The Inner-workings of the Merc Mind
It has been a few months since I posted Adventures in Font Matching: Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Since then I’ve had a few online Browncoats ask me to identify a few other Firefly or Serenity fonts and I have also managed to track down a few of the fonts on my own list that I couldn’t find at the time I posted the original entry.
Before another one of you comments that I “have too much time on my hands”…and one of you always does…please know that this is not just a hobby or a twisted obsession, it is my job. It comes out of situations where I am working on a poster or a brochure for a client and I ask them for their logo. Invariably, they email me a tiny .GIF from their website. To this I reply and explain that I need something of higher quality, preferably in vector format as an .EPS or an .AI. This message is usually followed up by an email from the client to which he will have attached an .EPS or an .AI within which he has pasted the very same .GIF file he sent me in the first place.
After this exchange, there is no recourse left to me but to say, “Screw this! I’ll make it myself!” And since the logo is still someone’s corporate identity, I don’t dare mess with it. Most times the client is too dense to know the difference if I did misidentify the font, but it is a particular source of pride for me to find the right face. It has become obvious to me that most people can only see 3 fonts: Helvetica, Times and Brush Script… they see every font in existence including their own writing as one of those 3. But anyway, I’ve gotten off on a rant here. Let’s get on with the font safari.
In the comments of Part 1 of our Firefly/Serenity font exploration, willbueche asked me if I could identify the font used on this item on sale at the Prop Store. The item itself appears to be the medical chat used by Dr. Mathius and the font seen on it is, as yet, unidentified. It is however very close to a few fonts made by T-26 (Adrenalin and Euphoric come to mind) though none of these is “it” and as all fontophiles know, “very close” is not only not close enough to “it,” it doesn’t help in the search at all and only serves to infuriate the seeker.
Okay, so, I’ve started the post off with a failure–awesome!! Let’s continue.
Taristin, another commenter on the original post, asked if I knew what font was used for Serenity’s opening credits. I am proud to say that I have found it. It is an “all caps” font but there are some subtle variations between what you get when you type a lowercase letter and get a capital than when you actually type a capital–I found this out while creating the example you’ll see in a moment…the y and the Y are different. The font is called Orchidee Medium and it is FREE!! Check it out in action here:
I closed the previous post with two fonts I could not track down at the time. I have since found them.
The first is the font used in the Fruity Oaty Bar logo. I was able to find it on the same site where I found Orchidee, this one is called Fabulous.
Fabulous is also fabulously FREE! All you need to do to give it the proper look is to skew your type -158° and expand it horizontally by about 128%…and then there are those other problems like the fact that it has no exclamation point. You know what? Screw this! I’ll make it myself! (why does that sound so familiar?!) I’ve done the work of skewing and stretching the font and making an exclamation point and made a brand new shiny font called FruityOatyBar ( OpenType / TrueType ) Fruity Oaty Bar is totally utterly FREE too–now who’s your best buddy? Go ahead and download them… both of them!! Okay, you don’t have to if you don’t want to–it’s not mandatory.
Speaking of “NOT MANDATORY”… this is an easy one, although most people will assume it is just Helvetica. The message behind the blouse busting, octopus smuggling woman in the Fruity Oaty Bar commercial is spelled out in Impact Regular and horizontally scaled 42%. Before you go and buy this one, make sure you don’t already have it.
The second font that remained on my hit list at the end of the first part of this exploration was the font seen on the Operative’s screen as he researched Mal’s past the the Unification War. That font turned out to be Domestos Serif Black Italic. This one is not free, but a pretty nice font that you can use to make your Firefly/Serenity stuff look authentic without looking too overtly geeky.
While I’m pointing out all the other fonts used in Firefly and Serenity, I suppose I should also mention Bank Gothic which is used for the Serenity DVD menus. It’s a pretty common font…over used in fact…but, as I said, if I’m going to identify everything else, why not it? And, since it is a common font, don’t go buying it until you’re sure you don’t already have it.
