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Dither

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Color

Applies dithering to reduce color banding using ordered (Bayer), error-diffusion (Floyd-Steinberg, Atkinson), or stochastic (White Noise, Blue Noise) algorithms.

The Dither node's Bayer (2x2/4x4/8x8), Floyd-Steinberg, Atkinson, and Blue Noise methods, each quantized to 8 colors, shown as magnified detail crops beside the original.
A grid comparing the Dither node's methods -- three Bayer ordered-dither matrices, Floyd-Steinberg and Atkinson error diffusion, and blue-noise thresholding -- each a magnified detail crop of the same bird photograph quantized to 8 colors, with the original and an original detail crop for reference.

Dither reduces the number of colors in an image while using patterned or diffused noise to simulate smooth gradients. Seven algorithms are available. Bayer 2x2, 4x4, and 8x8 produce structured ordered patterns at increasing grid sizes. Floyd-Steinberg and Atkinson use error diffusion to spread quantization error to neighboring pixels for a more natural look. White Noise and Blue Noise use a deterministic stochastic threshold instead of a fixed matrix, so the result is irregular rather than gridded at the same speed as Bayer; Blue Noise weights its spectrum toward high frequencies, which reads as even fine grain with no clumping.

The two noise methods add a Seed (shared with Noise and Scatter) so the pattern is reproducible across re-cooks and exports, plus Phase X/Y to offset the pattern in pixels: positive Phase X moves it right, positive Phase Y moves it down.

The color count controls how many colors the image is reduced to. In color mode, k-means clustering picks the best representative colors; in grayscale mode, the image is reduced to luminance levels. When a Palette is connected, dithering uses the palette colors directly, which is perfect for retro console or platform-specific color restrictions.

Parameters

Section titled “Parameters”

Pins

ImageImage
InputRequired
PalettePalette
InputOptional
ImageImage
Output

Dither

MethodChoice
Default: Bayer 4x4

Dithering algorithm

  • Bayer 2x2Smallest ordered dither pattern, with a visible grid and strong retro feel.
  • Bayer 4x4Medium ordered dither, balanced between pattern visibility and smoothness.
  • Bayer 8x8Largest ordered dither, with smoother gradients and a subtler pattern.
  • Floyd-SteinbergError-diffusion dithering with natural-looking results and no visible grid pattern.
  • AtkinsonClassic Macintosh error diffusion, slightly more contrasty than Floyd-Steinberg, with a distinct vintage look.
  • White NoiseStochastic threshold with a flat, untuned noise spectrum. Irregular where Bayer is regular, at the same speed, with a grainier result than Blue Noise.
  • Blue NoiseStochastic threshold weighted toward high frequencies, so the dither reads as even fine grain with no clumping and no visible grid. The best default when you want the pattern itself to disappear.
ColorsInteger
Default: 16 Range: 2–256

Number of output colors (extracted via k-means or grayscale levels)

Strength (%)Number
Default: 100 Range: 0–100

Controls the dither pattern or propagated-error amount.

  • 0%: the image is still quantized to the selected colors, with no dithering applied.
  • 100%: the full method is applied.
GrayscaleToggle
Default: false

Use evenly-spaced luminance levels instead of image-derived colors

Use PaletteToggle
Default: false

Auto-enabled when a Palette is connected (drives the color set)

SeedInteger
Default: 0 Range: 0–999999
White Noise / Blue Noise only

Deterministic seed for the White/Blue Noise threshold pattern. Same seed, same output

Phase X (px)Integer
Default: 0 Range: -4096–4096
White Noise / Blue Noise only

Offsets the noise pattern in pixels

Phase Y (px)Integer
Default: 0 Range: -4096–4096
White Noise / Blue Noise only

Offsets the noise pattern in pixels

Usage Tips

Section titled “Usage Tips”
  • Floyd-Steinberg produces the most natural-looking results for photographs.
  • Bayer dithering creates the classic retro/8-bit look with its characteristic cross-hatch pattern.
  • Connect a Palette node to dither to a specific set of colors, like retro game palettes.
  • Strength controls the dither pattern or the propagated-error amount, not a blend back toward the source. At 0% the image is still quantized to the selected colors, just with no dithering applied; at 100% the full method is applied.
  • Reach for Blue Noise when a Bayer grid is too obviously a grid and Floyd-Steinberg’s worm patterns are too obviously worms.
  • Change the Seed to get a different noise pattern from the same image, or hold it fixed so a batch dithers identically frame to frame.
  • With no Palette connected, the automatic color extraction is fully reproducible, so re-cooking or re-exporting the same image yields the same colors.
Section titled “Related Nodes”