Category: Tutorials

If you’ve ever tried to learn how to draw in Photoshop, probably you’ve heard about graphics tablets and that you can’t really draw digitally without one. In this tutorial, I’ll show you the reason for this! I’ll explain how to use a graphics tablet in Photoshop and how to use its settings efficiently for creating art.

The tips and techniques presented in the tutorial are universal and will work with any pressure-sensitive tablet, both screen and non-screen ones, but as an example I will be using the newest product of our sponsor, XP-PEN. Artist Pro 16TP is a pen tablet for Photoshop and other programs, with a 4K (3840 x 2160) screen and a multi-touch support. If you’re interested in getting one, scroll down to the end of the article to read about the 16th anniversary discounts!

What You’ll Learn in This Tutorial on Using a Drawing Tablet With Photoshop

• How to draw in Photoshop with a tablet
• How to connect a tablet to Photoshop
• How to draw smooth lines in Photoshop
• How to create your own Photoshop drawing brushes
• How to use a pen tablet in Photoshop

What You’ll Need

To follow this tutorial, you need a graphics tablet. It can be any tablet, small or big, with or without a screen—as long as it supports pressure sensitivity. Keep in mind that mobile tablets usually lack this feature—even if you use a stylus on them, the pressure is not registered.

I’m going to present the settings of the brushes I use in this tutorial, but you can also download the whole set and then adjust the settings to your needs.

If you want to create a similar artwork without copying the steps exactly, I used a photo of a galloping horse as a reference.

1. How to Set Up Your Drawing Tablet for Photoshop

If you have your tablet all set up and you just want to learn how to use it in Photoshop, feel free to skip to the “How to Use a Drawing Tablet in Photoshop” section below.

Install the Drivers

After you plug the tablet in, you need to install the proper drivers. Go to the website of the producer and search for the drivers created for your specific model. Don’t forget to restart the computer afterwards!

I found my XP-PEN drivers here, but to find any other drivers, you just need to search online for “[tablet brand] drivers”.

Calibrate the Pen

After you install the drivers, the tablet should work—the cursor should follow the movement of the tip of the pen. However, to make sure everything is adjusted to your preferences, it’s good to do two more things.

First, some tablets, like the Artist Pro 16TP, come with a built-in screen. This means that you can draw on the screen, seeing the cursor directly under the nib. But because there’s glass covering the actual screen, you may see some distance between the tip of the pen and the screen. It’s called the parallax. In modern tablets, it’s not really noticeable in the normal viewing position, as long as the cursor is placed directly under the pen. To ensure that’s the case, open the program that has been installed with the drivers. For XP-PEN, it’s called Pentablet.

Search for a button that says Calibrate. The program will display a little cross-hair icon in one of the corners of the screen. When looking at the screen in a natural viewing position, put your pen tip right over the center of the cross-hair, then click it. Do the same with all the other cross-hairs that appear next. When you’re done, click OK to save the settings.

Keep in mind that calibration depends on your position and the position of the tablet, so you may need to recalibrate if you place the tablet on a stand. You can back up the settings of your tablet if you want to experiment with calibration without affecting your previous configuration.

If you have a non-screen tablet, you don’t have to calibrate it manually, but instead you need to calibrate it mentally. The distance between the tip of the pen and the cursor on the screen is much bigger than any parallax, and it may take some time to get used to it. However, our brains are very adaptive, and you’re going to do wonders with your tablet, if you only give it a chance!

Adjust the Pressure Sensitivity

No matter if you have a screen or a non-screen tablet, it’s also good to adjust the pressure sensitivity. The greatest advantage of a drawing tablet over a computer mouse is that the former is sensitive to pressure—it registers how hard you press the pen to the tablet. Just like with a pencil, you can push harder to draw thicker, darker lines, and lighter to draw thinner, lighter lines.

However, pushing the plastic nib onto the screen may feel uncomfortable to some people, and you may also worry about the nib wearing down from the friction on the matte surface of a non-screen tablet. If this is the case, find the section of the settings that allows you to adjust the pressure from Soft to Hard. The softer the setting, the less pressure you have to apply to make the stroke appear, and vice versa. It’s good to revisit this setting after you start drawing and get a better idea of what your expectations are.

