“Ebony’s Revenge List” Font - Making Process
"Ebony's Revenge List" font is a fan art project inspired by the late '90s New Zealand TV show The Tribe.
About the show
"The Tribe" tells the story of the aftermath of an unknown virus that wiped out the entire adult population, leaving only kids and teenagers alive.
Survivors are starting to rebuild society from scratch, divided into tribes. The main characters face the challenges of the new world without authority, basic supplies, health care, education, water, and electricity.
Despite being categorized as a kids' show, the story delves into dark themes such as poverty, illiteracy, underage pregnancy, addiction, eating disorders, sexual abuse, cults, slavery, death, and suicide, among others.
Who is Ebony?
Ebony starts as a member of The Locos, standing alongside Zoot, the leader of the tribe. The Locos' ideology is based on their slogan, "Power and Chaos." They believe in the survival of the fittest and prioritize their self-interest above the needs of others. They use violence to rebel against the "old ways" of the adults before the virus, destroying history books, schools, and any symbols of previous authority while creating a "new order" for themselves.
Ebony embodies the main traits of the Locos throughout the series. She is a natural-born leader and an opportunist who strives for power. Possessing the necessary survival skills, being foresighted, a trained fighter, and an assertive and persuasive speaker while prioritizing herself usually paints her as a villain in the eyes of the weaker, making her an outcast of any group.
Ebony's makeup and fashion style play a huge part in her character. She often communicates her feelings and intentions through her looks. Wearing bold makeup is her war paint. Her signature color is red, from her clothes to pieces of braids, lipstick, and a fiery symbol drawn on her forehead, illustrating rebellion, anger, and vengefulness.
Font inspiration
One particular moment in the show that inspired me to create a font in her tribute was a scene where she felt betrayed by the other tribe members. Feeling vulnerable, she retreated to her room. She began writing the names of the people who hurt/disrespected her with lipstick on the mirror. This small detail revealed a glimpse of her broken heart and enduring sense of incompleteness, showcasing the depth and complexity of her character. I immediately thought, "It would be amazing to make a font in honor of that moment." It reminded me of Arya's "Joffrey, Cersei, Walder Frey, etc."
Font style
Hand-written letters, written with a marker.
Shape: Bold characters drawn with uneven strokes
Uppercase/ Lowercase: Same height
Colors: Red, blue, and black shades of marker
Emotion/Mood: Anger, rebelliousness
Font sketches
Initial sketches are made with random words (mostly character names) to test different alphabet design styles. I always start with pencil and paper, and later, I trace the letters and choose the stroke texture in Affinity Designer.
After achieving the desired style of the letters (sketch #4), I traced several of them and experimented with Affinity Designer. I chose a marker-style stroke with adjusted pressure brush settings to match the desired look.
36 Days of Type Presentation
To execute this font, I chose to do it via the 36 Days of Type challenge. I designed one letter per day and posted it on Instagram, until I finished the whole alphabet and numbers.
For the presentation, I wanted to use a collage method inspired by the creations of teenagers in the 1990s. I used textures, design elements, and a music playlist to create an audio-visual language that suggests rebelliousness.
I selected various textures that are suitable for writing with red, blue, and black markers.
Bonus material
I wanted to push this presentation further by creating one additional card each day, featuring an image of a character from the show. With each letter, a character image will be revealed. To achieve this, I used an image of a school locker and designed each character image as a Polaroid. I also included some random doodles around each image to provide a creative association with the character.
Doodles used throughout the presentation.
Converting letters into font
After designing the entire alphabet, I made it into a font using Calligraphr.
I downloaded a PNG template and arranged the letters according to the guidelines. I also created minimal punctuation symbols to complete the font.
Calligraphr allows you to adjust the settings for the font, character’s spacing, size and baseline among others.
I made five variations of the font until I achieved the final one.
You can download “Ebony’s Revenge List” on Gumroad store.
Would you be making you own font? :)
