How to Use Fonts With Swashes

Have you ever noticed that twisty curl at the end of a character? That's called a swash. In this quick tip tutorial, we take a look at what a swash is and how to use fonts with swashes.

Learn how to add swashes to fonts over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:

What You'll Learn in This Swash Font Tutorial

Swash definition
The different font swash categories
How to add swashes to fonts
Swash font uses and tips
The best script fonts with swashes

What Is a Swash?

To learn the swash definition, we need to go back to the 16th century. Swashes first appeared in the first edition of The Prince in Rome in 1532. It features a z-italic ligature that was later extended to a full alphabet. Ludovico degli Arrighi, a scribe, type designer, and printer, extended the swashes into metal type for capital letters.

Swashes were inspired by handwriting and used as decorative elements. They're also known as flourishes or extended strokes, usually at the beginning or end of a character (initial and terminal swashes). You’ll see these extensions typically on serif or script fonts.

OpenType technology allows type designers to include more characters in a set. Therefore, more and more fonts are designed with multiple swash characters.

How to Make Swashes in Fonts

Swashes in fonts can range from minimal, like a simple twist, to incredibly dramatic. Swashes are great for making a specific type element the focal point of your design.

Swash capitals are used at the beginning of a sentence to create a beautiful drop cap.
Beginning and ending swashes are caps or lowercase characters with swashes that extend horizontally.
Stylistic swashes are usually added to ascenders and descenders.

If you're wondering how to make swashes in fonts, you can find them as an OpenType feature. Access them through the Glyphs panel on any of the Adobe programs. In Adobe Photoshop, head over to Window > Glyphs. In Adobe Illustrator, go to Window > Type > Glyphs Panel. Or in InDesign, head over to Window > Type & Tables > Glyphs.

How to make swashes in fonts the glyphs panel

Swash Fonts: Uses and Tips

Swash typography is great for making a specific type element the focal point of your design. Use swashes on logos, wedding invitations, and packaging to create a special typographical effect.

Here are a few things to consider when using swashes in fonts:

Try to stay away from swashes in the middle of words as some might not flow as well as they need to.
Use swashes sparingly—they're supposed to make your content special.
Avoid using all caps and swashes at the same time—it typically becomes illegible.

5 Premium Examples of Swash Typography From Envato Elements

1. Bordemile Luxury Swash Font (WOFF)

Bordemile is a beautiful, elegant script font that's perfectly suited to wedding invitations and tasteful designs. Some of the characters have up to nine alternates, so there are many options for customizing your design! The swashes for this font are swirly but graceful.

2. Metinoline Modern Swash Typography (OTF, TTF, WOFF)

This modern script typeface is inspired by calligraphic brush handwriting. The set includes many alternative characters like font swashes and ligatures. The font also supports many Western languages.

3. Marchell Vintage Swash Font (OTF, TTF)

The inspiration for this swash font is copperplate calligraphic writing. The font has a vintage and retro feel, with a touch of elegance. The set includes many alternative characters and has multilingual support. Marchell is perfect for display use to make your text even more special.

4. Bigshine Elegant Swash Font (OTF, TTF)

If you're looking for a modern twist on calligraphy, Bigshine is a great option. The font combines copperplate and contemporary calligraphy. The pack includes 132 alternate characters that let you experiment with the look of your design. Swashes for fonts tend to have a very thin line at the end, but Bigshine features a small circular element that adds texture to your design.

5. The Clastic: Dynamic Font With Swashes (WOFF)

The Clastic font family is a duo of fonts: a swash font and a sans serif. The swash font can also be combined with layer styles to add an inner or drop shadow. Each letter has 5 to 12 alternates, with initial and terminal swashes, so your designs can look as natural as possible.

Now It's Your Turn to Create Swash Typography!

In this article, you learned the swash definition. I also showed you how to use swash fonts and introduced you to some awesome script fonts with swashes that can help on your next project. Swash fonts aren't anything new—they've been around since the 16th century! Having different swashes for specific characters is helpful to make your text special and different from the norm.

Looking for awesome swash fonts? Be sure to check out Envato Elements—it's updated every day.

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