Pixel sort: rows of pixels reordered from dark to bright
Pixel sort scans the picture line by line and, wherever a run of pixels falls between a dark and a bright limit, reorders that run from dark to bright. This preset sets the window wide open, with Dark cut-off at 8 and Strength at 100, so almost every run is sorted and the image melts sideways into long streaks along an Angle of 0 degrees. The chrome shell in the preview keeps a hint of its spiral, but its polished body drags out into streaks of silver, blue and black, the red block beneath it smears into scarlet bands, and the peach wall flattens into pale cream.
Make it yours
Keep the subject intact
Raise Dark cut-off from 8 to about 40 and the shadows drop out of the sort, so the shell's darker folds hold their shape while only the lighter areas streak. Lowering Strength to 30 does the opposite and keeps the brightest highlights still.
Sort in another direction
Angle turns the direction of the sort. Set it to 90 for vertical drips that look like melting paint, or 45 for diagonal streaks, which suit tall posters and phone wallpapers.
FAQ
Which pixels does the Pixel sort preset move?
Only runs whose brightness sits between Dark cut-off and a ceiling set by Strength. Pixels outside that window act as walls: they stay put and break the streaks into separate pieces. With the preset's open window almost nothing is a wall, which is why the streaks run so long.
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.