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Inspired by tribal art, Tribal Fonts have the ability to infuse an authentic feel into your design. Whether you’re working on a logo, or poster, or in need of a tribal tattoo font, you’ll be covered here. This feature covers 15 of the best premium options, but with one simple method, all are considered free tribal fonts.
All of the tribal font choices listed here were created by professional designers and display tribal ornamental elements. Some have a more raw feel and were created with heavy, rough brush strokes, allowing you to replicate a genuine tribal, native, or indigenous style.
15 Best Tribal Fonts – quick list
We realize that designers don’t have a lot of time to spare, for that we put together a quick list of fonts for tribal designs considered premium options, but totally free with Envato Elements trial subscription!
Premium Options (free download available)
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Before running through our featured options below, let’s first look at what is considered a tribal font:
What is a tribal font?
A tribal font conveys the essence of style and design connected to various ancestral indigenous people groups. In terms of the modern designs we see today, these fonts tend to come from decorative sans and sans-serif typefaces. They utilize tribal design elements along with natural earth design elements.
As we know, there are many specialty-designed fonts centered around specific ancient cultures, portraying their various artistic styles. However, we have carefully collated 15 of the best fonts for tribal-themed design projects as well as for tattoos.
To see more specialty type fonts, see our posts about free psychedelic fonts all designers must have and the best boho fonts.
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15 Best Tribal Designed Fonts For Native Style Projects
In this post, we have gathered the best fonts for tribal-inspired designs and they can all be yours for free with Envato’s special trial offer. Plus, you get a lifetime, royalty-free commercial license included.
Tribal Font
Starting the list with an easy-to-use font, we have Tribal Font first on the list. Here we see a great combination blackletter with script-style tattoo lettering font.
As you can see, the font’s base is kept in the script-based foundation with the right curves and connectors. In addition, the designer added extenders and swashes commonly found in blackletter font styles.
To further give the font an authentic tribal feel, the designer has also added a tattoo font effect. This will make the font usable for typography as well. The good part about this Font is that it offers both cases, numerals, punctuations, symbols, and even alternate characters, which can be useful if you are a creative designer.
Matiska Tribal
One of the interesting characteristics of the Indonesian tribes was the curve typefaces they used. Even without the help of stencils or other aids, they would get their typographies perfect. Representing such typefaces is the Matiska Tribal font. The thin letters and the symmetric curve patterns make the text look beautiful and very authentic.
The Matiska Tribal font is an all-caps font. You can use this font for Tattoos, branding designs like logos and signages, posters, fashion design, and even for packaging and labeling whenever you want to give an oriental feel to your design.
Burowai
In an ancient font style, the Burowai typeface represents how the cavemen would write. It combines ancient Greek letters along with minor tribal elements. In terms of design, the letters are created through strokes. The brush is slightly rough, giving the letters an unpolished feel on the outline.
This is a perfect font to use on posters, T-shirts, books, signages, and even social media posts whenever you want to talk about nature, adventure, or tribal content. The font is available in both cases and offers numerals, punctuations, and symbols as well.
Zamruds
If you are looking for a Gothic font that borders on being scary and abstract, then the Zamruds is a good font to try. This font is hard to classify because of its loud design and unique lettering style. A wavy pattern is given to all the characters, and the overlapping letters give an interesting perspective.
The most suitable application for this font would be for death-metal music or even Gothic rock. You can use the Zamruds Tribal font for album covers, clothing, logo, and band merchandise. Interestingly the font supports both cases. However, given the letter design, we recommend using it only for headings or large display applications.
Gasmyn
Combining the past with the future, the Gasmyn Tribal Font is a highly creative option for clean and neat designs. The base letter design uses simple geometrical shapes. On top of that, the design has added tribal elements like connectors and dashes to give it a unique flavor.
This sans-serif font is available only in uppercase but does support multiple languages. In addition, the polished finish of the letters makes the font look elegant and classy. You can use this Gasmyn font for logo design, magazine or book covers, website headings, and digital marketing applications.
Mjölnir – Nordic Tribal Font
Heavily inspired by the Viking period and nordic runes, Mjölnir is an authentic tribal font. Just like centuries-old tribal lettering, this typeface has all its letters handcrafted. However, the finishing is very good, making the font look complete. The design has then added tribal elements to each letter, making them unique.
Given the complexity of design in this Mjölnir – Nordic font, it can be used for limited purposes only and that too for large display applications. For example, you can use it to brand products related to this region or provide flavor. In addition, the font will look good on the packaging, signages, logos, and social media posts.
Tribal Warfare
Tribal Warfare font, as the name suggests, has the elements of both a tribe and warfare. It goes without saying that the font’s base is kept in stencil style, like most war-related fonts. However, the broken edges and grunge effect imposed on the letters give it a tribal feel.
This display font is good for creative projects where you want your text to stand out. You can use it for logos, packaging, headers, printed quotes, and many other print-based applications like books, magazines, and posters.
Folk
Want to go tribal but still look elegant, then try out this Folk Modern Minimalist tribal font. As you can observe, the font is unique and can make your design interesting. The base letter design is kept simple and straight. The doubling of the lines or concentric circles adds an authentic tribal feel.
