💎 FONT RECOMMENDATIONS (insp. layout)
i’ve received a few asks asking what fonts i use in my sets! so i’ve put together a small compilation of my favourite fonts <3
you can access all fonts that i’ve mentioned here! all credits for the fonts belong to their creators 💙 please like and reblog this post if you find it helpful!
I’ve been using a pretty good website for Chinese fonts and thought it would be nice to do a little guide to using it, since everything is in Chinese!
The website: https://www.fonts.net.cn/fonts-zh-1.html
Why I love it:
It has over 6000 Chinese fonts
There’s an option to toggle your sample text between simple and traditional so you don’t have to type it in twice
The fonts are actually decently categorised and sorted vs other websites that just give you a dump which makes it very difficult to find a certain style you might be looking for
This guide will cover:
How to navigate the website
How to differentiate whether a font is simplified or traditional
How to download a font
How to choose a font by style - this is where the “quick crash course on Chinese scripts” comes in 🤡
✦ NAVIGATING THE WEBSITE
There are three ways to filter the fonts: alphabetically, by style, or by font foundry (i.e. the company that designs/ distributes the fonts)
The most convenient way to find a font based on a “look” you’re looking for is to filter them by style
You can either play around with the style filters by yourself, but I’ve put in the translations for each category at the end of this post
There is also an area you can key in your sample text to see how it will turn out with the font and (very important) check whether the font has that particular character
The simplified-traditional toggle will automatically convert words that have simplified/ traditional forms when clicked so you don’t have to retype anything on your part (yay!) (¬‿¬ )
✦ SIMPLIFIED VS TRADITIONAL
A quick way to identify whether a font is simplified or traditional is by the font name
简 (jiǎn) indicates a simplified font
繁 (fán) indicates a traditional font
However, not all fonts will indicate whether they are simplified or traditional in their name
If so, one way of doing it is to enter a word you know has simplified and traditional versions and see which version pops up
Example 1: I keyed the simplified 龙 (lóng) “dragon” into the sample text bar. The results I got were mostly simplified, but there was one that gave me 龍 - the traditional way of writing 龙
Example 2: I keyed in 红尘醉微醺的岁月 (one of my favourite lines from one of Jay Chou’s songs lmao) in simplified form, and got this
Some traditional fonts automatically convert characters into the traditional form, even though you had entered the sample text in simplified
For instance, in the two traditional fonts in the screenshot above, the simplified characters 红, 尘, and 岁 were automatically converted into the traditional 紅, 塵, and 歲 respectively
However, when I clicked the simplified-traditional toggle to test out the traditional form of the phrase, this happened
When fonts don’t have a particular character, there will be a space/ gap/ crossed out box where it should be
And even though some traditional fonts do actually have that traditional character, it, strangely enough, only shows up when you search your text in simplified ヽ(´ー` )┌
This is why it’s really important to check (in both simplified and traditional) whether a particular font has the characters you want before choosing/ downloading it!
And then there are those very few fonts that have both simplified and traditional, like this one
✦ DOWNLOADING A FONT
To download a font, click the right most yellow button with the download icon
And that’s it! It’ll download automatically, don’t need to do or wait for anything else
Watch out for the fonts with the orange triangle at the corner - you’ll need to pay to use these fonts, even if it’s for personal use!
You can also click on the font itself to open up the page and see sample characters
And this is the end of the guide if you’re content with just searching around and exploring on your own! If you want to know a little bit more about the font styles and different scripts, read on (at your own risk) ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
✦ FONT STYLES
+ quick crash course on Chinese scripts
Disclaimer: I don’t have any background in Chinese calligraphy (the most Chinese calligraphy I ever did was in school when they made everyone take it for like a semester or something which ended up in most of us doodling around with ink and absolutely wrecking the brushes) nor have I academically studied the history of Chinese writing. All of the below is just compiled from my own Googling around out of interest since I’ve always been fascinated by fonts, etymology, and the evolution of words over time
The categories in the style filter are quite haphazardly placed, so I’ve grouped them into different sub-categories/ groups based on their commonalities. I’ve tried to put in links to gifsets/ edits where possible, but going back to that disclaimer: I can only recognise the very broad styles (mostly Groups 1 and 3), but not the “sub-categories” (Group 2).
