Dither shader preview: Liquid shapes through a strict palette, in crisp ordered dither.
ittybitty

Dither

Liquid shapes through a strict palette, in crisp ordered dither.

Code

The usage always matches the preview, layers and performance settings included. No build step or package.

Copy embed gives one block to paste into any page or site builder, no setup. For your own code: add dither.js, ittybitty-shader.js, runtime.js, glyphs.js, pointer.js, texture.js next to this page. Highlighted values follow the controls.

<!-- Quickest: one element. Size it with CSS; it fills its box. -->
<script type="module" src="./ittybitty-shader.js"></script>
<ittybitty-shader effect="dither" style="width: 100%; height: 480px; image-rendering: pixelated"></ittybitty-shader>

<!-- Or with JavaScript, for full control: -->
<canvas id="dither" aria-hidden="true" style="width: 100%; height: 480px; display: block; image-rendering: pixelated"></canvas>

<script type="module">
  import { dither } from './dither.js';

  const canvas = document.getElementById('dither');
  const effect = dither(canvas, {
    showBackground: true,
    speed: 0.4,
    scale: 1,
    warp: 0.8,
    pixel: 3,
    levels: 4,
    pattern: 'bayer',
    interactive: true,
    responsiveness: 0.5,
    palette: [[0, '#15131f'], [0.4, '#3d2c8d'], [0.75, '#e0607e'], [1, '#fbe3c4']],
    // Performance
    dpr: 2,
    adaptive: true,
  });

  // Later: effect.set(…), effect.pause(), effect.resume(), effect.destroy()
</script>

Details

Soft, flowing shapes quantised to a handful of tones and dithered, the few-colour look of Playdate games and Obra Dinn. The field is evaluated once per dither cell rather than per pixel, so bigger pixels are also cheaper.

Payload
6.9 KB brotli for dither.js and ittybitty-shader.js and runtime.js and glyphs.js and pointer.js and texture.js, measured at build time. See the method.
Resolution
Device pixel ratio capped at 2, so dither cells stay square and sharp. The field runs once per cell.
Frame rate
Display rate.
When unseen
Stops rendering when the canvas leaves the viewport or the tab is hidden, and resumes where it left off.
Reduced motion
Shows a single still frame. Controls still update it.
Layers
Up to five effects fuse into one shader and one draw call. Filters such as dithering and halftone process the layers beneath them.
Browsers
Any browser with WebGL2: Chrome and Edge 56+, Firefox 51+, Safari 15+.
Licence
MIT. Copy it, change it, ship it.