2. How to Use a Drawing Tablet in Photoshop

The First Steps

Before I show you how to draw in Photoshop with a tablet, we have to learn about various brushes. Photoshop brushes are a set of settings that control the look and feel of your strokes. Your pen always looks the same, but by switching to a different brush, you can effectively turn it into a pencil, a fine liner, or any of the painting brushes imaginable! So let’s see how that works.

Open Photoshop and create a New Document with a white background. Because it’s easier to make an artwork smaller than bigger, it’s good to always start with a larger canvas than you need. I’ve used 3000px x 3000px for this drawing.

Take the Brush Tool (B) and open the Brushes palette. Open the General Brushes list. Take the Hard Round Pressure Size one first—this is the most basic drawing brush, great for inking. Draw a couple of strokes to see how the pressure affects the thickness of the lines. You can compare it to Hard Round to see what the strokes would look like if you used a mouse.

However, you may notice a problem here—the lines often end with a weird artifact. This isn’t a problem with your tablet; it’s just how Photoshop works. Fortunately, it’s easy to fix! In the upper bar, set Smoothing to at least 1%. Then click the gear icon next to it, uncheck Stroke Catch-up, and check Catch-up on Stroke End instead. Your strokes should be perfectly smooth now!

Feel free to increase the smoothing if you feel your lines are too jittery or you don’t have enough control over them. This option may be especially useful for non-screen tablets.

Brushes and Pressure Sensitivity

The pressure of the pen can be linked to the size of the brush, its opacity (darkness), or both. You can adjust it in the Brush Settings panel (F5).

You can adjust the size in the Shape Dynamics tab. Set Control to Pen Pressure to link size to pressure. Adjust the Minimum Diameter to define how small the stroke should be when the pressure is the lowest.

When you draw lightly with a pencil, your strokes are not only thin, but they’re also light—by pressing lightly, you apply less graphite to the paper, which makes the marks less noticeable. You can achieve a similar effect with a drawing tablet with the settings called Opacity and Flow.

Go to the Transfer tab. Here you can link both Opacity and Flow to Pen Pressure. Opacity and Flow are slightly different:

• When transparency is regulated by Flow, the opaqueness of the stroke can build up to 100%, if you draw continuously over it.
• When transparency is regulated by Opacity, the stroke has a maximum level of opaqueness it can reach, even if you draw continuously over it (the opacity doesn’t build up unless you lift the pen and start again).

If this is confusing, just use Opacity and you’ll be fine!

You can also adjust Opacity and Flow manually in the upper bar:

It’s also possible to combine size and opacity in one brush, like a real pencil. Just keep in mind that then it’s not possible to draw big, light lines or small, dark ones.

If you want to save your brush settings, you can save them as a new brush by clicking the plus icon on the bottom of the panel.

Sketching

It’s best to start your artwork with a sketch. For sketching, you need a brush that works similarly to a pencil—something that gives you a lot of space for experimenting. In my opinion, this brush should produce thin, light lines when you press lightly, so that you can test your vision without making a mess. And when you’re more confident about what you’re trying to draw, the higher pressure should give you thicker, darker lines. These are the settings I used:

Keep in mind that all the brushes I’m presenting here are adjusted to my own style of drawing and the settings of my tablet. Feel free to adjust them to your needs!

Sketching lightly allows me to create a preliminary sketch, full of potential and easy to adjust in any direction. If I used a mouse for this purpose, all the lines would be equally thick and dark, which would make them all seem equally important. The variety of line thickness and opacity allows me to visually separate the less important lines from the “more final” ones.

Once I’ve sketched my vision, I can press harder to cover these choppy lines with more confident strokes. Because they’re thicker and darker, they make the preliminary sketch disappear, without me having to erase it or draw it on a separate layer.

But being able to create a clear sketch on a single layer doesn’t mean you have to do it all the time. If you want to develop the sketch some more, it’s good to lower the Opacity of the layer, create a new one, and start drawing there. Notice that even this final sketch has a variety of lines—not everything is equally important.

