Noise and Grain
Grainy textures and backgrounds with fine noise over a color or gradient. Export as PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG.
Open in editorImage effects
Dither Effect
Reduce photos to a few colors with Floyd-Steinberg, Atkinson, Stucki or Bayer dithering, in 1-bit, grayscale, retro palettes or your own colors. Your picture stays on your device.
Open the generatorRuns right in your browser. Your graphics are made on your device.
Start from a preset
Pick a preset and it opens right in the editor, ready to adjust.
What is it?
Dithering lets a picture get by with only a few colors and still show gradients and detail: instead of rounding a color, the algorithm spreads the difference to the neighboring pixels (error diffusion such as Floyd-Steinberg, Atkinson or Stucki) or compares each pixel with a fixed threshold pattern (Bayer matrix). The grainy look recalls early computers, game consoles and fax machines and is popular today for retro graphics, posters and websites.
How it works
Upload a photo or try the presets on the sample picture. Choose an algorithm and a palette: 1-bit with two colors of your choice, four grays, four greens, the four colors of early PC graphics or your own colors. Pixel size makes the dots coarser; brightness, contrast and gamma decide how much turns light or dark. Space rolls new colors, or a new algorithm for fixed palettes. Export as PNG, JPG or WebP.
Try the Dither Effect nowFAQ
- Is my photo uploaded?
- No. The photo is processed in your browser only and never sent to a server. Share links leave the photo out; if you save the design, everything stays local in your browser.
- Which algorithm should I choose?
- Floyd-Steinberg is the classic with fine, natural transitions. Atkinson passes on only part of the error: highlights and shadows get bolder, like early Macintosh graphics. Stucki spreads the error further and looks calmer. The Bayer patterns create a regular crosshatch that suits pixel art.
- Does the export look exactly like the preview?
- Yes. The dithering is always computed on the same grid, the design size divided by the pixel size, and then scaled to the screen or export size. At the same size, preview and PNG are identical pixel for pixel; at twice the size every dot simply gets larger. In a reduced preview the dots blend into grays; zoom to 100 percent to see them.
- Can I use my brand colors?
- Yes. Apply a brand palette from your Brand Kit: the palette switches to custom colors with your brand colors, sorted from dark to light. By color picks the closest color for each pixel, by brightness spreads the photo's brightness over the palette.
- Why is there no SVG export?
- In dithering every pixel is a dot of its own. As SVG it would turn into hundreds of thousands of rectangles, a large and slow file. Export as PNG: with a pixel size above 1, every dot stays sharp when enlarged.
Related generators
All generators in Image effects
Duotone and Gradient Map
Tint photos in two, three or more colors: duotone, tritone and gradient map with a tone curve and grain. Your picture stays on your device.
Open in editor
ASCII Art
Turn photos into ASCII art from characters, colored characters, an LED dot matrix or braille. Export as SVG, PNG, text or HTML.
Open in editor
Halftone Effect
Turn photos into halftone dots, lines, squares or diamonds like newspaper print. With screen angle, cell size, two colors and SVG export. Your picture stays on your device.
Open in editor
CMYK Halftone
Separate photos into cyan, magenta, yellow and black with a screen angle per ink, like offset printing. With misregistration and SVG export. Your picture stays on your device.
Open in editor