GROUP 1: WIDELY RECOGNISED CALLIGRAPHY/ SCRIPT STYLES
These are the fonts based on the five major styles that are still widely used in Chinese calligraphy today
1. 篆体 (zhuàn tǐ) - seal script
Actual term in calligraphy: 篆书 (zhuàn shū)
Oldest style that is still widely practised today
Used to be common in the latter half of the 1st millennium BC, but the Qin variant eventually became the standard and was standardised during the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Today, it’s commonly used in seals (name chops), hence the name
When making gifs/edits, these fonts may be good if you want to convey something that is older or has an ancient feel, or very formal/ official
Gif example: [x - the sect names]
Side note: one thing that really stood out for me when I was watching LBFAD was that the “heavenly realm” uses seal script while the “mortal realm” uses the clerical or regular scripts - which kinda gives the feeling that the heavenly realm is much older or more traditional which makes sense since the folks there are immortals
2. 隶书 (lì shū) - clerical script
Evolved from the late Warring States period to the Qin dynasty, but only became dominant during the Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD, 25-220 AD)
Characters are typically wide and flat, with long horizontal strokes and short vertical strokes
Another important characteristic is 蚕头燕尾 (cán tóu yàn wěi): literally “head of a silkworm, tail of a swallow”, meaning the start of a stroke is heavy but the end of the stroke is light (tapered)
Sometimes, horizontal strokes or downward diagonal strokes have very dramatically flared tails
3. 楷体 (kǎi tǐ) - regular script
Actual term in calligraphy: 楷书 (kǎi shū)
Emerged between the Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period (220-280), gained dominance during the Northern and Southern dynasties (386-589), but only matured during the Tang dynasty (618-690, 705-907)
Still very commonly in use today, and is till today the most easily and widely recognised style since this is the script to which beginners to the language (whether kids in China learning it as their first language or people from around the globe learning Chinese as a foreign language) are usually first exposed
Each stroke is placed slowly and carefully, and all strokes are distinct from each other
Gif example: [x] [x] [x]
4. 行书 (xíng shū) - running/ semi-cursive script
Emerged during the Han dynasty
Approximates normal handwriting
Strokes (and more rarely, characters) are allowed to run into one another (i.e. join up), for instance the word 东 (dōng) in the third line in the image above where the horizontal stroke is joined to the vertical stroke
The brush/ pen leaves the paper less often than in the regular script, explaining the joining of strokes
Characters appear rounder and less angular
I like to use these fonts when trying to show it’s someone’s handwriting, or when I want something that’s a bit carefree but still want the text to be more or less legible
Gif example: [x]
5. 草书 (cǎo shū) - cursive script
Originated through two phases during the period from the Han to Jin dynasties (266-420)
A fully cursive script with drastic simplifications that requires specialised knowledge, therefore it’s not particularly legible to the average person and has never achieved widespread use beyond the realm of literati calligraphers
Characters may be written without lifting the brush from the paper at all
Strokes are modified or eliminated completely to facilitate smooth writing and to create a beautiful, abstract appearance, and have a highly rounded and soft appearance with a lack of angular lines
I usually use cursive script fonts when I want to convey a mood that is more 潇洒 (xiāo sǎ) - unfettered and unrestrained
Gif example: [x]
This script is the source of Japanese hiragana and many modern simplified forms of Chinese characters
Regular script -> running script -> cursive script -> Japanese hiragana a-i-u-e-o line
書 (shū) traditional form of “book”: in seal script, clerical script, cursive script, running script, and regular script
The cursive script (in the middle) is how the simplified form of the character 书 was derived
GROUP 2: OTHER CALLIGRAPHY/ SCRIPT STYLES & VARIATIONS
Other styles of calligraphy that are different types/ variations of the above 5
1. 行楷 (xíng kǎi) - running regular script
The running regular script follows (mostly) the stroke order of the regular script, but is “freer” than the regular script while being more regular than the running script
Regular script: emphasises stroke order and in calligraphy, is very strict about how the brush is held, when the brush is stopped, and how the brush is turned,
Running regular script: more “spirited” and convenient, still follows stroke order to a large extent especially for the main strokes
Gif example: [x] [x] [x]
2. 颜楷 (yán kǎi) - Yan-style regular script
Sometimes also called 颜体 (yán tǐ) “Yan script”
Created by the Tang dynasty calligrapher 颜真卿 Yan Zhenqing (709-785)
Conveys a spirit that is solemn, upright, and full of vigour
This is in comparison to early Tang calligraphy which was characterised by thinner strokes and an overall more “introverted” feeling
3. 魏碑 (wèi bēi) - Wei stele script
Sometimes also called 魏楷 (wèi kǎi) “Wei-style regular script”
This is the name given to the script of stone engravings of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties
Later had a big influence on the regular scripts of the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties
4. 新魏 (xīn wèi) - new Wei script
Came about towards the end of the Qing dynasty (1636-1912) and the start of the Republican era (1912-1949)
From the Wei stele script, it emphasises dots, top right to bottom left strokes, and top left to bottom right strokes (I don’t know how to properly translate 撇捺 (piě nà) lol), especially the edges and corners of strokes
Strokes are straighter which emphasises the strength and hardness of the original Wei stele script
5. 瘦金体 (shòu jīn tǐ) - slender gold script
A type of regular script, also called 鹤体 (hè tǐ) “crane script”
Created by Emperor Huizong (1082-1135) of the Song dynasty
A pretty unique script in that the strokes are slender yet stern and hard, while still being quite well-bodied, and having a free and easy spirit
As the strokes are relatively thin and hard, the brushwork tends to be exposed: you can clearly see the movement of the brush as it turns, is lifted, and pauses
It was originally called 瘦筋体 (shòu jīn tǐ) “slender sinew/ vein script”, but 筋 was changed to the homophone 金 “gold” out of respect to the emperor
GROUP 3: MOVEABLE TYPES & BEYOND
Hello invention of the moveable type!