Erasing

Drawing lines this way allows you to use the eraser much less frequently, but sometimes there’s a need to remove something altogether, instead of just covering it. In Photoshop, the eraser works just like a brush—which means it reacts to pressure too! So if you want to make something slightly transparent, you can press lightly, and you can press harder to get rid of it completely.

Some tablet pens, like the Artist Pro 16TP, come with a built-in eraser on top. Rotating the pen automatically makes Photoshop switch to the eraser mode, which can be pretty convenient if you’re used to using the eraser built into a pencil, or if you prefer to draw without keeping your other hand over the keyboard.

Selecting

The main reason why graphics tablets are used in photo editing is that they allow precise selection. Instead of carefully placing and dragging points with the Pen Tool, you can just take the Lasso Tool (L) and draw the selection. This is very useful in drawing, especially in the sketching stage, when you discover you want to make an element smaller or bigger, or remove a big area completely without having to draw over it with an eraser.

Inking

In traditional art, after you’re done with the sketch, you can cover these messy lines with ink, and then erase the graphite to keep only the clean line art. In digital art, it’s much easier—you can just create a new layer and draw on it with a brush designed for more confident strokes. It doesn’t have to look exactly like ink, unless this is the style you’re going for. It can be more convenient, especially for a beginner, to use a brush that is simply a darker version of a pencil. Here are the settings I used for my “inking” brush:

But if you do want your lines to look as if they were made with ink, you can just turn off the transfer option:

After you finish your line art this way, you can draw over the main outline once again to make it more distinctive. Pressing harder will ensure these lines will be thicker and darker. Then you can just hide the sketch layers.

Blending

If you’re interested in something more than simply filling the line art with flat colors, you need to be able to blend. In Photoshop, you can blend using the Blur Tool or, more efficiently, with the Mixer Brush Tool. However, they both give you a result similar to the one on the left. It’s pretty neat and can be enough for some styles, but if you want to bring your art to the next level, blending with a painting brush is the way to go.

The technique I’m going to show you is only possible if you have a drawing tablet. Here are the settings of the brush I used for this purpose. It’s a general painting/shading brush:

This brush doesn’t change size with pressure (you have to do it manually using the [ and ] keys). Thanks to this, you can focus entirely on the opacity of the strokes—the harder you push, the more they cover. So even when painting one color over another, you can blend just by pressing the pen very lightly.

If you want to blend the colors more, all you need to do is to hold the Alt key, click the area where the colors are already partially blended…

… and keep panting lightly over the sharp borders between the colors.

Continue Alt-clicking and painting lightly, until all the colors become sufficiently blended.

Here’s how this process works in practice:

And here’s a comparison between soft blending and this special textured blending. It may be subtle, but it’s a crucial step to make your painting more realistic.

Shading

You might have heard about this popular method of shading in Photoshop—you create a New Layer over the colored drawing, Clip it (Control-Alt-G), change its Blend Mode to Multiply, and then whatever you paint will make the layer below darker. This method is also easier with a tablet!

First of all, some areas should be darker than others, so it’s good to select them with precision:

Then you can use a soft brush to create basic shadows. Press Control-H to hide the selection borders while doing this. Here are the settings of my soft brush:

After you’ve created these basic shadows, you can add more of them to make the form of the body more detailed. Just keep them subtle—linking the Flow to pressure in this brush will give you more control over the whole process.

But shadows aren’t everything! To make the body look more 3D, it’s good to add some shine. Shine is affected by the texture of the surface, so don’t use the soft brush here, unless you want to make the body look completely smooth. Instead, use the same method as for the coloring. Paint on a new layer, clipped to the first layer, in Screen mode.

Removing Lines From the Drawing

If you hide the line art now, your drawing may look very much like a painting without details. This means that you can turn it into a painting just by adding those details!

First, lower the Opacity of the line art as much as possible without losing the details. Then add a Layer Mask to it and paint with the painting/shading brush (black) to remove the lines from the areas that look good without them—especially from the areas that are turned towards the light source.

