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Quantize

Print: bitmap quantization, ordered dithering

Quantize example 1
Quantize model comparison 2
Quantize model comparison 3
Quantize model comparison 4

The prompt

{subject}, sub-pixel bitmap quantization — every edge, corner and contour snapped to a visible fine micro-grid so the subject reads as engineered machined resolution, not drawn ornament and not a retro game sprite; tiny crisp quantized bitmap cells of varying density build the form like a precision halftone, curves stepped into hard pixel staircases, tonal shading rendered as discrete stepped ordered-dither bands, hairline alignment tick-marks measuring the planes, {palette}, restrained near-monochrome with one precise signal accent used like a calibration mark, instrument-grade clarity, clean and crisp, full-frame edge to edge

Techniques
bitmap quantization, ordered dithering

bitmap, quantization, micro grid, ordered dither, monochrome

Slot recipes

How the prompt changes for each kind of picture.

  • Hero: {subject} as a wide full-bleed composition, sub-pixel bitmap quantization with stepped contour banding across the whole frame, one signal-orange accent district and a thin cyan calibration line, machined instrument-grade clarity, no text, full-frame edge to edge
  • Feature: {subject} centered mid-shot, quantized bitmap cells of varying density building the form, hairline alignment tick-marks, near-monochrome with a single signal-orange accent, crisp and clean, full-frame no whitespace
  • Avatar: tight head-and-shoulders {subject}, face and edges snapped to a visible micro-grid, stepped ordered-dither shading, signal-orange accent on the eyes and a thin cyan calibration tick, instrument-grade portrait, full-frame square
  • Empty state: a single small {subject} far from the viewer, mostly quiet graphite field with a faint quantized micro-grid and one cyan calibration tick, restrained and calm, no text, full-frame
  • Illustration: {subject} rendered as a precision halftone of tiny quantized bitmap cells, curves stepped into pixel staircases, ordered-dither tonal banding, one signal-orange accent band, machined low-res-overlay clarity, full-frame edge to edge

Guidance

Do

  • Snap every edge, corner and tick-mark to a single visible micro-grid so detail reads as engineered resolution.
  • Shade with discrete stepped ordered-dither bands, never smooth gradients.
  • Keep it near-monochrome (graphite + white) and spend the accent like a calibration mark.
  • Use one signal-orange accent and one thin cyan calibration tick to register precision.
  • Let the technique dress any subject — a face, a city, a teapot, a landscape — identically.

Don’t

  • Don't drift into nostalgic 8-bit game art, arcade sprites, or pixel-game characters.
  • Don't anti-alias edges into softness or use painterly brushwork.
  • Don't let the accent colors flood the frame — they are highlighter-thin marks.
  • Don't render smooth glossy 3D surfaces; the grid must stay visible on every curve.
  • Don't bake a subject domain into the look; the quantization is the whole style.

In the lineage of

  • Early bitmap screen graphics, tradition. pixel-grid quantisation

A generated style is an aggregate of many influences. Credit goes to the artists and traditions it draws on; it is not a claim of authorship.

Produced by unrecorded, sourced by unrecorded, images by unrecorded

Remix with this style

Apply Quantize to any UI language and swap the palette: the preview takes this style's hero image.