What this is
Dither engine redraws an image as dots of one color, and you can push the dots around with a pointer or a finger. Dots and background are only two colors, so dithering fakes the tones in between: each pixel is rounded to on or off, and the error from that rounding is passed on to the neighboring pixels, as Floyd-Steinberg, Atkinson and Stucki do. Bayer and blue noise compare each pixel with a fixed pattern of thresholds instead, and from a step back the spacing of the dots reads as tone.
How to use it
- Choose or drop an image, or keep the sample.
- Pick an algorithm, then shape the dots with the sliders.
- Move across the dots to push them, tap or click for a shockwave, then save a PNG or SVG.
Read the guide
Words: dithering · kernel · luminance
Common questions
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, with every control. Phones and touch screens use a grid of at most 300 cells and draw at up to 1.5 times the screen's pixel density, so Scale past about 0.51 adds no more detail there. Tap for a shockwave; keep a finger down and slide to push. A second finger sends its own shockwave but does not push.
What happens to the see-through parts of my picture?
They count as background and stay empty, with Invert on or off. Half see-through edges fade towards the background.
Is my picture uploaded?
No. The picture is read and dithered on your device and never leaves it.
Why is a picture from another tool here?
Pictures you add are kept on this device for every lab tool that takes one, so you need not add them again. Press × on a tile to forget that picture; the sample comes back.
On the blog: Glitch art: a free online guide