Gradient & dithering
Dithering#
Dithering blends two colours by interleaving them in a pattern — the classic way to fake extra shades in a limited palette. When a dither pattern is active, the Pencil, Fill and Gradient tools paint with it instead of a flat colour.
Set the pattern in the Tool rail ▸ Extra section:
| Pattern | Look | |
|---|---|---|
| No dither | Flat colour (default). | |
| Bayer 2×2 / 4×4 / 8×8 | Ordered dithering, increasing smoothness. | |
| Checker | 50 % checkerboard. | |
| **Hatch — / \ | / /** | Directional line hatching. |
| Dots | Sparse dot stipple. | |
| Custom | Your own pattern — capture it with Edit ▸ Pattern From Selection or the Pattern From Selection button. |
The dither mixes the foreground and background colours. Swap them with the ⇄ button in the Colour panel.
Gradient tool#
The Gradient tool fills a linear or radial ramp between two colours.
- Select the Gradient tool (enable it via Edit Tools if hidden).
- In the Extra section choose LIN (linear) or RAD (radial).
- Drag on the canvas — from the start colour to the end colour. Release to commit.
Options#
- **Gradient FG → BG*— ramp from foreground to background. **Gradient Swap*reverses it.
- **Dither*— the gradient is dithered to the active pattern so it stays within your palette instead of producing new in-between colours.
- **Connected*— the ramp endpoints join for a smooth cyclic gradient.
- **Fill in selection*— the gradient is clipped to the active selection.
- **Live preview while dragging*— see the ramp update as you drag (Settings ▸ Tools). It is debounced, so there is no lag on release.
For clean pixel-art gradients, dither to Bayer 4×4 with a two- or three-colour ramp, then hand-clean the banding afterwards. A raw un-dithered gradient will introduce dozens of new colours.