Gothic lettering tattoo generator
Type a name, date or phrase to see it in blackletter and gothic fonts. Curve it for a chest or back piece, preview it on five skin tones or white paper and download a transparent PNG for your artist.
Compare the fonts
Tap a font to load it into the preview above. Every font is free to use, and your artist can redraw any of them by hand.
What gothic lettering is
Gothic lettering is the family of scripts typographers call blackletter. It grew out of the dense, angular handwriting of medieval scribes, who packed narrow letters tightly to save expensive parchment. Johannes Gutenberg set his Bible, printed around 1455, in a blackletter style called Textura.
There are several branches. Textura is tall, narrow and very regular, like a row of fence posts. Fraktur, with its broken curves and swashes, stayed the everyday typeface of German-speaking countries until the middle of the 20th century. In English the whole group is often loosely called Old English, after the name of popular blackletter fonts rather than the Old English language.
Blackletter became a tattoo staple through Chicano script, hip-hop and punk, and it is still the default for names, dates, mottos and chest or stomach banners. It looks heavy and ceremonial, which is exactly why it suits gothic work. It also has rules: get them right and the lettering stays sharp for decades.
Tips for lettering that ages well
- 1Go bigger than you think. Blackletter strokes sit close together, so keep each lowercase letter at least about 1 cm (0.4 in) tall, more for fine-line or very ornate fonts.
- 2Avoid all capitals. Blackletter capitals are ornate and hard to read in a row. Capitalize the first letter only.
- 3Check the spelling three times, letter by letter, and have anything in Latin or another language checked by someone who reads it.
- 4Leave space between the letters. Your artist may open the spacing slightly so the counters do not fill in as the ink settles.
- 5Use the curve for chests, stomachs and upper backs, where a slight arch follows the body better than a straight line.
- 6Treat the PNG as a draft. A lettering artist will adjust the weight and spacing by hand for your skin.
Questions about gothic lettering
What is the gothic tattoo font called?
Gothic tattoo lettering is usually a blackletter script: Textura, Fraktur or a style sold as Old English. Many tattoo artists draw their own version by hand rather than using a font as is.
Is Old English the same as gothic lettering?
In tattooing, yes. Old English is a common name for blackletter fonts, which is the same family typographers call gothic script. It has nothing to do with the Old English language of the early Middle Ages.
How small can gothic lettering be?
As a rule of thumb, keep lowercase letters at least about 1 cm (0.4 in) tall. Blackletter has narrow gaps inside and between letters, and those gaps close up first as a tattoo ages.
Can I use these fonts for my tattoo?
Yes. Every font in the generator is published under an open font license, so you can use the lettering for a personal tattoo. Your artist will usually redraw it by hand anyway.
Does the generator store what I type?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Your text is never sent to a server, and the PNG is created on your device.