Glitch a photograph

The frame is divided into horizontal bands. Each band receives a signed horizontal offset derived from the seed; red is sampled slightly to one side and blue to the other while green follows the band itself. Edge samples are clamped, so no unreported wraparound enters from the opposite side.

Maximum band shift

The largest horizontal displacement in preview pixels.

Band height

How many rows share one displacement.

Channel split

The distance between red and blue sampling positions.

Pattern seed

A reproducible choice of offsets, not a quality level.

Large shifts on faces create duplicated colour edges that can look like a failed file rather than an intentional signal break. Very short bands turn texture into chatter. Use the seed to find a structure, then reduce distance until the subject still reads.

The preview, draft and export all run the same kernel. Parameters measured in pixels are scaled with the source, so a chosen tile, band or radius does not become unexpectedly finer in the downloaded file.

Why is there a seed?

Band offsets are generated from a small deterministic hash. The same seed and settings reproduce the same shifts at a given size instead of changing on every render.

Does this damage the source file?

No. The effect is rendered into a new canvas and exported as a new file. The opened file is never overwritten.

Why does the export keep the same visual band scale?

Band height, shift and channel separation are pixel lengths. The export multiplies them by the ratio between preview and source resolution.

• PosteriseContinuous tone reduced to measured channel levels, with optional pre-dither.
• DitherError diffusion and ordered matrices, at palettes from one bit upwards.
• PixelateSquare or hexagonal blocks, each one flat, with optional palette quantisation.
• The effects labAll six effects, chosen from your own photograph rather than from a list of names.

Rendered on your computer, not on a server.