Text View with Drop Caps UIView subclass which renders text using core text with an enlarged, floating first character.

FTWDropCapTextView.h

//
//  FTWDropCapTextView.h
//
//  Created by Anthony Mattox on 1/22/13.
//  Copyright (c) 2013 Friends of The Web. All rights reserved.
//

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface FTWDropCapTextView : UIView

@property (nonatomic) UIEdgeInsets capMargin;
@property (nonatomic) UIEdgeInsets contentInset;
@property (nonatomic, strong) NSDictionary *bodyAttributes;
@property (nonatomic, strong) NSDictionary *capAttributes;
@property (nonatomic, strong) NSString *text;

- (UIFont *)capFont;
- (UIFont *)bodyFont;
- (void)setCapFont:(UIFont *)capFont;
- (void)setBodyFont:(UIFont *)bodyFont;

@end

FTWDropCapTextView.m

//
//  FTWDropCapTextView.m
//
//  Created by Anthony Mattox on 1/22/13.
//  Copyright (c) 2013 Friends of The Web. All rights reserved.
//

#import "FTWDropCapTextView.h"
#import <CoreText/CoreText.h>

@interface FTWDropCapTextView ()
@property (nonatomic, strong) NSRegularExpression *validCapRegex;
- (void) setupProperties;
- (void) drawText;
- (void) drawTextWithDropCap;
@end

@implementation FTWDropCapTextView

#pragma mark - Initializing

- (id) initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame {
    if (self = [super initWithFrame:frame]) {
        [self setupProperties];
    }
    return self;
}

- (id)initWithCoder:(NSCoder *)aDecoder {
    if (self = [super initWithCoder:aDecoder]) {
        [self setupProperties];
    }
    return self;
}

- (void) setupProperties {
    self.contentMode = UIViewContentModeRedraw;
    _contentInset = UIEdgeInsetsMake(0, 0, 0, 0);
    _capMargin = UIEdgeInsetsMake(0, 0, 0, 10);
    self.bodyAttributes = @{NSFontAttributeName : [UIFont systemFontOfSize:12]};
    self.capAttributes = @{NSFontAttributeName : [UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:50]};
    self.validCapRegex = [[NSRegularExpression alloc] initWithPattern:@"^\\w" options:NSRegularExpressionCaseInsensitive error:nil];
}


#pragma mark - Properties

- (void) setText:(NSString *)text {
    _text = text;
    [self setNeedsDisplay];
}


- (UIFont *)capFont {
    return [self.capAttributes objectForKey:NSFontAttributeName];
}

- (UIFont *)bodyFont {
    return [self.bodyAttributes objectForKey:NSFontAttributeName];
}

- (void)setCapFont:(UIFont *)capFont {
    NSMutableDictionary *dictionary = [self.capAttributes mutableCopy];
    dictionary[NSFontAttributeName] = capFont;
    self.capAttributes = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithDictionary:dictionary];
}

- (void)setBodyFont:(UIFont *)bodyFont {
    NSMutableDictionary *dictionary = [self.bodyAttributes mutableCopy];
    dictionary[NSFontAttributeName] = bodyFont;
    self.bodyAttributes = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithDictionary:dictionary];
}


#pragma mark - Rendering

- (void)drawRect:(CGRect)rect {
    if (self.text && ![self.text isEqualToString:@""]) {
        if (self.text.length>2) {
            if ([self.validCapRegex numberOfMatchesInString:self.text options:NSMatchingReportCompletion range:NSMakeRange(0, 1)]) {
                [self drawTextWithDropCap];
            } else {
                [self drawText];
            }
        } else {
            [self drawText];
        }
    }
}

- (void) drawTextWithDropCap {
    // Create attributed strings
    NSAttributedString *bodyText = [[NSAttributedString alloc] initWithString:[self.text substringWithRange:NSMakeRange(1, self.text.length -1)] attributes:_bodyAttributes];
    NSAttributedString *capText = [[NSAttributedString alloc] initWithString:[[self.text substringWithRange:NSMakeRange(0, 1)] uppercaseString] attributes:_capAttributes];
    
