handwriting-generator

Render text as a natural-looking handwriting image (PNG) from the command line or as a Python library. It draws a handwriting-style font glyph-by-glyph and applies subtle, seeded per-glyph randomization (baseline wander, slight rotation, size wobble) so the result looks hand-written instead of typeset.

This is a font-rendering approach — not machine learning. It runs fully offline: no network access or API keys at runtime. (A font is downloaded once at build time and committed into the package.)

Install

pip install .
# or, for development with tests:
pip install -e ".[test]"

Runtime dependency: Pillow.

CLI

Two equivalent entry points are installed: handwriting-generator and the shorter handwrite.

# Simple
handwriting-generator "Dear John, I hope this letter finds you well." -o note.png

# From a file (use '-' for stdin)
handwriting-generator --input letter.txt -o letter.png

# Messy notebook style, reproducible
handwrite "Meeting notes" --paper lined --jitter 1.8 --seed 42 -o notes.png

# Neat, narrow column, custom ink color
handwrite "Tidy and straight" --jitter 0 --width 600 --color "#1a1a8a" -o tidy.png

Flags

Long text is word-wrapped to --width, and the image grows taller to fit all lines.

Library

from handwriting_generator import HandwritingRenderer, RenderConfig, render_text

# One-shot helper
render_text("Hello, world!", "hello.png", paper="lined", jitter=1.2, seed=7)

# Or keep a configured renderer
cfg = RenderConfig(size=56, color="#222222", width=800, jitter=0.8, seed=1)
renderer = HandwritingRenderer(cfg)
img = renderer.render("Reusable renderer")   # a PIL RGBA Image
renderer.save("Reusable renderer", "out.png")

Determinism

Pass --seed (CLI) or seed= (library) to make output reproducible: the same text, seed, and settings always produce a byte-identical PNG. Without a seed, the jitter is randomized on each run.

Licensing

• Code: MIT (see LICENSE).
• Bundled font: Shadows Into Light by Kimberly Geswein is licensed under the SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1. Its full license text ships with the package at handwriting_generator/fonts/OFL.txt. The OFL is not the same as the MIT license that covers the code; it governs the font file only. You may swap in any other font with --font.