How-to
How to Make a Halftone Gradient
The fading-dots gradient look, from scratch. How the dots should change across the fade and how to keep it smooth.
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Halftone and dithering, explained and applied
Practical how-tos for specific looks — risograph, comic dots, pop art, screen printing — and clear explainers of the algorithms behind them. Every piece pairs with the live tool so you can try it on your own image straight away.
Explainer
CMYK Halftone Angles, Explained
Why colour halftones use specific screen angles for each ink, what the standard angles are, and how to avoid moiré.
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How to Make a Halftone Background
Dotted halftone backgrounds for websites, posters, and slides — building them, keeping them subtle, and exporting clean.
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ASCII Art vs Halftone: What's the Difference?
Both turn photos into patterns of small marks, but they're built on different ideas. When to use each.
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How to Make a Halftone in Illustrator (and a Faster Way)
Illustrator can build a halftone with effects and the Phantasm plugin. The native route, the limits, and a quicker option.
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How to Make a Halftone Effect in GIMP (and a Faster Way)
GIMP can do halftone with its Newsprint filter. Here's how, where it gets fiddly, and when it's quicker to skip it.
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Halftone Effect in Procreate: What Works and What Doesn't
Procreate has halftone built into its brushes and filters, but it has real limits. Here's what's possible and the workaround.
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How to Get a Halftone Effect in Figma
Figma has no native halftone filter. Here are the realistic options for getting dotted artwork into your Figma file.
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How to Make a Newspaper Photo Effect
That gritty old-print look from a photo: the dot screen, the contrast, and the small imperfections that sell it.
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How to Make a Duotone Halftone Effect
Combine two-colour duotone with a dot screen for a bold, modern print look. Picking colours and keeping it readable.
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Dithering for Pixel Art and Retro Game Looks
How dithering creates shading and gradients in pixel art with a tiny palette, and how to use it without making mud.
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How to Make a Halftone Effect Without Photoshop
You don't need Photoshop to turn a photo into halftone dots. Here's the free, browser-based way to do it in about a minute.
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What Is Dithering? A Plain-English Explanation
Dithering is how a few colours pretend to be many. Here's what it actually does, why it exists, and where you still see it today.
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Floyd–Steinberg Dithering, Explained Simply
The most famous dithering algorithm, in plain terms: how it spreads error, why it looks so natural, and when to use it.
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Atkinson Dithering: The Classic Mac Look
The dithering that gave the original Macintosh its crisp, high-contrast images. What makes it different and why people love it.
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How to Make a Risograph Effect Online
Get that grainy, two-colour riso print look without a riso machine. The settings that sell the effect, and the export that keeps it.
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Comic Book Dots (Ben-Day Dots) Made Easy
The dotted shading in vintage comics has a name: Ben-Day dots. Here's how to recreate that look from any image.
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How to Make a Pop Art Halftone Effect
The bold, dotted, Lichtenstein-style pop art look — how to build it from a photo with the right dots and colours.
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Halftone for Screen Printing and T-Shirts
How to prep halftone artwork that actually prints clean on a screen-printing press, with the right dot size and export.
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