Handwriting · Astigmatic

Jim Nightshade

Q: Is Jim Nightshade free for commercial use?

Yes. Jim Nightshade is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which allows commercial use at any scale, logos, websites, apps and PDFs included; a changed version may not be called “Jim Nightshade”.

Your words – they follow you round the site

Case

Size72 px

Weight400 RegularThe only weight it comes in

Letter spacing0 em

Line height1.10

Find the font. Find its kind.

CSSfont-family: 'Jim Nightshade', cursive; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.1;

Jim Nightshade is a free handwriting font by Astigmatic, on Google Fonts since 2012. Among the 331 handwriting faces on FontKind, Jim Nightshade has an average x-height, is narrower than 73% and, at its regular weight, is lighter than 61%. Its thickest strokes are 1.0 times its thinnest: nearly even strokes.

Compare with Estonia →Compare with another font

01 / Light table

Laid on top of Estonia

Jim Nightshade on one light table with its two closest fonts, Estonia (99 out of 100) and East Sea Dokdo (83). Estonia is 25% narrower, with an x-height 33% shorter and more stroke contrast; East Sea Dokdo is 29% heavier and 4% wider, with an x-height 35% shorter.

Layout

Letters

Show

Size auto

Ink shared with Jim NightshadeEstonia…

Most different letters first; the figure is the share of ink the fonts have in common. Where the fonts agree the letters cancel to black: every white sliver is a real difference.

Open in the compare tool →

02 / Letters

The Jim Nightshade alphabet

Capitals, lowercase, figures and signs · weight 400

Tap the letters you like, here and in other fonts, to find the fonts whose letters look most like them.

&
?
!
@
%
(
)

Learning cursive? The cursive alphabet, letter by letter →

With this font

Write your ownCalligraphy generator →Your words in Jim Nightshade and 29 more calligraphy fonts. Download any of them as a PNG for Canva or an SVG for Cricut.

03 / Sizes

Jim Nightshade at every size

1 weight (400) · six sizes, in your words

12 px
16 px
24 px
36 px
48 px
72 px

04 / Facts

Who made Jim Nightshade, and can you use it?

Designer: Astigmatic
Kind: Handwriting
Styles: 1 weight (400)
On Google Fonts since: 2012
Character sets: latin, latin-ext
Licence: SIL Open Font License 1.1

Can I use it?

Commercial use: Yes.
Logos: Yes.
Websites and apps: Yes. Self-hosted or loaded from Google Fonts.
PDFs and documents: Yes.
Changes: Yes, under another name. Not as “Jim Nightshade”: the licence reserves the name.
Sharing the files: Yes, but not for sale. With the licence.

Jim Nightshade is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. This is a plain summary, not legal advice: the licence itself decides.

What each licence allows →

Read the licence

Already in your apps?

Google Docs: Most likely. Under More fonts, in Sheets and Slides too. Google’s guide
Word, PowerPoint: No. Install it from Google Fonts first. Microsoft’s list
Figma: Yes. Built in, nothing to install. Figma’s help
Canva: Not verified. Search its font menu for Jim Nightshade, or upload it with Canva Pro. Canva’s help
Cricut: Once installed. Design Space lists Jim Nightshade under System. Fonts for Cricut →

From each app’s own font list or help pages, read on 28 September 2026.

How each app gets its fonts →

Get Jim Nightshade on Google Fonts

05 / Measurements

Jim Nightshade, measured

Taken from the font file's own outlines, regular style

Hxgp in Jim Nightshade. Lines at the measured heights, as a share of the em · The parts of a letter, named

x-height: 45.4% of the emlowercase x
Cap height: 55.3% of the emcapitals
x / cap: 0.82lowercase against capitals
Width: 33.5% of the emaverage lowercase
Ink: 41%letter box filled
Contrast: 1.01 : 1nearly even strokes

How we measure →

Where it stands among handwriting faces

Ranked against all 331 handwriting faces on FontKind

x-heightNear the middle of handwriting faces
WidthNarrower than 73% of handwriting faces
InkLighter than 61% of handwriting faces
ContrastMore even than 71% of handwriting faces

06 / Similar fonts

Fonts similar to Jim Nightshade

Matched letter by letter · its own family apart

All 100 fonts similar to Jim Nightshade →Compare side by side →Get Jim Nightshade on Google Fonts

07 / Swap

Swap Jim Nightshade without a jump

Running text within 3% of the width, x-height within 5%

Fallback while it loads

Until Jim Nightshade loads, this sets Arial in its place at 67.8% of its size, so running text keeps Jim Nightshade’s width and lines keep their height: nothing moves when it arrives.

@font-face {
  font-family: 'Jim Nightshade Fallback';
  src: local('Arial');
  size-adjust: 67.76%;
  ascent-override: 133.45%;
  descent-override: 75.66%;
  line-gap-override: 0.00%;
}

font-family: 'Jim Nightshade', 'Jim Nightshade Fallback', sans-serif;

08 / Questions

Questions about Jim Nightshade

Answered from its licence, Google Fonts and each app’s own font list

Is Jim Nightshade free for commercial use?

Yes. Jim Nightshade is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 , which allows commercial use at any scale, logos, websites, apps and PDFs included; a changed version may not be called “Jim Nightshade”.

How do I download and install Jim Nightshade?

FontKind doesn’t host Jim Nightshade’s files: it comes free from Google Fonts . On its page there, choose Get font, then Download all, and unzip the file. It holds a single font file. On Windows or a Mac, double-click each font file and choose Install, then restart any app that was open, Word included.

Is Jim Nightshade in Microsoft Word?

Not until you install it: Jim Nightshade isn’t one of Microsoft 365’s cloud fonts. Installed, it is in Word’s font menu and PowerPoint’s. For someone who hasn’t installed it, turn on Embed fonts in the file in Word’s save options: its licence allows that.

Is Jim Nightshade in Google Docs?

Most likely. Search for Jim Nightshade under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.

Is Jim Nightshade in Figma?

Yes: Jim Nightshade is in Figma’s font menu, in the browser and the desktop app, with nothing to install.

How many weights does Jim Nightshade have?

Jim Nightshade comes in one weight, Regular (400). Ask for bold and most apps thicken the letters themselves: a faux bold, not a drawn one.

Who designed Jim Nightshade?

Jim Nightshade was designed by Astigmatic. It has been on Google Fonts since January 2012. Astigmatic also made Aclonica, Parisienne, Righteous and 54 more on FontKind.

What fonts are similar to Jim Nightshade?

The closest in our letter-by-letter match are Estonia (99), East Sea Dokdo (83) and Comforter Brush (77), out of 100. Next to Jim Nightshade, Estonia is 25% narrower, with an x-height 33% shorter and more stroke contrast. See all 100 fonts like Jim Nightshade.