Character Open

Character Open font by Masato Shimojima is a free comic display typeface with a bold, inky outline and airy, open centers that feel like hand-drawn bubble letters. Each character has a gentle wobble and uneven thickness that gives the whole word a bouncy, cartoon energy-as if it were doodled with a fat marker on glossy paper. The look is playful without being messy, so you get personality and clarity at the same time.

Using Character Open, headlines pop with a chunky, outlined style that begs to be colored in or layered over bright backgrounds. This free font works beautifully for kids’ book covers, birthday invitations, candy or toy packaging, comics, game menus, and YouTube or streaming thumbnails. For a clean contrast, pair it with a simple rounded sans-serif for body text and keep Character Open large so its thick contours stay crisp and readable.