How it works
Type in Your text and this circus font generator arches it in red on cream with a 3D block, in one of 7 fonts modelled on nineteenth-century poster type. New look deals stripes or gold. Download picture (PNG) saves it.
Read the full guide
The seven fonts
Rye and Sancreek carry a spike halfway up each stem, the style wood-type makers called Tuscan; Rye adds a highlight cut into every stroke. Ewert is capitals only, an outline with its own shade. Diplomata SC is a fat face nearly twice as wide as Rye, so give it one or two words. Abril Fatface is a fat face at normal width. Holtwood One SC and Alfa Slab One are the heavy slabs.
Arch, stripes and stars
Arch joins your lines into one, stops at 60 characters and draws two or three words largest. For a second line, switch Shape to Every line full width. Candy stripes read best on the heavy slabs. Under More options, Decoration adds Stars or a Frame.
Tips
- Strength of the look, under More options, deepens the 3D block; on Ewert a deep block fills the outline.
- Rye in Black with Rough print is a Wild West notice; in Red with the block, a circus bill.
- Only Diplomata SC, Abril Fatface and Alfa Slab One have ł, š, ž and ğ; elsewhere thin stand-ins appear.
Questions and answers
Why do circus posters look like this?
Wikipedia's wood type article says wood became popular in the nineteenth century for large poster letters, being lighter and cheaper than metal, in styles such as slab serif, fat face and Tuscan. Fat faces had appeared in London around 1805 to 1810.
Does it work as a carnival font generator for a school fair?
Yes. The ready-made lines include Tickets Here, Ring Toss and School Fair. For a big stall sign use Download SVG, which stays sharp at any size.
Can the top line arch over a straight second line?
No. A curve joins every line you typed. For the classic bill, save the arched headline on Transparent, save the second line as its own picture, and stack the two in your layout.