Stacking Effects
Each effect works alone. Combined, they do more. Here's what works and in what order.
Order Matters
Structural effects first, posterizing effects last, optical effects on top.
- Block Jitter (structural)
- Pixel Sort (structural)
- Vertical Melt (structural)
- Luma Stretch (motion)
- RGB Shift (channel)
- ASCII Art / 1-Bit Dither (posterize — destroys color depth, so run late)
- CRT (optical — simulates a screen, so run last)
Structural effects move pixels. Color effects separate channels. Posterizing effects collapse the palette. Optical effects sit on top like a lens. If you ASCII first then RGB shift, the characters get split into RGB — usually a mess. If you CRT first then pixel sort, you sort the scanlines too.
Combinations That Work
Vaporwave
- Pixel Sort (vertical, medium)
- RGB Shift (horizontal, subtle)
- Dreamy, melting, color-fringed
Broadcast Error
- Block Jitter (medium blocks, low probability)
- RGB Shift (aggressive horizontal)
- CRT (medium scanline, low bloom)
- Broken TV from childhood
Speed Demon
- Luma Stretch (horizontal, high)
- RGB Shift (same direction, subtle)
- Subject breaking the sound barrier
Digital Decay
- Block Jitter (small blocks, high probability)
- Pixel Sort (same direction)
- Luma Stretch (subtle)
- Image decomposing
Subtle Corruption
- Block Jitter (tiny, low probability)
- RGB Shift (minimal)
- Looks almost normal. Almost.
1987 Late Night
- Vertical Melt (high threshold, only highlights drip)
- CRT (high scanline, high bloom)
- Public-access TV at 2 AM
Hacker Movie
- ASCII Art (block 8, color off, green terminal preset)
- CRT (low bloom, medium scanline)
- The shot where they zoom in on the laptop screen
Terminal Glitch
- ASCII Art (block 6, color off)
- Block Jitter (small blocks, low probability)
- RGB Shift (minimal)
- Corrupted teletext
Risograph Print
- 1-Bit Dither (Floyd–Steinberg, threshold ~140)
- RGB Shift (tiny offset for that mis-registered print look)
- The zine you'd actually buy
Rainy Window
- Vertical Melt (threshold ~150)
- RGB Shift (subtle)
- Sky bleeding into the photo, with chromatic fringe
Intensity Rules
More effects = lower individual intensity.
- One effect: 70-100%
- Two effects: 50-70% each
- Three: 30-50% each
- Four+: 20-40% each
Stacking everything at 100% makes mud.
CRT and ASCII are exceptions — they don't really have a "subtle" mode. Either you want the look or you don't. But the other effects in the stack should still come down to compensate.
By Subject
Portraits: Light pixel sort on hair/background. Subtle RGB shift. Skip or minimize block jitter on faces.
Landscapes: Horizontal pixel sort (sky melts well). Luma stretch on highlights. Light RGB shift.
Text/Logos: Block jitter for corruption. Heavy RGB shift. Skip pixel sort (kills readability).
Going Abstract: Max everything. Subject disappears. Pure texture remains.
Exploration Method
- One effect, medium intensity
- Add second effect, low intensity
- Adjust until balanced
- Add more if needed
- Save when you find something
Or Just Randomize
Random parameters. Look at result. Keep or reroll. Sometimes that's all you need.