For those who don’t know the tool: Dither Boy is a standalone dithering app that sits alongside Photoshop, Affinity Photo, and even MS Paint, and exports PNG, SVG, JPEG, and MP4. It also lives alongside sibling tool Flareware.

A rewrite, not a patch

Dither Boy version 6 is a complete rewrite of the app. Every part of the software got redone, changed, or optimized, including areas that behave similarly to earlier versions. The update targets faster iteration in the viewport. Algorithm browsing can now be stepped through with arrow controls, and common tweaks like brightness, contrast, saturation, midtones, and highlights are designed to update faster while you work. Blur and the D noiseise control can take longer to refresh because they are heavier effects combined with the rest of the stack.

There is also a new playback and update behavior control at the bottom of the viewport with three modes labeled full, live, and still. In a debounce style mode, the viewport waits until you stop moving a slider before it updates, which aims to help on older machines or when other heavy apps are open. That setting also appears in the settings area.

Updating and support without spelunking

Version 6 introduces a new update path tied to a web account. Signing into the website account and opening orders reveals a refresh software button that checks whether download links have been updated, then provides the new link when a newer version exists. The older update flow still exists inside the app. The help menu includes check for updates, which asks for your info to retrieve the update.

Color workflows move into the app

Version 6 expands the palette system with a source palette category intended to keep the colours of the original image closer to the output. Multiple options exist inside that category, and a complete option is presented as a strong starting point for retaining source colours.

Once you start from those source colours, the palette remains editable. Individual swatches can be adjusted,d and the image remaps live while you work. The broader palette system still includes importing and exporting palettes and allows editing colour depth and other related controls.

Controls previously handled in a companion palette app named Color Cat have been migrated into the main app interface in version 6. The companion tool may return in the future. // Not independently verified at press time.

There is also a quality-of-life feature for palette shuffling. Each swatch has a lock toggle. When you lock a color, then shuffle, that locked swatch stays while the rest randomize. The same lock and randomize idea applies to adjustments. You can lock an adjustment and randomize others.

Effects become a stack you can reorder

The effects workflow in version 6 shifts from a set of toggles to an add system. A plus control adds an effect by choosing it, rather than enabling everything at once. The stack is reorderable. Effects can be moved up or down in the pipeline and the viewport updates to reflect the new order. This ordering also interacts with animation.

Named effects called out for stacking include Epsilon Glow, JPEG Glitch, and Chromatic Aberration. Blur and sharpen are also described as post processing effects within the stack. The official product description states the app includes 63 dithering algorithms and supports stacking and reordering effects. Marketing claims appear in official copy around exclusivity and uniqueness of algorithms. Treat those as marketing claims, not measurable guarantees.

Animation arrives without needing a video file

Version 6 adds animation inside the app. You can animate from a still image without importing a video file, while video import remains supported. There are two ways to switch a still workflow into animation mode. One is a file menu option called convert to animation. The other is a still toggle near the bottom controls that switches you into animation mode. In animation mode, a timeline appears at the bottom of the interface.

Playback offers a quick mode and a rendered mode. Rendered mode loads frames for accurate playback and can display a settings changed warning because frames need to be prepared. Playback can also be set to looped. Animation is created by adding an animation layer, then selecting a category and property to animate. Adjustments are one such category, including brightness. An animation layer defines a from value and a to value, and offers ease methods including ease in, ease out, and linear. Multiple animation layers can be sequenced on the timeline to build a loop.

When a property is animated, the matching control becomes locked in the panel to prevent manual edits from fighting the animation. Exporting an animation is handled through an export video action, which processes frames and renders a video from the animated still image plus the active settings and effects stack.

Temporal Variation and better video handling

Version 6 introduces a new animated effect called temporal variation. It applies animated noise patterns to the input image, and nine controllable patterns are described. This effect is positioned as inspired by retro screens. Live video playback and preview are also added to the app in the 6.0 update as a free update.

Pricing and licensing

Pricing for Dither Boy is listed at £45.00 on the official product page, with an original price shown as £60.00. Delivery is an instant download access after checkout, also it is just one purchase that includes all future updates and no subscription is required.

If you ship animations or shortform clips, run a quick test suite before you commit. Try your typical content, your typical resolution, and your typical export formats, then review the results in the exact viewers and encoders your pipeline uses. That kind of boring discipline saves you from exciting surprises in prodcution.

https://studioaaa.com/product/dither-boy/

The post Dither Boy 6.0 brings animation and video polish first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.