SUMMARY When using certain variable fonts, setting weights above their internal limit will not make them thicker, even when "Synthesize Bold" is toggled. STEPS TO REPRODUCE 1. Download and install this font: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Playwrite+DE+SAS 2. Create a text 3. Set font weight to >400 OBSERVED RESULT The font weight will look the same as 400 EXPECTED RESULT The text should look thicker SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS Windows 11 Krita 5.3.0-prealpha (git 38b517c) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Also happens on 5.2.x. Changing the font weight in SVG source code resulted in correct thickness within the preview window, but the text on canvas is rendered incorrectly.
I don't condider this a bug but intended behaviour: If a variable font has a weight attribute with a value going from e.g. 200 to 400 than those are the limits. Sythesize Bold is not doing anything in this case. That is the idea of variable fonts. They provide a dynamic weight so that the software does not need to calculate a faux bold appearence. If, on the other hand, one is using a static font, then the Sythesize Bold or faux bold comes into play. The software can then create one artificial bold weight. The challenge is creating a UI that reflect this. In Krita the weight slider and the Synthesize checkbox are editable in both cases which can give the impression that both are valid settings for both types of fonts. Normally there is B button that is activating the faux bold for static fonts and a weight slider for variable fonts. In Krita this is not the case. To get the faux bold one need to activate the Synthezise checkox and move the weight slider above some kind of hidden threshold to get the faux bold to kick in. But this is something happening in other software as well. The mix of static and variable fonts opens so many variable possibilities that the UIs often can't keep up with the complexity.