Mac Paint-style dithering: 1-bit Atkinson in black on off-white
This is the tool's default look and a nod to early desktop paint programs: Atkinson dithering reduces your image to near-black ink on warm off-white paper at a Pixel size of 2. Atkinson passes on only part of each pixel's error, so highlights blow out to clean paper and shadows close up, giving the airy, high-contrast bitmap of 1980s black-and-white screens. The name describes a style only, with no affiliation to the original software.
Make it yours
Go chunkier for small sizes
At a Pixel size of 2 the dither is fine enough to keep faces readable. Raise it to 4 or 5 when the image will be shown as a thumbnail or an avatar, so the texture stays visible and does not collapse into grey mush.
Recover washed-out highlights
Atkinson drops detail in bright areas by design. If skies and skin disappear, lower Contrast from 15 to around 0 and pull Gamma below 100, to about 80, which darkens the midtones before they are dithered.
FAQ
What is Atkinson dithering?
Atkinson is an error-diffusion algorithm from the early days of black-and-white desktop computers. Each pixel is snapped to black or white, and only three quarters of the rounding error is shared with six neighbours, where Floyd-Steinberg shares all of it. The missing quarter is why Atkinson images look brighter and more graphic, with open highlights and solid blacks.
How it works
Upload an image
Add a PNG, JPG or WebP up to 20 MB or pick a sample photo, then keep its own shape or crop it to 1:1, 4:5, 3:2, 16:9 or 9:16.
Choose a mode
Dither with 14 algorithms and 13 palettes, Shapes with dots, squares, lines, crosses and diamonds, or Photo art with 18 pixel and print styles from LED matrix to stained glass.
Style and use it
Set pixel size and contrast, add scanlines, bloom, grain or a vignette, then sign in with a free UX Pilot account to use it on the canvas or export it.