Pikselöimiseen

Pikselöimiseen, also known as pixelation or dithering in English, is a digital graphics technique used to reduce the number of colors in an image or to simulate more colors than are actually available. This is typically achieved by strategically arranging pixels of available colors to create the illusion of intermediate shades.

The primary purpose of pikselöimiseen is to reduce the file size of an image, especially in older computing environments with limited memory and storage. By using fewer colors, less data is needed to represent the image, making it load faster and consume less bandwidth. It was a common practice in early video games and on the web for these reasons.

Another application of pikselöimiseen is to create specific artistic effects. The deliberate use of visible pixels can evoke a retro or lo-fi aesthetic, reminiscent of early digital art and pixel art. This style is still popular in certain genres of video games and graphic design.

The process involves analyzing the original image and determining which colors can be used to best represent the gradients and details. Algorithms then decide how to arrange these colors in a pattern, often a repeating or ordered dither pattern, to create the visual approximation of the missing colors. Different dithering algorithms exist, each producing a slightly different visual outcome, such as ordered dithering, error diffusion, and random dithering. The effectiveness of pikselöimiseen depends on the image content, the chosen color palette, and the dithering algorithm used.