Brush Fonts: Textured Strokes for Posters & Thumbnails

This guide to brush fonts covers textured strokes for social posters, YouTube thumbnails and bold sale banners — with quick tips to keep rough edges crisp at small sizes.

Editor’s top picks — Brush Fonts

Text tools for faster brush lettering

• Custom brush lettering logo — hand-drawn wordmark with alternates and swashes.
• Vectorize your sketch — clean bezier curves and expanded strokes for print.
• Font modification & cleanup — remove artifacts, add alternates, balance texture.
• Procreate brush lettering — digital brushes, compositing and layout polish.

How to choose a brush font

• Clarity at thumbnail size. Test at 200–300 px wide (YouTube/shorts). Prefer bold weights and simpler texture.
• Texture control. “Dry” looks gritty but can blur; pick cleaner edges for tiny captions.
• Alternates & ligatures. Look for A–Z alternates, beginning/ending swashes, double-letter fixes (ee, ll, tt).
• All-caps caution. Many brush scripts are designed for Title Case; full caps can look blocky — try a caps-friendly set.
• Spacing. Slightly tighter tracking for bold strokes; loosen if texture is heavy.
• Outline & export. Expand strokes, remove overlaps before print/CNC; keep raster effects out of final vectors.

Try searches (brush styles)

• Brush Script → Browse scripts
• Dry Brush → High-texture picks
• Marker / Paint Pen → Marker styles
• Bold Stroke → Thick display
• Street / Calligraffiti → Urban energy
• Chalkboard → Chalk looks

Font pairing recipes

• Bold Brush + Neutral Sans — Brush headline, clean UI sans for body/CTA.
• Brush Script + Condensed Sans — Script for the hero word, condensed small caps for subheads.
• Dry Brush + Grotesk — Gritty title with modern grotesk captions to restore legibility.

Project ideas you can ship today

• Sale banner with bold brush headline + crisp price tag.
• YouTube thumbnail — 2–3 words max, high contrast background, heavy stroke.
• Reels/TikTok cover — centered brush word + subtle outline for pop.
• Sticker pack — short phrases, white stroke/offset path for die-cut.

Small-size readability: quick checks

• At 200–300 px, texture shouldn’t crumble; if it does — pick a cleaner brush or add a thin outline.
• Boost contrast: dark text on light or vice versa; avoid busy photos behind strokes.
• Keep 2–3 words; long phrases lose impact on thumbnails.

Licensing: what matters

• Commercial use: confirm allowed for merch/ads if you plan to sell or promote.
• Seats/Users: one license per user unless the EULA says otherwise.
• Logo usage: most licenses allow static logos; always double-check “logo usage”.

FAQ

Which brush fonts read best on thumbnails?
Bold stroke or marker styles with cleaner edges. Dry/grunge textures work better at medium+ sizes.

Do brush scripts work in ALL CAPS?
Some do, many don’t. If the sample images show natural caps, you’re safe; otherwise prefer Title Case.

Can I upload brush fonts to Canva?
Yes for Canva Pro uploads. For Free accounts, use PNG/SVG lettered artwork or a system font.

Curated quick picks

• Brush Script: Browse
• Dry / Grunge: Browse
• Marker: Browse
• Bold Stroke: Browse