Last week while I was creating a tutorial for Dither In/Dither out animations, I stumbled upon this CRT style texture cell effect completely by accident! So here is a tutorial and a small set of resources to help you get started with this effect in Dither Boy. If you'd like to know more before diving in, look below for some zoomed in demos of what I got out of this effect while I was messing around.
Tutorial for setting this up for yourself:
If you want to learn how to set this up on your own, here's the video for that! You'll need to make sure you've updated Dither Boy to the latest version, but you won't need any actual assets or textures to overlay onto your work, you just need an image.
This tutorial basically shows you how to set up a dithering effect that uses your input image to create the texture, rather than slapping a texture onto an image and calling it done.
Download my files for creating this effect
If you'd like to just get started without watching a tutorial, you can do so by downloading my preset and loading it up in Dither Boy. If you need help with presets then I've included a video about presets to the left.
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!
Dither Boy
Original price was: £60.00.£45.00Current price is: £45.00.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.
We have already completed an entire year of free updates in 2025!