Okay, I’m gonna leave things like that for now. Again, if you have any other fonts from Firefly or Serenity you’d like tracked down, comment below. Or, if you have another show or movie you’d like me to explore typographically, comment below. I look forward to our next adventure.
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I beg to differ on the fonts people see; even some graphic designers I’ve known will only use Times New Roman and Arial. If you’re lucky, they’ll throw a chancery script in.
Anyway, I loved both these posts–thank you for your research!
Mr. MercFontGeek, you’re… swell. Thanks for all the successful hard work — please know that you’ve made many Whedon’verse FontGeeks UPPERCASE Happy.
skripka, we agree on principle anyway: many people can only identify one serif, one sans, and one script… I think I have the makings of a blues song here.
QuoterGal, as a Whedon’verse font geek myself, I’m am happy to oblige…
Thanks for these – have downloaded the free ones.
May Buddha bestow upon you a pony and a plastic rocket for giving us the boundless joy that is the Fruity Oaty Bar font! Bless you.
You humble me with your pretty Buddha talk.
As for the poster above (skripa) who penned “…even some graphic designers I’ve known will only use Times New Roman and Arial,” to them I say that these “graphic designers” they speak of are obviously chumps with Photoshop calling themselves graphic designers, which is unfortunately becoming more common these days. Luckily none of those types worked on our precious Firefly and/or Serenity.
As for the work done here by RickMacMerc… awesome.
P.S. Joss rules!
I really must thank you for posting all of the good works you have done here. I am curious as to whether you might have any insights into the fonts used for the chinese writing we see in the ‘verse, particularly on Blue Sun products or the Fruity-Oaty Bars?
That’s a tough one, Wetware. I only have the Chinese fonts that came with my Mac. I basically just tried each one when I made my Firefly inspired shirts, but I only had a few dozen to scroll through and finding the closest match wasn’t that hard of a decision. In the end I don’t even know which one I chose…I just grabbed the one I thought looked best. I have to admit, my skills in matching foreign characters is not up to snuff.
Awesomeness. I’ll have to add my prayers for a pony and a plastic rocket for you, from the great Buddha!
Thanks for the difficult sleuthing!
Shiny. I can finally finish that Fruity Oaty Bar shirt I’ve been working on to sell in Second Life. Thanks a bunch.
I am all too aware of the difficulties in matching fonts in non-english languages. And Chinese characters in particular! Couldn’t resist asking though. In fact, I think I have found the characters that I am looking for, and I do have some Chinese fonts on my Mac. The closest I could come involved a mix of Traditional and Simplified Chinese. Did you have to scale or tweak the characters you used for your shirts? (Which, by the way, are very, very shiny. I have a friend that is going to flip over the “Trap!!” shirt.)
I imagine I probably did tweak the Chinese characters a bit. What I usually do for matching fonts exactly like that is, bring an image of what I’m trying to match into Illustrator, type out the text and then use the transform tools to stretch the text until it covers the target text exactly.
[...] Rick continued his analysis of the fonts used in Serenity. [...]
You, sir, are a font-finding genius!
I have a (possibly) hard one for you, sadly not Whedonverse related (or even TV related for that matter).
Can you identify the font used in the Shadowrun logo?
Not the new monochrome version, but the old red-and-black, written-on-a-scroll version.
Someone found me one that was almost right (and was even called Shadowrun) but wasn’t quite… and as you said, it just isn’t the same.
Oh yeah… I don’t know if you’re skilled at other graphics-related wizardry… but I’m trying to work out how to reproduce the glow effect used in the Firefly credits, so I can animate my own name in Firefly-actor-style
If you or anyone else can point me to a how-to, I’d be most appreciative…
Ooh! This is amazing! Tracking down the title font is one thing, but finding all those fonts tucked away here and there on the screen… you’re my new hero!