    CGSize capSize = [capText size];
    CGRect capFrame = CGRectMake(_capMargin.left, _capMargin.top, capSize.width, capSize.height);
    CGRect capSpace = CGRectMake(0, 0, CGRectGetMaxX(capFrame) + _capMargin.left + _capMargin.right, CGRectGetMaxY(capFrame) + _capMargin.top + _capMargin.bottom);
    
    // Set up graphics context
    CGContextRef context = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext();
    CGContextSetTextMatrix(context, CGAffineTransformIdentity);
    CGContextTranslateCTM(context, 0, self.bounds.size.height);
    CGContextScaleCTM(context, 1.0, -1.0);
    
    // Create type frames
    CGMutablePathRef bodyPath = CGPathCreateMutable();
    CGAffineTransform transform = CGAffineTransformTranslate(CGAffineTransformMakeScale(1, -1), 0, -self.bounds.size.height);
    CGPathMoveToPoint(bodyPath, &transform, CGRectGetMaxX(capSpace) + _contentInset.left, _contentInset.top);
    CGPathAddLineToPoint(bodyPath, &transform, self.bounds.size.width - _contentInset.right, _contentInset.top);
    CGPathAddLineToPoint(bodyPath, &transform, self.bounds.size.width - _contentInset.right, self.bounds.size.height - _contentInset.bottom);
    CGPathAddLineToPoint(bodyPath, &transform, _contentInset.left, self.bounds.size.height - _contentInset.bottom);
    CGPathAddLineToPoint(bodyPath, &transform, _contentInset.left, CGRectGetMaxY(capSpace) + _contentInset.top);
    CGPathAddLineToPoint(bodyPath, &transform, CGRectGetMaxX(capSpace) + _contentInset.left, CGRectGetMaxY(capSpace) + _contentInset.top);
    CGPathCloseSubpath(bodyPath);
    
    CGMutablePathRef capPath = CGPathCreateMutable();
    CGPathAddRect(capPath, &transform, CGRectMake(_contentInset.left + _capMargin.left, _contentInset.top + _capMargin.top, capSize.width+10, capSize.height+10));
    
    // Draw text
    CTFramesetterRef framesetter = CTFramesetterCreateWithAttributedString((__bridge CFAttributedStringRef) bodyText);
    CTFrameRef frame = CTFramesetterCreateFrame(framesetter, CFRangeMake(0, 0), bodyPath, NULL);
    CFRelease(framesetter);
    CTFrameDraw(frame, context);
    CFRelease(frame);
    framesetter = CTFramesetterCreateWithAttributedString((__bridge CFAttributedStringRef)capText);
    frame = CTFramesetterCreateFrame(framesetter, CFRangeMake(0, 0), capPath, NULL);
    CFRelease(framesetter);
    CTFrameDraw(frame, context);
    CFRelease(frame);
}

- (void) drawText {
    // Create attributed string
    NSAttributedString *bodyText = [[NSAttributedString alloc] initWithString:self.text attributes:_bodyAttributes];
    
    // Set up graphics context
    CGContextRef context = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext();
    CGContextSetTextMatrix(context, CGAffineTransformIdentity);
    CGContextTranslateCTM(context, 0, self.bounds.size.height);
    CGContextScaleCTM(context, 1.0, -1.0);
    
    // Create type frame
    CGMutablePathRef bodyPath = CGPathCreateMutable();
    CGAffineTransform transform = CGAffineTransformTranslate(CGAffineTransformMakeScale(1, -1), 0, -self.bounds.size.height);
    CGPathAddRect(bodyPath, &transform, CGRectMake(_contentInset.left, _contentInset.top, self.bounds.size.width - _contentInset.left - _contentInset.right, self.bounds.size.height - _contentInset.top - _contentInset.bottom));
    
    // Draw text
    CTFramesetterRef framesetter = CTFramesetterCreateWithAttributedString((__bridge CFAttributedStringRef) bodyText);
    CTFrameRef frame = CTFramesetterCreateFrame(framesetter, CFRangeMake(0, 0), bodyPath, NULL);
    CFRelease(framesetter);
    CTFrameDraw(frame, context);
    CFRelease(frame);
}

@end