Pixel Sort: a glitch art gradient with sorted aurora streaks
Pixel Sort applies the classic glitch art move to an Aurora gradient on the Solar Flare palette. The Pixel sort treatment finds bright runs of color along Treatment angle 90, which is vertical, and sorts each run by brightness, so orange, golden yellow and hot pink smear into streaks with jagged ends over a near-black brown base. Cell size 14 makes the streaks roughly 140 px long, and the dark gaps between the ribbons are left untouched.
Make it yours
Turn the sort sideways
Treatment angle at 90 drags the streaks vertically, like melting paint. Set it to 0 for horizontal smears that recall a broken video signal, or to 45 for diagonal streaks that cut across the aurora.
Lengthen the smears
Cell size controls how far each run is sorted. At 24 the streaks grow to nearly twice their length and cross more of the frame; at 6 the sort stays short and the aurora's original shapes show through.
FAQ
Does pixel sorting keep working when the gradient animates?
Yes. The treatment redraws every frame, so with Animate on the aurora keeps moving and the streaks re-sort as its bright bands shift. For a still glitch poster, switch Animate off and export a PNG at up to 3x.
How it works
Pick a starting point
Start from one of 28 looks such as Soft Mesh, Eclipse Rays or Riso Halftone, or choose a gradient type and one of 24 palettes.
Tune the gradient
Adjust scale, distortion, swirl and softness, add grain, glass panes or glass tiles, a dot, grid or line overlay, a second blended layer or a treatment such as halftone or pixel sort, and switch animation on with its own speed.
Preview and use it
See the gradient in landing page, card, mobile and sign up layouts, then sign in with a free UX Pilot account to use it on the canvas or export it.