Then it’s time to merge all the layers (select them with Shift, then right-click > Merge Layers) and zoom in. Make the brush smaller, and then use the same blending technique as before to cover the lines, replacing them with small shadows or shine. You should do it slowly and deliberately—this stage may take more time than all the previous stages combined, but you can’t hurry it!

Speaking of zooming, some tablets, like the Artist Pro 16TP, have a touch feature—you can zoom (and rotate!) with your fingers, just like on a smartphone. This can be very useful if you don’t want to rely on the keyboard too much.

Masking

When you’re done with the drawing/painting, you may want to make your artwork more interesting by adjusting certain parts with filters or adjustment layers. Here’s where a graphics tablet will help you apply the effect to specific areas—just add a Layer Mask to the effect, fill it with black, and then paint on it with white to reveal the effect only in the chosen areas.

For example, here I added Motion Blur to the whole body, and then revealed it on the mane only. Don’t forget to convert your subject to a Smart Object (Right-click > Convert to Smart Object) to have this kind of control over the filter.

Conclusion

Now you know all about using a drawing tablet with Photoshop! I hope now you can see that in order to create artworks efficiently, you really need a graphics tablet—a mouse just doesn’t give you all these options you would expect from a drawing tool. A pen tablet for Photoshop is a must-have for every digital artist!

And if you’re thinking, “OK, but this was all about drawing, do I need a graphics tablet for photo editing?”, the answer is yes… and no. It’s completely possible to edit photos with a mouse, but a pen tablet will make the whole process more efficient. So if you edit photos professionally, investing in a design tablet for Photoshop will be a choice you won’t regret!

Also, don’t forget to check out the offer from our sponsor, XP-PEN, which celebrates its 16th anniversary this year! The 16th anniversary celebration of XP-PEN will be starting from 16 August and last until 16 September 2021. All XP-PEN products including the Artist 16 TP in the UK store will be on great discounts! You can learn more in the XP-PEN UK Store.

Recommended Tutorials

If you’re interested in digital art, you may also enjoy these tutorials:

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Find the perfect cool summer font for your next seasonal project. Take a look at these cute summer fonts for design inspiration. We’ll look at everything from camp font designs to tropical fonts. So sit back and enjoy some summer holiday fonts and design inspiration. You might just find your new favorite summer font.

Find the Perfect Summer Holiday Fonts

So, what makes the perfect summer font? It’s important to think about visual communication, as with all design projects. Think about what you might associate with summer: warmth and energy, perhaps. You might think of the beach or of beautiful, tropical places. These ideas can also be reflected in your typography.

Script and calligraphy fonts can be a popular choice for this aesthetic. Check out this fun, energetic example. This aesthetic is enhanced with bright, vibrant colors. 

And that’s the key here: keep in mind what you’re aiming to visually communicate. Every part of your design should help support this idea. If you hope to capture a summer vibe, evoke those emotions from many angles. A fun summer font can certainly help you get that aesthetic off the ground.

Download Unlimited Summer Holiday Fonts on Envato Elements

Looking for some fun summer holiday fonts? You’ll want to check out Envato Elements. One low price gets you unlimited access to an entire library of fonts. That’s hundreds of cute summer fonts, and thousands more of other types and styles.

Try out pretty summer cursive fonts, like in this font trio below. This means you get three fonts, all in one download! With unlimited access to the Envato Elements font library, you can try out as many fonts as you like. Even better, they’re all licensed for commercial usage.

But you get more than fonts with Envato Elements. You also get graphic templates, stock photography, graphics, and much more. Grab a business card template or a template for party invitations. It’s an awesome resource for creatives of all kinds.

This means you can also pick up the perfect summer flyer template to go with your new font find. Check out this stylish summer flyer design. Simply add your info for a completed design, or make something entirely new using this as your starting point.

The Best Summer Font Designs on Envato Elements

Check out this selection of the best summer fonts you can download right now, on Envato Elements. Enjoy the design inspiration, or download your favorites today.

1. Summer Together Font

Isn’t this summer font sunny and welcoming? It’s a perfect fit for summery projects like T-shirts, tote bags, home decor, and much more.

2. Summer Smile Font

Here’s a chunky summer font that would be perfect for a wide variety of projects. Use this one for summer camp projects or try it for your pool party invites.