The Folk font supports both cases, and that makes it versatile. Interestingly it can be applied to historical designs and designs that talk about the future. In addition, you can use this font for logo design, branding, cards and invitations, and even packaging and labeling.
Ancient Totem
An ethnic tribal font, the Ancient Totem visually represents the native Indian era. The fonts are not as simple as some of the fonts mentioned in the list; hence, you should use them only for headings or large display applications. However, you can apply them for logo design, fashion, travel, or nature projects.
The highlight of the font design is the use of multiple bars for most of the characters. Each of the letters follows a rectangular pattern. So you will not see using a circle or any other curve in the design. The rough edges make them look hand-printed. This two-model Ancient Totem tribal font can be a good addition to your collection.
Ethnique
Do not be confused by the word gaming in the name of this font. The Ethnique gaming font combines Maya and Aztec civilization writing styles and gives a modern blend to it. The font is designed keeping its web application in mind, especially games and movies. You can also use it for YouTube covers and thumbnails, magazines, and social media posts.
Each letter in this font is handcrafted and will add visual authenticity to your design. Quirky shapes and lines are used to generate the tribal vibe. The Ethnique font supports both cases, numerals, and punctuation. On download, you will get OTF/TTF/WOFF font formats which are easy to install and use.
Afolkalips
The Afolkalips tribal font is heavily inspired by wooden art as it utilizes timber shapes and other tribal elements. The stroke used for letter design is consistent, with only a few rough edges in the corners. The greater width of the stroke makes the fonts stand out when used. You can always give a bit of shadow to the font to give it a 3D feel.
Such a heavy font is best for large displays like hoardings, posters, signages, and magazines. The Afolkalips font comes with more than 50 custom ligatures and 28 accents providing you with greater bandwidth for designing. In addition, it offers both cases, numbers, punctuation, and symbols.
Tribal Romangreek
As the name suggests, this font combines ancient Roman and Greek typography. However, the designer has given a very modern look to the font by making the overall design neat and simple. Geometric shapes are used prominently as letters to provide the ancient tribal feel.
The Tribal Romangreek is a decorative font and has to be used accordingly. The best application of this font will be in logos and branding of products related to this era. However, it can also be used for print media and social media posts. The good part is that the font offers both cases. However, we recommend using this font only for large display applications.
Tropicane
The Tropicane typeface is a combination of abstract, electro, and tribal font style. The base design is kept sans-serif with the extenders and dashes, providing the abstract effect. Given its design, this font is best suited for fashion and related designs. You can also use it for logos, headlines, posters, and even digital marketing applications.
The unpredictability of each letter is what makes this Tropicane font unique. As you can see in the image, additional bars and connectors are provided, making each letter look handcrafted. However, the designer has not gone overboard and kept the design minimal. This way, you can use it for projects requiring unique but minimal and elegant fonts.
Tikiland
Not all tribal-themed fonts need to be artsy and serious. Tikiland is a very fun and quirky font style. It has a tribal vibe and, at the same time, looks simple and cool. A heavy brush stroke is used, which has rough edges on the two ends. This unpolished look gives the font a hand-drawn feel. In addition, the designer has provided an extra bar for certain letters like T, A, N, and more to add tribal flavor.
Tikiland is the perfect font for signages or big hoardings, especially for fun and adventure-related activities. You can also use it for branding and merchandise of such products or services. Apart from that, Tikiland can also be used for quotes and Instagram post overlays. Interestingly, the font offers both cases, numerals, punctuations, and symbols, making it more versatile.
Wild Dreams
For this final selection, we saved one of the most authentic fonts with tribal elements. The Wild Dreams display font is full of tribal elements. The base letter design is a simple but curvy serif font.
The letter width is kept thin. On top of the letters and even inside them, various natural elements like the sun, mountains, trees, stars, and more are incorporated. This gives the font a strong tribal vibe.
Frequently Asked Questions
What font is the most tribal looking?
The most tribal-looking font in our list would be the following 4 selections:
- Matiska Tribal
- Afolkalips
- Burowai
- Ancient Totem
What are the best fonts for tribal tattoos?
The majority of these fonts are blackletter fonts with long extenders and swashes. However, some tribal tattoos are simple and minimal, with a prominent inclusion of tribal elements. Here are some of the best tribal tattoo fonts:
- Mjölnir – Nordic Tribal Font
- Matiska Tribal
- Wild Dreams
What is tribal lettering?
Tribal lettering is the art of representing a particular indigenous or native tribe through a typeface. Ancient tribes had a distinct way of communicating through drawings and writing letters.
Tribal typography lets you recreate the letter styles used by ancient tribes, displaying an authentic look. Some tribal letters are thin and straight, while others rely heavily on brush strokes with dashes or curves.
Where can I find free fonts for tribal-themed projects?
There are several websites offering free tribal-designed fonts, however, they can only be used for personal use. Premium websites like Envato Elements offer high-quality tribal font options with commercial licensing. Plus, you can download as many as you want, even if you have to cancel.
Download The Best Tribal Fonts (for free) Today!
Authenticity in any design is very important, especially if you are working on projects like branding, printed brochures, and tattoos. A tribal font can effectively infuse a natural and native style and they vary from abstract tattoo fonts to minimal and modern clean ones.
We hope you enjoyed this post and please leave a comment below on which one of these tribal fonts is your favorite!
