visual.af
Filter Gallery effect for Affinity
Dithering for Affinity
Applies the dot patterns of old screens and printers to any layer: Bayer matrices or random noise, 1 to 7 color steps, in the original colors or an ink, highlight and background palette.
Download Filter Gallery for free Windows · 4.5 MBDownload Filter Gallery for free macOS · 16.6 MBSee all 97 effects
Also for Windows · 4.5 MBAlso for Mac · 16.6 MB
Windows and macOS · Affinity 3 · Up to 3 computers
BeforeAfter
5 presets to start with
Pick one in the Filter Gallery window and adjust it from there. Every control can still be changed.
Default
Two-step Bayer 8×8, mint green on midnight blue with a lime highlight.
Noise
Single-step random noise, like a grainy photocopy.
Retro
Bayer 2×2 in the original colors with 3 px pixels, like old game consoles.
Natural
Five-step Bayer 8×8 in the original colors with 4 px pixels. The pattern shows without covering the photo.
Classic
Single-step Bayer 8×8, white on black with 4 px pixels, like one-bit screens.
Detail zoomed to 200%. Every preset is applied to the same illustration.
What each control does
They have the same names as in the Filter Gallery window.
- Algorithm
- The pattern: random noise or a 2×2, 4×4 or 8×8 Bayer matrix, which gives ordered patterns.
- Pixel size px
- The size of each dither pixel, in document pixels.
- Color steps
- How many light levels there are between background and ink: 1 to 7.
- Original colors
- Dithers each area in its own color instead of using the palette.
- Invert luminance
- Inverts the luminance: light areas are dithered as dark and vice versa.
- Ink
- The dither color when you’re not using the original colors.
- Highlight
- The color of the brightest areas.
- Background
- The background color. With “no color”, it stays transparent.
Tips for Dithering
1
Pixel size
On large photos, raise the pixel size so the pattern still shows when the image is scaled down or posted online.
2
A single ink
With one color step and the background set to “no color”, the pattern becomes a single ink on transparency, great for screen printing or risograph.
3
8-bit color
Turn on “Original colors” and try 2 to 5 steps for a color dither straight out of old video games.
Filter Gallery
Take Dithering and 96 more effects to your Affinity
Filter Gallery is a plugin with the 97 Visual.af effects in a single window. You choose by looking at thumbnails of your layer, adjust with a live preview and compare before and after, then apply.
- 97 effects with their presets
- Zoomable preview and comparison slider
- 8 free effects to start with
- One payment of USD $12, up to 3 computers
More effects in Filter Gallery
Starting with the rest of Screens. Hover over a card to see its presets.
It installs in a minute
The installer copies the plugin into the Affinity plugins folder and turns on the setting Affinity needs to load it.
1
Download the installer
Download FilterGallery-Setup.exe. It doesn’t need administrator permissions.
2
Open it
Click “Install”: it copies Filter Gallery into Affinity and turns on “Allow "Unknown" plugins to be used”, which Affinity needs.
3
Restart Affinity
Choose Filters › Plugins › Visual.af › Filter Gallery with a pixel layer selected. The effect is applied to that layer, so duplicate it first with Ctrl+J if you want to keep it.
1
Download the installer
Download FilterGallery-Setup.pkg. It doesn’t need administrator permissions.
2
Open it
Click “Continue” and then “Install”. It copies Filter Gallery into Affinity and turns on “Allow "Unknown" plugins to be used”, which Affinity on Mac needs.
3
Restart Affinity
Select a pixel layer and choose Pixel › Filters › Plugins › Visual.af › Filter Gallery. The effect is applied to that layer, so duplicate it first with ⌘J if you want to keep it.
Frequently asked questions
Still have a question? Write to us at support@visual.af.
Does Affinity have a Filter Gallery like Photoshop?
Not built in. Affinity has filters and live filters, but no window where you browse effects as thumbnails of your own layer, like Photoshop’s Filter Gallery. Filter Gallery by Visual.af adds one: you open it from Filters › Plugins, see each of the 97 effects on your layer (including the 47 from Photoshop’s Filter Gallery), adjust it with a live preview and apply it.
Are these the same filters as in Photoshop’s Filter Gallery?
Yes. Filter Gallery includes all 47 filters from Photoshop’s Filter Gallery, in their six folders, with the same names, controls and default values, so you can follow a Photoshop tutorial in Affinity with the same steps and values. You don’t need Photoshop: the filters are made by Visual.af and run inside Affinity.
Does it work on a Mac?
Yes. Download the Mac installer (FilterGallery-Setup.pkg): it works with Affinity 3 on Macs with Apple Silicon or Intel. The installer is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens without warnings.
What if Filter Gallery doesn’t show up in Affinity?
Go to Settings › Photoshop Plugins, turn on “Allow "Unknown" plugins to be used” and restart Affinity. Also select a pixel layer before you open the Plugins menu: the filter only works on a selected pixel layer.
Which version of Affinity do I need?
Affinity 3, on Windows 10 or 11 or on a Mac.
Does it work with text, vectors or groups?
Like every filter in Affinity, it works on pixel layers. To apply an effect to text, vectors or a group, duplicate it and turn the copy into pixels first (rasterize it).
Does it create a new layer?
No. Like every filter in Affinity, the effect is applied to the selected layer. Duplicate it first with Ctrl+J (⌘J on a Mac) if you want to keep the original, or undo with Ctrl+Z (⌘Z).
On how many computers can I use the license?
On three. If you change computers, you can free one up from the window itself with your purchase email.
Does it need the internet?
Only to activate the license and check for updates. The effects are calculated on your computer and your images never leave it. Offline, the license keeps working for 14 days.
How do updates work?
When there’s a new version, the window shows a notice with an “Update” button. Affinity uses the new version the next time it starts.
Dithering is free in Filter Gallery
Dithering comes with Filter Gallery, a plugin with 97 effects in one window inside Affinity. The download is free, needs no account and includes CRT, ASCII, Dithering, Beads, Knit, Bricks, Glitch and Pixelate. A USD $12 license unlocks the other 89.