3. Summer Magic Handwritten Font

This font has a versatile neutrality to it, making it a great fit for summer, but plenty of other seasons too. Try pairing it with a strong supplement, like a sans serif font.

4. Sunshine Summer Camp Font

Isn’t this a charming summer camp font? It’s got a playful, animated personality, so it would be perfect for a number of other projects too.

5. Hello Summer Font

A summer script font can have such a bubbly, sunny personality. This font pairs so well with colorful design elements. You can also dress this one up or down.

6. Summer Festival Font

Planning a party or festival? How about trying out a lively script font like this one? Script and handwriting fonts can bring a lot of energy to your composition.

7. Long Summer Font Bold Retro Typeface

Retro fonts can be a fun choice for a summery aesthetic too. This one keys into some 1970s energy and could make for a really memorable look.

8. Amigos Summer Holiday Font

Here’s a fun summer holiday font that could work well for a variety of projects. It’s such a bouncy, energetic display type. Download this font today.

9. Better Summer Script Font

Here’s another cheerful calligraphy font. Doesn’t it pair well with beach-themed visuals? This one would be perfect on family vacation T-shirt designs.

10. Summer Square Font

This square font has a memorable, tropical aesthetic. It would look awesome on surf gear, merchandise, and a whole lot more. Try out this tropical summer font today.

11. Summers Typeface With Extras

Handwriting fonts can make for such a welcoming, friendly vibe. Try out this cheerful summer font on your next seasonal project. It would be great on postcards.

12. Beach Vibe Summer Font

This chunky font has a touch of a retro aesthetic. Try layering this font or experimenting with different textures. It could be the perfect summer font.

13. Sunrise Waves Font

If you’re looking for tropical summer fonts, this one is such a fun choice. It has beautiful brushstrokes and could make such a lasting impression.

14. Summer Flash Font

This fun, summer font has playful linework. It has plenty of sunny energy and is perfect for summer projects, fundraisers, and much more.

15. Melody Summer Funny Script Font

Isn’t this summer script font cute? It works so well with floral and botanical elements too. This font could easily be dressed up with elegant colors or kept casual.

16. Ocean Hand Writing Summer Font

Check out this fun font and its really cool ocean effect. This display type could work really well on eye-catching posters, invitations, and advertisements.

17. Summer Beach Sunny Display Typeface

Prefer a light-hearted, hand-drawn aesthetic? Here’s a friendly font choice. This one would be awesome for summer parties, get-togethers, reunions, and more.

18. Summer Vacation Cool Handwritten Font

The informal nature of this signature font works so well with a chill, beachy aesthetic, doesn’t it? Layer it on summer photos or use it in your next design project.

19. Summer Font Pack Collection

Looking for a whole collection of summer fonts? Then you’re going to love this font download. There’s so much to see and work with in this pack.

20. Summer Diary Font

This fun display font has two different styles you can work with. Use them together or use them separately to create a fun summer look for your project.

21. Summer Foliage Font

Here’s a condensed summer font with plenty of possibilities. Try this in earthy colors, or bring extra energy with warm, sunny tones. The choice is yours. 

22. Hello Summer Sweet Handwritten Font

This handwritten font is such a great choice if you’re looking for cute summer fonts. It fits right in with retro illustrations, or keep it modern with different color choices. 

23. Summer 0f 76 Multi-Line Font

Looking to target a retro aesthetic? This awesome 70s font is such a cool choice. Imagine it with a neon text effect, or keep things vintage with muted colors.

24. Summer Matters Fun Display Font

This sunny font looks so great in juicy, saturated colors. The strokes are so energetic, and it’s a perfect choice for summertime projects. 

25. Florida Summer Playful Handwriting Font

If you’re looking for a display font with a friendly, summery look, try this playful handwriting font. It’s chunky, energetic, and looks great at larger sizes.

26. Welcome Summer Font Bold Typeface

Prefer a bold typeface? This summer script font is plenty bold and will definitely stand out in your next design. It’s an awesome choice for titles, headlines, and more.

