Glitchy Dithering paired with a Dreamy Glow and a Cyberpunk Palette

Can you tell I couldn't come up with a name for these?

Recently I created the Cyberpunk Palettes pack. While I was working on those palettes, I used the Uniform Modulation dithering algorithms quite a lot, and eventually stumbled into this style of glitch effect that utilizes a highly isolated Epsilon Glow setup alongside a palette that is mostly neutral and desaturated, with a few vibrant accent colours. The end result, when used in with the X or Y Uniform Modulation Dither is a few vibrant strings of pixels that are pulled into the orange from the palette, and then get picked up by the glow as a result.

In the below demo, I am just moving the brightness. Left image is low brightness, right image is high brightness. You can use all the usual settings to iterate on these presets as much as you like!

If you'd like some help understanding what is actually happening here, see the below two images (Licensed input image from Josue Sanchez on Unsplash on left, Dither Boy output on right)

Our figure on the left shows a silhouette lit with some hard rim-lights that just catch the edge of the subject's hand, arms and torso. So, in Dither Boy when we load in the preset I'm sharing here, we use an input palette that goes: "Black > Dark Grey > Orange > Red > White"

We then lower the brightness to make sure the bright "Orange > Red > White" sections are reserved for only the brightest pixels. The algorithm that I used for these effects, Uniform Modulation X/Y, then connect the highlights with hard lines and our Epsilon Glow setup does the rest.

Effects like this one (and many more) are buildable with the same set of tools as every other effect in Dither Boy. We haven't needed to add any new effects to achieve these results

What I mean is, you don't need to hit a "Cyberpunk Effect" button and just take what you're given, this effect is built literally with the exact same tools as the other effects i post about here (see below)

Because the tools and effects within Dither Boy are created with intention, it means they are versatile and adaptable. They reward you if you take time to understand what is actually happening.

The point is that when you land on something new in Dither Boy, that output was always there as a possibility. You aren't clicking on the "Dither" button and getting the same effect as every other Dither Boy user.

We could have taken the code for this setup and built it with a stupid "Cyberpunk Effect" slider or attempted to hide the actual controls from you here, but the entire point of making this an effect preset that you can load in and edit yourself is that i'd like to create things for Dither Boy that actually encourage you to mess around and learn.

Change the algorithm from the one I include in the preset to another dither effect, and you'll see that other algorithms distribute colour differently, which means that the Epsilon Glow is picking up different sections of the image now, and maybe with a few more tweaks you can land at a totally different visual output than what you downloaded from here.

Even though you are downloading this as a preset from me, every single result in Dither Boy is a live state and you should immediately mess around with every setting possible because that is where the magic is in software, as long as that software was built thoughtfully.

Download the Effect Preset for Free:

I hope you read my context above, but here is the download if you'd like to get started. Just make sure you go straight to the brightness slider when you load this in onto your own image.

If you need help with presets then you can click here to watch a video about presets and Dither Boy, or just view our installable files video next to the download button

Quick Reminder for Dither Boy Beginners:

We are creating a beginner's guide video series! You can click here to see the entire playlist, just bare in mind this is a work in progress so I haven't had chance to cover every little thing just yet.

Installable files guide below:

Download the Cyberpunk Palettes:

If you'd like to get the entire pack of Cyberpunk palettes i created then you can download those here:

If you create anything with this effect, please tag us on social media or share this effect with a friend!

If you like indie software free updates regular tutorials retro effects advanced dithering then meet Dither Boy!

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Dither Boy

Dither Boy is all-in-one software for authentic retro image, video, and animation dithering. Featuring 63 unique dithering algorithms, a stackable effects pipeline, and full color support, Dither Boy gives you unrestricted access to advanced creative error diffusion, bitmap, halftone, and modulation effects like never before!

Dither Boy is designed to turn any dithering algorithm from a functional compression tool into a granular, editable, malleable effect.

Completely crush your image detail without losing resolution, or create fine and delicate dithering patterns in your work without compromising on style.

Dither your work at any scale without losing your image quality
Full color support with built-in palettes, automatic palette extraction from your images, or download and share user created palettes
Video and animation support built in, with a timeline editor and live preview
Work with 63 dithering algorithms, all animation and vector compatible, including custom algorithms you won’t find anywhere else
Stack and reorder effects like Epsilon Glow, JPEG Glitch, Chromatic Aberration, and more
Effects designed and created specifically for Dither Boy
One purchase includes all future updates, no subscription required
Export black vectors for print and embroidery files
NEW: CMYK Halftone added in update version 6.0!

True to the visual era it was inspired by, Dither Boy requires no recurring subscription, and all future updates will be included in your purchase at no extra cost.