I’m in the process of putting together a web site for a fan club for Commander’s Log, and, unlike the BIFF site, which is Helvetica and nothing but, I’d like to try to track down the assorted fonts used in the show. I especially want to find the font used in the screen which says, “These are the messages we’ve received so far.” but I’d also like to find the font used in the computer notes on the screen, and, judging from your performance on Serenifly, there are probably about half a dozen others that I haven’t even noticed.
Grga
Adeptus, can you link me to a Shadowrun logo? I gotta see it. And, no, I don’t do video effects. Sorry…and good luck.
Grga, sorry not familiar with the show, but if you take some screenshots I’ll do my best. (Funny thing: I just came back from the bank where I waited in line behind your “Dr. Patsey”)
I found the font for River Tam’s “Project Oracle” medical chart. It is a font named “Induction”.
Wow, WillBueche, nice work.
Here’s the link to the font for the rest of you.
Also give “props” to WillBueche and give his blog some well deserved attention.
I too love identifying fonts- What fab deductions you have made!!! The Propstore has a single firefly/Serenity item: some vehicle identification stickers for firefly class ships… http://www.propstore.com/full-image.htm?imageId=32364
What font would you id the oval “Engineered by Firefly” as??? Notice who the rectangular ‘vehicle id plates’ has as proprietor of the Firefly Ship Works?? None other than J. Wheddon!!!
Firefly Rocks!
Serenity Rocks!
You Rock!
It looks to me like Lucida Sans on the top (“ENGINEERED BY”) and Brush 455 on the bottom (“Firefly”)
Whoops, been a while since I checked in here!
Thanks for the reply Rick. Here’s a couple of examples of the Shadowrun logo (the old 1st/2nd edition version, as opposed to the new 3rd/4th edition one…)
http://www.intercom.net/user/logan1/images/shadowru.gif
http://www.intercom.net/user/logan1/images/sr1.gif
Hey Adeptus,
That’s Friz Quadrata.
Nice work! This kind of attention to detail always gives me the warm fuzzies. Like perfectionist craftsmanship, it’s too rare these days.
Do you have a match for the small-caps font on Mr Universe’s backup broadwave system? At 01:40:13 in the movie.
I assume you mean this:
It’s the same typeface as on the Operatives screen mentioned above: Domestos Serif only it is not the Italic version and it has been set to small caps in whatever graphics program the production company used.
I wouldn’t have guessed; the small caps give it a completely different feel. Thanks!
@mamee_kins http://tinyurl.com/yct4dv6 scroll down the page
I have tried since last year to get an answer to my last comment on the serenity alien fonts I posted yesterday with images of same. The ones that are almost identical to Alienwares/
Can you tell me what the history of these fonts are . and where I can get them. ..
Thanx
The images you supplied with your comment were dead links and so the comment was trashed and unanswered.
Hi!, and thanx for responding. LoL..My sincere apologies for the bad links..let me re try without putting those img brackets. I ran these on the browser windows the link works. In case they don’t its the chinese/Jap looking characters you see on Dells AW PCs starting 2007 and up.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff290/instantmartians/1a-1.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff290/instantmartians/2a-1.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff290/instantmartians/4a.jpg
They look identical to the Alienware and some used in Farscape as well.
I know that Tom Hall of Commander Keen fame in the eighties had nice set like this too and were free.
But DellAW seem to to really make prolific use of the on their hardware, but I can’t tell who owns what. In fact.Dell lists its designers as a selling point except for that particular design using the letters in question.
Can you help shed any light on this as I keep hitting a brick wall finding the designers for the Serenity and the AW.
Highest Regards
Manny
Sorry, no help here either. Good luck on your search.
How about this “Train Job” ALTRANS logo ?
http://www.seansgallery.com/newpics/firefly/train/engine_11.jpg
I think the 7 characters in that sample are most likely derived from a typeface like Agency FB Extended Black. The A’s look like the Cyrillic “De”, the L and T have probably just been altered to interlock and look more futuristic, The R is almost exactly like Agency FB Extended Black and the S actually looks like it has been messed with (note the slightly notched spot where a corner doesn’t quite line up)