27. Summertime Thin Casual Script Font

Check out this casual handwritten font. It’s a cool, friendly summer script font, and it works so well with beach-themed projects. Create the perfect vibe with this one.

28. Joyful Summer Handwritten Font

This font has such a joyful, energetic look. It would be an awesome choice for vacation gear, merchandise, invitations, and even summery home decor.

29. Sand Beach Summer Font

Working on a beach-themed project? Why not try a script font like this one? It has some light calligraphic inspiration, but also has fun extras that keep it casual.

30. Summer Splash Font

Check out the fun graphical elements in this quirky summer font. It’s best for display purposes. Imagine a title or headline in this playful font. 

31. Sunday Beach Handwritten Font

Here’s another lovely summer script font with plenty of energy. The strokes are long and casual; it’s a perfect look for informal design situations, but you could dress it up too.

32. Sunset Story Handwritten Font

This brush font has subtle texture and playful hearts. It’s such a fun display font. Use it for points of emphasis to add a cheerful look and feel to your work.

Find Even More Cute Summer Fonts on GraphicRiver

You can find even more summer font designs on GraphicRiver. It’s another awesome source for high-quality fonts. On GraphicRiver, everything is on demand. Only download and pay for what you need, when you need it.

Check out these fun summer fonts you can download on GraphicRiver right now:

1. Summer Lightning Font

This summer script font has squared-off brushstrokes. It makes for a memorable aesthetic. If you’re looking for a different script font, this could be a great choice.

2. Summer Story Font

If you prefer some curls to your script font, then you might prefer this summer font. Isn’t it cute? It pairs so well with fun summer illustrations.

3. Hey Summer Font

Or push for an even more romantic vibe with a modern calligraphy font like this one. Try it out in vibrant colors or pair it with your favorite beach photo.

4. Summer Breeze Font

This font has chill, indie vibes. It would look amazing on an album cover, poster design, or even on custom stationery. Capture an earthy vibe with this stylish font.

5. Summer Day Typeface

If you like a really graphical display font, then you need to check out this quirky summer font. It has so many playful illustrations incorporated into the letters.

6. Lombok Beach Summer Font

This fun summer script font has so many loops and curls. It’s not a connected script, but it still has calligraphic inspiration. It even looks nice at smaller sizes too.

7. Love and Beach Summer Font

This is an amazing font download because you get an entire family of 12 fonts. There are so many fun alternates and things you could do with this summer font.

8. Morning Beach Font

If you like a bold font, this chunky font is a fun choice. It has a bit of a retro vibe and could definitely stir up some surf associations. Give this stylish font a try.

9. Soak Up The Sun Summer Font Duo

Love texture? This SVG font has plenty of amazing style and texture to work with. It’s a great choice if you want a wet ink look in your summer design project.

10. Oceania Display Font

Check out the ornate curls in this beautifully designed, wavy font. You could put this aesthetic to work for a summer or beach theme. It’s an unusual and memorable design too.

Which Summer Font Will You Download Today?

There are so many cool summer fonts to try! Which would be perfect for your summer design project? There are ornate fonts, display fonts with fun graphical ideas, and so much more! 

Remember, if you’d like to try a lot of different cool summer fonts, check out Envato Elements. One low price means unlimited access to hundreds of summer font designs. Try as many as you like, and grab some other fonts too from the library. 

Or check out GraphicRiver. It’s another awesome source for high-quality fonts, including summer font designs. 

Check out these other font collections for even more inspiration, downloads, and free finds too:

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What are the different types of serif fonts and why should you know them? In this tutorial, we’ll look at types of serif typefaces and explain the ins and outs with serif font examples. Learn how to identify different types of serifs and download some fresh, new modern serif fonts today.

What Is a Serif Font?

So, what is a serif font anyway? Let’s begin by defining the serif. Take a look at this visual example. Times New Roman is a serif typeface. Helvetica, on the other hand, is a sans serif typeface. 

Note the circled areas in each example. Times New Roman has serifs. They’re an added stroke or line at the end of a letter. Helvetica, on the other hand, has abrupt ends with no serifs. It is a sans serif. The “sans” is in reference to not having a serif.