1. 宋体 (sòng tǐ) - Song script
The Chinese version of serifs
Vertical strokes are thick while horizontal strokes are thin with triangles at the end of single horizontal strokes to mimic the pausing of a brush at the end of a stroke in calligraphy
The names “Song ti” and “Ming ti” refer to the same thing - mainland China uses “Song ti”, Hong Kong and Macau use “Ming ti”, and Taiwan uses both
However, the Song script as we know it today didn’t actually first emerge during the Song dynasty (960-1279), but during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) with the rapid advancement of printing technology
During the Song dynasty, there were three major areas of production (Zhejiang, Sichuan, Fujian) but instead of using scripts we would recognise as Song/ Ming today, they actually each referenced the calligraphy style of a Tang dynasty calligrapher
It was only during the Ming dynasty that the Song/ Ming script we’re familiar with today was formed from the mimicking of the scripts used in Zhejiang but also making changes such as straightening the strokes
(Confusing I know)
Gif example: [x]
2. 仿宋 (fáng sòng) - imitation Song
Differences from Song script: horizontal strokes slant up slightly, horizontal and vertical strokes do not have very big variations in width, horizontal strokes lack the triangles at the end
Originated during the Republican era, specifically around 1915-1916, modelled after the scripts used in woodblock printing in Lin’an (modern Hangzhou) during the Song Dynasty
Image below: Song script (pink) vs. imitation Song (green)
3. 明体 (míng tǐ) - Ming script
See Song script above
4. 黑体 (hēi tǐ) - sans serif
The Chinese version of sans serifs
Characters have strokes of even thickness and lack decorations
Designed for printing and legibility
Gif example: [x - the smaller characters; yes it applies to Japanese fonts too!]
5. 大黑 (dà hēi) - heavy sans serif
A classification that this font website uses to differentiate the thicker sans serif fonts
6. 细黑 (xì hēi) - light sans serif
A classification that this font website uses to differentiate the thinner sans serif fonts
7. 姚体 (yáo tǐ) - Yao script
Similar to Songti, but tends to be slimmer and longer
Combines the bold and flat look of Heiti with the regularity and neatness of Songti to produce a sturdy yet delicate and dignified font
GROUP 4: MODE OF WRITING
If the above categories are too granular in the details, these two are more generic filters that group fonts based on what tool had been used to write them
1. 毛笔 (máo bǐ) - brush-written
2. 钢笔 (gāng bǐ) - pen-written (actually means “fountain pen”)
GROUP 5: MISCELLANEOUS
And lastly, the more decorative fonts that have been grouped together based on their look or common use
1. 幼圆 (yòu yuán) - rounded fonts
2. 广告 (guǎng gào) - advertisement
3. 彩云 (cǎi yún) - colourful clouds
Kinda like bubble fonts
4. 卡通 (kǎ tōng) - cartoon
5. 综艺 (zōng yì) - variety show
6. 娃娃 (wá wa) - baby
7. 琥珀 (hǔ pò) - amber gemstone
Fonts where individual glyphs in a character overlap
8. 古印 (gǔ yìn) - ancient prints
9. 空心 (kōng xīn) - hollow
Outlined fonts
10. 海报 (hǎi bào) - poster
And congratulations! You’ve come to the end of this really long guide!
I made a helpful guide to freely-available fonts, organized by general type. (It’s easier to say “I want a font that does THIS” than to sift through fonts that are organized by date created or by name.)
This is a link to the Word document on my Google Drive. For those of you who don’t have easy access to Microsoft Office on your device, I have a PDF version here.
Feel free to add fonts, or to contact me via DM or the email address listed in the document. It’s a Creative Commons document, so feel free to spread copies all over the Internet. More information about the CC license, and all restrictions, are at the end of the document. Please respect my wishes on this, and please do not use these fonts for ANY commercial purposes unless you have purchased a license from the creator! They worked hard to make these, and it’s not fair to make money off their hard work without giving a little back.
(By the way, I used past tense when referring to Pixel Sagas because he is deceased. His widow keeps his website up and running, so that people can continue to buy the fonts he created.)
ALSO: If you have dyslexia, I would appreciate it if you’d let me know which of these fonts are easiest for you to read. I plan to update this document with this information, as a resource for anyone who works with dyslexic people.
