What is posterizing?

Posterizing cuts the number of tones in each color channel, so smooth gradients turn into flat bands of color. The look comes from screen printed posters, where every color needs its own ink and printers kept the count low. With 4 levels per channel, a photo keeps at most 64 colors. Shadows go flat, skies split into stripes, and faces turn into a few bold patches.

Tool description

Open an image and drag the Levels slider. Fewer levels give a harsher pop art look, more levels keep the photo closer to the original with visible banding. The preview updates as you drag, and the before and after slider shows exactly what changed. Download the result as PNG, JPG, or WebP at the original size.

Features

  • One setting: the number of tones left in each color channel
  • Live preview with a before and after comparison
  • Keeps transparency in PNG and WebP images
  • Runs in your browser, so your images never leave your device

How it works

Each color channel has 256 values. The tool splits them into equal ranges, one per level, and gives every value in a range the same tone. The tones are spaced evenly from black to full color, so 4 levels give 0, 85, 170, and 255. Red, green, and blue are posterized on their own, which is why colors drift toward strong primaries at low levels.

Tips

  • Try 2 or 3 levels for a bold, graphic look, and 5 to 8 for a softer retro print.
  • Noisy photos break into speckles at low levels. A smooth, well lit photo gives cleaner color areas.
  • Save as PNG to keep the flat areas crisp. JPG adds blotchy artifacts around the sharp color edges.