But serif fonts come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. There are slab serif fonts, hairline serif fonts, handwritten serif font designs, and so much more. However, this general distinction is likely one of the most common means of describing a font: either it’s a serif or a sans serif. Script fonts are sometimes considered “the third type”, but keep in mind that the “serif or sans serif” clarification could still apply.

What Is Type Classification?

What are the different types of serif fonts? Well, type classification is a big part of that answer. It’s a system of identifying fonts based on their visual criteria. Some of this has historical context, but it all has practical use. Modern type design often takes inspiration from more than one classification.

Take a look at this awesome, free course from Envato Tuts+ to learn more about type classifications. This includes both serif and sans serif fonts.

Why Does It Matter?

So, why bother learning about types of serif typefaces? A font is just a font, right? Just choose one that looks good! Well, as many experienced designers would likely say: it’s a little more complicated than that. 

• If you know how to identify a font’s characteristics, it’s easier to identify the font.
• Identifying a font makes it easier to pick just the right typeface for your projects. No taking a shot in the dark; you’ll have an idea of what aesthetic to start with.
• Type can be very visually communicative. Your choices contribute to your design’s narrative. 

The Different Types of Serif Fonts

Here’s a quick overview of four of the different types of serif fonts: old style, transitional, Didone, and slab. Note the circled serif in each example.

But you’ll notice that there’s more to these fonts than just the serif. For example, Didot, a Didone typeface, has really stark contrast. This means that one line is quite thin, while the other is quite thick. Rockwell, the slab serif, has consistent lines with little to no contrast. 

You might also find yourself asking this question: what if a serif font doesn’t neatly fit into these aesthetic qualities? They don’t have to! Many modern serif fonts mix, match, and break the rules. However, it’s often a good idea to “know the rules” so you can more effectively “break them”. Check out this example. It has serifs, but it has some mixed inspiration.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at some of the different types of serif fonts you should know.

Old-Style Serif Fonts

Old-style serifs tend to have a rather drawn or calligraphic quality. Remember the serifs in Garamond? Note the serifs in the lower case “d”, in the example below. Old style fonts also typically have diagonal stress, unlike the Transitionals, which tend to be more upright. Check out this example. This particular font has old-style inspiration in its typeface design.

Want to see even more old-style-inspired fonts? Check out even more examples of old-style fonts in this inspiring collection:

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Transitional Serif Fonts

Transitional fonts are often considered a midpoint between the old style and more modern styles like the Didones. These serif fonts will likely seem pretty familiar to you because they get a lot of everyday use. Baskerville, Times New Roman, and Georgia, all very common fonts, are considered Transitionals. Notice how the serifs still taper.

Find even more transitional serif fonts in this collection. There’s plenty more content to see:

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  Daisy Ein

Didone Serif Fonts

Didones tend to have thin serifs and plenty of contrast. Check out this example font, which takes inspiration from the Didones. Contrast refers to how some of the lines are quite thin, and they’re paired with lines that are very thick. The uppercase “N” here is a great example. Again, note the hairline serifs; they are very thin.

Here’s a lovely collection of Didone fonts and fonts inspired by this aesthetic. Check it out today for even more to download in this style.

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  Fonts
  34 Best Modern Didone Typefaces (Fonts Similar to Bodoni & Didot)
  Daisy Ein

Slab Serif Fonts

Slab serifs look a lot like how they sound. This time, we’re not seeing that contrast. Instead, we see thick serifs and continuous line width. Slab serifs are quite popular in modern serif font design. They often make a great choice for headlines, titles, logos, and much more.

Want to see even more examples of slab serif fonts? Here’s a collection that you can check out right now:

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  Fonts
  34 Best Slab Serif Fonts (Ready to Download Now)
  Daisy Ein

But Wait! There’s More?

Now that we’ve had a look at the different types of serifs, let’s observe some rule breaking and outliers. There are a number of awesome, elegant serif fonts out there that don’t neatly fit into these categories, but still use some of the same ideas.

For example, check out this decorative display type. It has serifs, but they’re distinctly decorative, and they add to the overall magical, mystical look.

