Apply MacPaint to images and videos online
Recreate classic Macintosh 1-bit graphics with the original MacPaint fill patterns. Dither photos and videos into bitmap art with ink, paper, and hard edges. Free, in the browser. Also known as: 1-bit bitmap, pattern dither, Macintosh FatBits, Photoshop Bitmap mode
Before
After
Ideas for using the effect
Classic Mac screens
Rebuild the look of MacPaint, HyperCard, and early System 1 windows — white paper, black ink, and the original 8×8 fills.
1-bit portraits and posters
Push contrast and pick a short ramp so faces and type read as hard bitmap, the way early desktop publishing printed.
Print and zine texture
Use the original QuickDraw patterns as a tone screen for flyers, album art, and xerox-style layouts.
Hard-edged motion
Apply MacPaint to video for a locked 1-bit look that holds on every frame — title cards, music videos, and retro UI.
Made with this effect
More inspiration on Instagram @effect_app
Use MacPaint in Photoshop, Figma or on your desktop
One account, the same effect everywhere.
In Photoshop
Apply it to a layer in Photoshop 2022 and later, on macOS or Windows. The plugin renders on your own GPU and hands the result back as pixels on a new layer.
get the Photoshop plugin →In Figma
Run it on images and frames without leaving the canvas. The Figma plugin is this same editor, pointed at whatever you have selected.
get the Figma plugin →On desktop
Install the macOS or Windows app when you want a window of its own, with your account and your presets already there.
download the desktop app →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the MacPaint effect?
MacPaint turns an image into a 1-bit bitmap using the original Macintosh fill patterns. Each cell picks the enabled pattern whose ink density is closest to the tone it needs, then draws in ink on paper.
Are these the real MacPaint patterns?
Yes. The 38 swatches are the System 1 / MacPaint PAT# fills, in QuickDraw byte order, sorted by ink density so the grid reads as the ramp it drives.
How do the pattern swatches work?
Each enabled swatch is a band on the tone ramp. Switch one off and that density disappears; the shader assigns every cell the remaining pattern nearest the coverage it needs. At least one pattern stays on, or the picture would render as blank paper.
How is this different from Dither or Halftone?
What does Bitmap width control?
It sets how many cells fit along the longer side of the image, so the look stays the same at any resolution. Lower values give chunkier FatBits; higher values approach a fine screen.
What do the edge modes do?
Off leaves the ramp alone. Ink stamps a hard 1-bit contour over the finished bits, the way MacPaint outlined. Shade darkens the tone before quantizing, so denser patterns crowd the contour and the picture stays density-true.
Does MacPaint work on videos?
Yes. It runs in real time on images and video, so footage keeps the same bitmap grid frame by frame.
Can I combine MacPaint with other effects?
Yes. It pairs well with Dither or ASCII for other discrete rebuilds, Halftone or Risograph for print texture, and CRT Screen for an early-computer stack.
Is there a MacPaint effect for Photoshop?
Photoshop Bitmap mode can pattern-dither a flattened copy, and you lose color and the rest of the stack. The Photoshop plugin applies MacPaint to a normal RGB layer in Photoshop.