Pixel Sort

Filter

Sort pixels along rows, columns, angles, or polar spokes within brightness, edge, or random spans for glitch and drip looks.

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The Pixel Sort node's Vertical Drip, Horizontal Smear, Glitch Bands, Edge Streaks, Radial Burst, Hue Waves, and Radial Ripple presets.

Pixel Sort reorders the pixels along each sort line by a chosen key, producing the smeared, dripping, banded look common in glitch art. It runs lines horizontally, vertically, along an arbitrary angle, or as radial spokes and concentric rings around a center point, and splits each line into spans (set by Span Mode) so only part of the image flows. Brightness Band, the default, is the classic effect: only pixels inside a tonal window are sorted.

While the node is selected, the Preview draws a handle for the direction: for the Angle direction, an arrow from the center along the sort line (drag its tip to set Angle, hold Shift to snap to steps of 15 degrees); for Radial and Circular, a handle at the center point (drag it to set Center X and Y, or nudge it one pixel at a time with the arrow keys). Double-click a handle to reset its rows. See Canvas handles.

Seven presets cover the common looks. Picking one overwrites the controls below it, and editing any control afterwards switches the preset back to Custom. Skip Spans, Max Run Length, and Mix With Source dial the effect back toward the original.

8-bit processing

This node processes at 8-bit precision. In a 32-bit document, the image is converted to 8-bit before it runs: values above 1.0 are clipped, and each color channel is rounded to one of 256 levels. It's converted back to 32-bit afterward, but the clipped highlights and rounded detail don't come back.

Parameters

Pins

↳ImagePixels

InputRequired

↳MaskMask

InputOptional

↦ImagePixels

Output

Preset

PresetChoice

Default: Vertical Drip Range: Custom / Vertical Drip / Horizontal Smear / Glitch Bands / Edge Streaks / Radial Burst / Hue Waves / Radial Ripple

One-click looks. Any preset other than Custom overwrites the controls below, and editing a control afterwards switches back to Custom

Direction

DirectionChoice

Default: Vertical

Orientation of the sort lines

• HorizontalSort each row left to right.
• VerticalSort each column top to bottom.
• AngleSort along lines tilted to the Angle value, for diagonal streaks.
• RadialSort along spokes radiating out from the center point, for a burst look.
• CircularSort around concentric rings about the center point, for a swirl look.

AngleNumber

Default: 0.0 Range: 0.0–360.0

Angle direction only

Sort-line angle in degrees. 0 = horizontal.

Center X (%)Number

Default: 50.0 Range: 0.0–100.0

Radial / Circular only

Horizontal center of the polar warp

Center Y (%)Number

Default: 50.0 Range: 0.0–100.0

Radial / Circular only

Vertical center of the polar warp

Sort

Sort KeyChoice

Default: Luminance

What each pixel is ranked by

• LuminanceRank pixels by perceptual brightness (weighted RGB), the most natural-looking sort.
• LightnessRank by HSL lightness (the midpoint of the lightest and darkest channel).
• ValueRank by HSV value (the brightest channel), punchier than luminance.
• SaturationRank by color intensity, pulling vivid pixels apart from muted ones.
• HueRank by position on the color wheel, sorting the spectrum into bands.
• AlphaRank by opacity, useful for sorting against transparency.

OrderChoice

Default: Descending Range: Ascending / Descending

Flips the bright-to-dark direction of each streak

Spans

Span ModeChoice

Default: Brightness Band

How each sort line is split into spans (the runs that get sorted)

• Brightness BandOnly pixels inside the Brightness Low/High range are sorted; the rest stay put. The classic pixel-sort look.
• Random LengthsBreak each line into spans of random length (averaging Span Length) and sort each independently.
• Between EdgesSplit lines at detected edges so sorting stays within flat regions; Edge Strength sets sensitivity.
• Whole LineSort the entire row, column, spoke, or ring as one span.

Brightness LowNumber

Default: 0.10 Range: 0.00–1.00

Brightness Band span only

Only pixels brighter than Low and darker than High are eligible to sort

Brightness HighNumber

Default: 0.55 Range: 0.00–1.00

Brightness Band span only

Upper edge of the eligible brightness band

Span LengthNumber · px/%

Default: 50 Range: 1–2000 px / 0–100%

Random Lengths span only

Average span length for random-length spans. In percent mode it is a share of the sort line's length

Edge StrengthNumber

Default: 0.50 Range: 0.00–1.00

Between Edges span only

Edge sensitivity. Higher = more break points, shorter spans

Refine

Skip SpansNumber

Default: 0.00 Range: 0.00–1.00

Fraction of spans left unsorted for a more organic look

SeedInteger

Default: 0 Range: -1–2147483647

Random Lengths span or Skip Spans > 0

Fixed value = reproducible pattern. The dice rolls a new fixed seed. -1 gives each node and each batch frame its own pattern

Advanced

Inner RadiusNumber

Default: 0.00 Range: 0.00–1.00

Radial / Circular only

Hole at the center (fraction of max radius) left unsorted

Hue OffsetNumber

Default: 0.0 Range: 0.0–360.0

Hue sort key only

Manual override of the auto-chosen hue seam, in degrees. 0 = auto (largest gap).

Max Run LengthInteger · px/%

Default: 0 Range: 0–8000 px / 0–100%

Caps streak length so wide bands don't smear a whole line. 0 = unlimited. In percent mode it is a share of the sort line's length

Mix With SourceNumber

Default: 1.00 Range: 0.00–1.00

Blend the sorted result back toward the source. 1 = fully sorted, 0 = original.

Mask

Mask FromChoice

Default: Luminance

Color image connected to the mask input

How the connected color image is read as a mask

• LuminanceRead the image's brightness as the mask. The default.
• AlphaRead the image's transparency as the mask.
• RedUse the red channel as the mask.
• GreenUse the green channel as the mask.
• BlueUse the blue channel as the mask.

Mask FitChoice

Default: None

Mask connected

How the mask is sized when it doesn't match the image

• NoneCenter the mask at its native size, with no resizing. Unmasked regions are unaffected.
• StretchStretch the mask to exactly match the image dimensions. May distort the mask shape.
• FitScale the mask to fit inside the image, preserving aspect ratio. Letterboxes where needed.
• FillScale the mask to fill the image, preserving aspect ratio. Crops edges if aspect ratios differ.

Invert MaskToggle

Default: false

Mask connected

Swap which side of the mask the sort runs in

Hard GateToggle

Default: true

Mask connected

• On: sort stays strictly inside the mask (no smearing across the edge).
• Off: feathered whole-frame reveal.

Mask FeatherNumber · px/%

Default: 0 Range: 0–400 px / 0–100%

Mask connected and Hard Gate off

Soften the mask edge for the soft-gate reveal

Usage Tips

• Start from a preset, then switch Sort Key or Order to retune the look without rebuilding from scratch.
• Narrow the Brightness Low/High window to sort only the shadows or only the highlights.
• Radial Burst and Radial Ripple use the Radial and Circular directions for explosive or swirling motion around the center point.
• Connect a mask to keep the sort inside a subject. Hard Gate (on by default) stops streaks at the mask edge; turn it off and raise Mask Feather for a soft reveal instead.
• Pull Mix With Source below 1.0 for a subtler, layered glitch.

Related Nodes

• Chromatic Aberration
• Displace
• Offset