EatonMay 20, 2023
I will never, ever stop loving Bill Atkinson’s dithering algorithm. If you cut your teeth on Macpaint or Hypercard, you probably recognize it without even realizing it.
Nate MartinMay 21, 2023
Show threadEaton

There’s a great post for the supernerds in the room that goes into the nature of “dithering” and even explains the algorithmic nudges Atkinson Dithering uses to achieve its distinctive look: https://surma.dev/things/ditherpunk/

These days, dithering is usually encountered as an affectation or an artifact; we’ve got ridiculously high res deep color displays on our *wrists*. Back in the 80s when Atkinson was doing some of his most memorable work, though, it was the cutting edge of image display optimization.

Ditherpunk — The article I wish I had about monochrome image dithering — surma.dev

I always loved the visual aesthetic of dithering but never knew how it’s done. So I did some research. This article may contain traces of nostalgia and none of Lena.

May 20, 2023 at 2:38pmWeb
Show threadJake May 20, 2023
@eaton
A place you'll encounter dithering but you won't even notice is DLP (MEMS mirror) based projectors (like in most movie theaters). Their mirrors are a 1-bit display (mirrors can only flip to turn on or off the light ,not vary the intensity) so a lot of creative image processing and dithering takes place to get millions of colors without image artifacts.
Show threadA Cyber ExpertMay 20, 2023
@eaton
That’s a great read. Lays out multiple algorithms nicely. Well done, @surma
Show threadJaycieMay 20, 2023
@eaton Excited for this read!
Show threadRobert Jan SchuttenMay 21, 2023
@eaton Very good article! Has my stamp of approval as someone who has had his share of image processing algorithms over the years.
Show threadEatonMay 21, 2023
@rjschutten It’s not often someone gives a guided tour of the *aesthetics* of image processing algorithms in addition to the technicalities. Was really pleased to stumble across it!
Show threadlorddimwit is now @[email protected]May 21, 2023

@eaton

So my wife and I rearranged a bunch of furniture and cleaned out the attic in the heat today and then I spent a long time cooking a nice dinner for family and friends and may have had a few beers in the process and my tired and tipsy ass truly thought for a second that “Atkinson Dithering” was, I don’t know, the person (of the Baltimore Ditherings?) who invented dithering even though I knew who Bill Atkinson was and how dithering worked.

Show threadStarkRGMay 21, 2023

@eaton Ha, I just stumbled upon that post when I went looking to see what algorithm Return of the Obra Dinn used. Sadly, as the post explains, Atkinson Dithering wasn't possible to use as it's a linear algorithm and the Obra Dinn needed a parallel algorithm so it could be rendered as a shader by the GPU. I don't think the downsides of the algorithms used were particularly apparent, though.

I kinda wish someone (doesn't *have* to be Pope) would do more dithered 3D games. I very much like the aesthetic of that game.

Show threadSimon BrookeMay 21, 2023

@eaton Excellent post, many thanks!

Blue noise certainly seems a good solution, but I agree that Riemersma isn't bad. I also enjoyed your choice of heading font, given the subject!

Show threadSimon BrookeMay 21, 2023

@eaton Actually, reading further, this post by the author of 'Return of the Obra Dinn' is also fascinating:

https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=40832.msg1363742#msg1363742

Return of the Obra Dinn [Releasing Oct 18]

Return of the Obra Dinn [Releasing Oct 18]

Show threadbenjohnMay 21, 2023
@eaton you say that but, laser printers! For which there might well be epic algos, but they’re not used by our printer bought a year ago where the dithering _sucks_, unless you’re looking for massive “it’s like pop art!” structured dots on anything slightly grey.
Show threadEatonMay 21, 2023
@benjohn YES
Show threadAndrewMay 21, 2023
@eaton dithering isn’t useless in modern games! https://loopit.dk/banding_in_games.pdf
Show thread🍉 max frühschütz – нет войнеMay 21, 2023
@eaton atkinson dithering looks SO aesthetically pleasing!
Show threadNate MartinMay 21, 2023
@eaton @brouhaha I love a good nerdy deep dive like this. Fascinating!
Show threadJamesTDGMay 22, 2023
@eaton dithering still looks better than gradients!
Show threadtibiMay 22, 2023
@eaton I use dithering to run my art to this thermal printer. Atkinson is so good at catching tonal shifts, it somehow gets the context right every time. I love it
Show threadEatonMay 25, 2023
@tibi2 That's awesome, my partner has a similar one, I'll have to see if there's a way to use that algorithm with it... :D
Show threadtibiMay 25, 2023
@eaton the various python utils for it all seem to use floyd steinberg so i use secondary apps to convert an image.
(web) https://gazs.github.io/canvas-atkinson-dither/
(mobile) https://github.com/mikljohansson/retroboy/
Could probably do a proper writeup on how i use it lol
Atkinson Dithering