The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Free font
Tangerine
A free alternative to Before the Rain.
About Tangerine
Tangerine is a light calligraphic script by Toshi Omagari, modeled explicitly on Italian chancery hands. The proportions give it away: a small x-height, dramatically tall ascenders, restrained flourish, and a stroke that stays airy rather than engraved. It thins to almost nothing at the joins, which is where the formality comes from. Two weights cover both delicate and emphatic settings.
Among free faces it is the closest match to ITC Zapf Chancery's proportions, and it shares a lineage with Monotype Corsiva — lighter in touch than either, and best set a size or two larger to compensate. It stands in for Kuenstler Script too, without that face's engraved density. Use it for invitations, certificates, and headings where a formal hand is wanted; anything below display size loses the ascenders that carry the whole effect.
- Designer
- Toshi Omagari
- Available at
- Google Fonts →
Tangerine is also a free alternative to…
- Before the Rain → A delicate calligraphic script modelled on 16th and 17th century chancery hands, with very thin hairlines and long ascenders much like Before the Rain. It is lighter and more compressed, so it needs larger sizes to hold up, but it captures the fine pen-drawn quality the original relies on.
- Kuenstler Script → A light calligraphic script inspired by chancery hands; airier and less engraved than Kuenstler Script, but its two weights cover both delicate and emphatic settings.
- Monotype Corsiva → Chancery calligraphy with tall ascenders and a lighter touch — more delicate than Corsiva, and best a size or two larger, but unmistakably the same lineage.
- ITC Zapf Chancery → Explicitly inspired by Italian chancery hands — small x-height, dramatically tall ascenders, restrained flourish. The closest free match to Zapf Chancery's proportions; comes in two weights.
- Gravura → A delicate calligraphic script with thin, pen-like strokes and tall, open ascenders that echo the airiness of Gravura's lowercase. It is lighter and more informal than a true copperplate face, so it works best for display sizes where a graceful but less ceremonial tone is wanted.
Display + body that work together
Quiet type that does the work
A pairing is a relationship: one voice speaks first, the other answers, and the contrast between them sets the tone for the whole page.
Letters that hold their nerve
Two thousand years of letterforms boil down to a handful of decisions — width, weight, proportion. Pick a pair you trust, and let the rest take care of itself.
Display · Body DM Serif Display + Tangerine