Effects — Retro
Pixel sort effect
Sort pixels in rows or columns between brightness thresholds for streaky glitch-art smears. Set lower and upper limits and direction.
- Status
- Live
- Category
- Retro
- Settings
- 3
What is the Pixel sort effect?
Pixel sorting is a glitch-art technique in which pixels are rearranged along rows or columns by a property such as brightness. Artist Kim Asendorf popularised it around 2010. Streaks of sorted pixels appear where the image meets your chosen conditions, leaving the rest untouched.
In this effect, the lower and upper thresholds decide which pixels get sorted by brightness, and the direction controls which way the streaks run. Narrow ranges give subtle streaks; wide ranges melt large areas of the photo.
Pixel sort settings
- Lower threshold
- Upper threshold
- Direction
Best photos for it
- Photos with strong light and dark areas
- Skies, skylines and landscapes
- Album art and posters
Tips for better results
- Tip 01
Use a mid-range gap between the thresholds to keep some parts of the subject sharp.
- Tip 02
Try the other direction on skylines for a melting look.
- Tip 03
Combine with Glitch for extra corruption.
Common questions
Why are only some areas smeared?
Only pixels whose brightness falls between the lower and upper thresholds are sorted. Adjust the thresholds to change which areas are affected.
Similar effects
- GlitchCorrupt your photo with shifted bands and RGB splits for a digital glitch look. A seed value lets you repeat or vary the result.Available
- Dither + paletteConvert photos into retro pixel art with Bayer, Floyd–Steinberg, Atkinson or noise dithering and classic palettes like Game Boy, C64 and NES.Available
- CRT / VHSAdd scanlines, RGB shift, vignette and noise for the look of an old CRT monitor or a worn VHS tape.Available
Also searched as: Pixel sorting filter, Glitch smear effect.