What does posterize mean?

It means reducing an image to a small number of tones per color, so smooth gradients become visible bands of flat color. The name comes from posters printed with a few flat inks. At 4 levels each of red, green and blue has just four possible values, so the whole picture can hold at most 64 colors.

How many levels should I use?

2 is extreme: every channel is fully on or off, so the photo becomes a handful of bright primary colors. 3 to 4 is the classic poster look. 5 to 8 keeps the photo recognizable with visible banding in skies and skin. Above that the effect becomes subtle.

Why do my posterized bands look speckled?

Because texture and camera noise make neighboring pixels fall on either side of a band edge, so the edge breaks into dots. Raise Simplify: it softens the photo slightly before posterizing, so each band comes out as one clean shape.

Is this the same as Photoshop's Posterize?

It works the same way, reducing each color channel to the number of levels you choose, and keeps pure black and pure white at the ends. The Simplify slider is the extra step people usually take by hand in Photoshop, blurring slightly first, built in.

What is the difference between posterize and halftone?

Posterize keeps solid areas and reduces them to a few flat colors. Halftone keeps the tones but draws them as dots of different sizes, the way newspapers print photos. Both are print looks; the halftone generator does the dots.

Is my photo uploaded?

No. It is processed in your browser, so the photo never leaves your device. iPhone HEIC photos work too.

Posterize Image

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Posterizing reduces a photo to a few flat steps of each color, so smooth shading turns into bold bands, like a screen print or a vintage poster. Posterize any image here, free and in your browser.

Drop a photo here

or paste with Ctrl+V. Bold subjects and strong light posterize best.

Runs entirely in your browser. Your images are never uploaded to a server.

How it works

Drop in a photo. It is posterized to four levels straight away.
Choose how many levels: 2 to 4 for a bold poster, 6 or more for subtle banding.
Switch to black and white for a stark, graphic look.
Raise Simplify if the bands look speckled, so they come out with clean edges.
Drag across the picture to compare, then download at full resolution.

Common use cases

A screen print or pop art style poster from a portrait.
Flat color separations to use as a starting point for a stencil or a print.
A retro, limited-palette look for album art, flyers and social posts.
Simplifying a photo into shapes to paint or draw from.
Checking how an image holds up with very few colors before printing it.

Frequently asked questions

What does posterize mean?: It means reducing an image to a small number of tones per color, so smooth gradients become visible bands of flat color. The name comes from posters printed with a few flat inks. At 4 levels each of red, green and blue has just four possible values, so the whole picture can hold at most 64 colors.
How many levels should I use?: 2 is extreme: every channel is fully on or off, so the photo becomes a handful of bright primary colors. 3 to 4 is the classic poster look. 5 to 8 keeps the photo recognizable with visible banding in skies and skin. Above that the effect becomes subtle.
Why do my posterized bands look speckled?: Because texture and camera noise make neighboring pixels fall on either side of a band edge, so the edge breaks into dots. Raise Simplify: it softens the photo slightly before posterizing, so each band comes out as one clean shape.
Is this the same as Photoshop's Posterize?: It works the same way, reducing each color channel to the number of levels you choose, and keeps pure black and pure white at the ends. The Simplify slider is the extra step people usually take by hand in Photoshop, blurring slightly first, built in.
What is the difference between posterize and halftone?: Posterize keeps solid areas and reduces them to a few flat colors. Halftone keeps the tones but draws them as dots of different sizes, the way newspapers print photos. Both are print looks; the halftone generator does the dots.
Is my photo uploaded?: No. It is processed in your browser, so the photo never leaves your device. iPhone HEIC photos work too.

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Posterize Image

How it works

Common use cases

Frequently asked questions

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