action scenes. Much of the motion within Combat’s letterforms is derived from the movement within the bodies of the primary or secondary characters of RWBY. For example, when Myrtenaster’s dust compartment opens up, the shape the handle makes inspired the initital shape for my majuscule Z.
By re-watching the RWBY series, I found more and more inspiration. In another example, the shape that Nora’s legs and waist make as she perches upon Magnhild eventually became the shape for my minuscule h.
h
Z
RWBY,
The Series
Pronounced “Ruby”, RWBY is a CGanimated series created by Monty Oum and produced by the animation studio of Rooster Teeth. The series is focused on a young girl, Ruby Rose, and her three team members Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long.
There are multiple teams among team RWBY, such as JNPR and CRDL, full of warriors, hunters, and mages. Each student trains at Beacon Academy for the ability to protect the world of Remnant from the evil Creatures of Grimm.
The first letters of their first names create the acronym that acts as the name of their team. In this case, it’s team R-W-B-Y.
Aside from the characters, RWBY focuses on the students’ weapons. In addition to melee abilities, many of the weapons are extremely versatile and have multiple uses.
The example pictured here is Weiss Schnee’s multi-action dust rapier, Myrtenaster. While it can act as a sword, its hidden dust compartments enable it to create energy glyphs as well.
COMBAT R EADY TYPE ALPHABET
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp
Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu
Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
NUMERALS
12345 678 9 0 Episode 14
Forever Fall, Part 2
PUNCTUATION
. , ! ? & " ' "We'll break his legs!"
Putting Combat into Context
Did I miss anything?
!
They've offloaded
all the crates from the boat...
Not really.
...Now they're just sitting there.
Cool.
I stole you
some food!
Do you always break
the law without a second thought?
Hey, weren't
you in a cult or something?
. . .
Okay... too soon.