Atkinson dotted map and 3D globe look

Atkinson

Atkinson dither, sparser than Bayer

Atkinson is Bayer's cousin, named after Bill Atkinson's Macintosh dithering algorithm. True Atkinson is error diffusion (each pixel's quantization error spreads to its neighbors). This preset gets Atkinson's clustered, blobby pixel groups from a single-pass blue-noise hash-threshold approximation instead. The result is crunchier and less regular than Bayer's even grid, with dark regions clustering tighter, which is Atkinson's defining trait. It looks closer to early HyperCard, MacPaint and System 6 graphics than Bayer does.

When to use this

  • Mac-nostalgic indie software product pages
  • Vintage computing meetup branding
  • Print-feel illustration for retrospective design articles