I was hoping to find a font that reasonably fits what I want, but no such luck, so here I am. I'll try to describe what I'm trying to do as cogently as possible. I want to simulate a series of nixie characters to layer over another image realistically; implying banks of nixie tubes optically composited onto another, different display in the background, like some strange Dieselpunk technology.

First, I want a mere wisp or shadow of the glass tube itself to appear, with the idea of implying an old, slightly imperfect analog mechanism. The inactive elements should appear more distinctly than the tube, being partially illuminated by the active element. The active elements should appear imperfect, like filaments pitted from long cycles of usage. Optimally, the elements themselves will live in their own layer, so I can adjust the hue (I'm not certain what I want to use yet). Most important of all, the characters themselves must be partially translucent, to give the impression of optical, rather than digital, compositing.

The following image closely resembles what I imagine these characters to be like.



I've been tinkering with this idea for a while, and it's pretty obvious to me that I'm out of my depth. Anyone up for a challenge? =) Any assistance will be appreciated, thanks.

Oleron give me few days, a week or so, I will made a custom font as it's already a while that I am thinking about it.

Hey, that would be great.