“It’s only his outside; a man can be honest in any sort of skin.” these words by Herman Melville — Moby-Dick, have echoed in my mind every single time I harbored the thought of getting myself a tattoo. I deem myself a logophile, and hence it stood to reason that I would pick a poem to tattoo my skin. The poem was already cherry-picked. What remained a hurdle was choosing the right tattoo font for me.
A quick internet search of “the best Tattoo Fonts,” and I had an array of fonts to choose from. However, as beautiful as they all looked, I learned there is more to the font than just the outlook. This meant I had to do a deep google dive to ensure I come up with something not just right but also grand and beautiful to the eye.
Though the concept of a text tattoo is easy for many tattooists, certain factors have to be considered before etching the words on one’s skin. For instance, the type of text, whether long or short, will determine the tattoo font and style to be used. In other words, the length of the text determines where to etch it best.
In my endeavor to find the best font for my tattoo, I stumbled on a few gems from Tattoo Fonts on Pixelo.net
The Jackster — Black letter font, for instance, stands out for me. It is conspicuous and with a refined gothic element that I fancy. It guarantees conformity with all body surfaces you decide to lay it on. The letter shaping is also ideal for bold text on any type of skin.
The Callahan — Brush font screams boldness with a tinge of roughness. Picture a text with this font on your chest. It gives out a sense of confidence. Again, the letters are perfectly shaped with just the right amount of angling. The font is evenly kerned and is hence among the most easy-to-read fonts.
If you live out loud, then Rockndut — Hand brush Font is the best personality tell. The tattoo font is designed for anyone with a story to tell. It bears with it confidence and class. It is usually preloaded, and hence you can see how the final product will look on your skin.
Almost all text laid down in fonts that have serifs is catchy to the eye. Among the best fonts out there that make use of serifs is Chicano Font by Muntab Art. If you’re getting a tattoo as a fashion statement, then Chicano will best make the statement. The swirling of the words gives an edge to the text and makes it stand out.
Getting a culturally-induced tattoo is no reason to use archaic fonts on your skin anymore. Olden fonts are now being perfected using contemporary designs and creativity. They now come elegantly sprinkled with style. Brewing crafters By Vozzy vintage fonts is another example of such fonts. It now comes with an element of style. The characters are again well-spaced, elegantly shaped for aesthetics.
Handwritten fonts by far are my favorite, however. They come skillfully curved with breathtaking swirls in their designs. Such fonts work best for long texts. Raph Lanok Typeface by Alit Design and Rumble Brave Typeface is the embodiment of beauty in tattoo fonts. I have always envisioned a beautiful message brandished in ink down the spine using Raph Lanok Typeface.
The list of the fonts I have fallen in love with is long. If only I were brave enough to ink every inch of my body, then I’d carry with me every font that speaks to me.
As earlier stated, several features have to be incorporated in the tattoo font to make it stand out as the best or among the best fonts. Such key features include;
Even Kerning. This feature takes into account the importance of good spacing between characters in a word. Simply put, the space between characters in a font determines the readability of the word. Too much space makes it hard to tell if the space separates a word or a character.
We must also consider legibility in the subject font. Too much decoration, regardless of how beautiful, if it messes with the readability of the text, then it automatically invalidates the point of the text. It then becomes imperative that the font chosen be legible.
Uniformity in the design and shaping of the letters is also worth checking. A type of font with serifs on some of the letters lacks the same in other letters makes it look clumsy. All letters must be uniform. This means that the font should not contain bold characters while the rest of the characters regular.
The weight of the font is also a factor to consider when picking a tattoo font. There is an essential need to balance the characters to have the same thickness or thinness. Balancing helps in avoiding clashing between different designs found in a font. This is to say that a font may consist of different structures. Remember, some of these fonts are hand-developed. However, a good balancing of the designs is the difference between professional fonts and armature fonts.
Another key feature used to determine whether a font is the best or not is the presence of numerals in the same font structure and the range of punctuation characters it carries with it. A tattoo font with uppercase letters but lacking lowercase letters is a red flag. Therefore, there should be a careful examination of the font to ensure all characters are accounted for and uniform.
Today, the internet and availability of Tattoo experts have it extremely easy for you to settle on a font for your ink. Such experts are aware of the dos and don’ts when tattooing. As previously mentioned, most of these Tattoo fonts are pre-made, and all you have to do is walk in their shops, select the font, and they work their magic with the ink. The tattooist, in some instances, can help you tweak the design to incorporate your unique design. Tattoos have been established to be a personal affair, and given the level of permanence, they should bear a sense of personal style.