Other Serif Terms: Hairline Serif

The term hairline serif refers to the width of the font’s serif. In this case, hairline is in regards to a thin serif. Check out this example, below. You’ll often see hairline serifs in typefaces that take inspiration from the Didone type classification.

Other Serif Terms: Wedge Serif

Wedge serifs, on the other hand, are as they sound. They taper in a wedge-like shape. The example below is a very exaggerated one. In this case, we have some serifs that almost look like triangles. It doesn’t have to be this intense; just keep that taper in mind.

Other Serif Terms: Condensed Serif Font

You might also see the term “condensed” associated with serif fonts. However, “condensed” can refer to many different fonts, serif or sans serif. This is a case where the font has less width and more height, to a point where it is a key visual aspect of the font’s design. Check out this example.

Rounded Serif Font 

Let’s also take a look at a rounded serif font. Rounded serifs can make for such a fun aesthetic. You’ll often see this look associated with retro typefaces, like a look from the 70s. The key here is that the serif itself is rounded. Note that they’re there, in this example below, but they have a distinct, rounded edge.

Mixed and Modern Serif Fonts

As mentioned earlier, fonts aren’t required to strictly fit into any of these terms or categories, especially in modern font design. In fact, sometimes a look becomes so popular or trendy that it might start a whole new genre! 

Here’s a look at a font that doesn’t quite fit any one category. It is, however, a serif font, as it has visible serifs that contribute to the overall aesthetic. 

Handwriting fonts can also have serifs. Here’s an example of a playful, decorative handwriting font that also has chunky serifs. This font doesn’t quite fit the mold when we look at our other categories. It’s a decorative display font. 

Then, on the other hand, sometimes we get fonts that mix across categories. Take a look at this beautiful serif font. It has lovely, sweeping lines and swirls. It looks as if someone mixed calligraphy with a serif font, doesn’t it? 

Serifs don’t necessarily have rules. Notice how these serifs are waved to create a nautical look. It rather looks like something from a retro tattoo. Still, it’s a serif font; it has those serifs at the end of the letterform. 

Here’s another example that draws some other inspiration. There’s a touch of Blackletter design here to create this vintage font look. It’s ornate, and there are so many beautiful details. Still, this font has serifs with a slight wedge. 

More Inspiring Serif Font Examples

As you can probably tell now, there are so many amazing options out there when it comes to serif fonts. Which aesthetics appeal to you most? 

If you love fonts, you might want to take a look at Envato Elements. One low fee gets you unlimited access to a library of thousands of fonts. They’re all licensed for commercial use too.

Check out this sample of some of the best serif fonts in the Envato Elements library. Whether you’re looking for bold serif fonts, elegant serif fonts, or a quirky, handwritten serif font, there’s something for everyone. Enjoy the font inspiration, and consider downloading your favorites.

1. Fulgate Thin Serif Font

This thin serif font is an elegant choice. Notice how, in this example, some of the serifs are selective. Try this one for larger display copy in your projects.

2. Calfine Bold Wedge Serif Font

If you’re looking for bold serif fonts, consider a chunky, memorable display font like this one. It’s really graphical and could make a big statement.

3. Tizart Handwriting Serif Font

This handwriting font also incorporates serifs. We don’t see any taper or wedge here, yet it follows the same line width. It makes for a welcoming, informal aesthetic.

4. Phoenix Ayash Bold Serif Font

Isn’t this bold serif font magical? All of the twists and curves really give it extra personality. Download this font today, and try your own wording in this decorative font.

5. Howli Playful Serif Font

The variable baseline in this font gives it such a whimsical look. Do you recognize what kind of serifs we see here? Try this one with different colors and textures.

Which Are Your Favorite Serif Fonts?

So, which are the best serif fonts for your project? With so many awesome choices out there, it’s a great idea to have a variety of serif fonts in your font collection. From professional situations to informal ones, serifs can play so many different roles in your design work.

Remember, if you’re looking for new fonts, check out Envato Elements. It’s an awesome library of fonts, including different types of serif fonts. One low price gets you unlimited access to all of them. Find your next favorite font today.

Looking for even more font inspiration? Check out these other font collections, here on Envato Tuts+.

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