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Add Noise to Image

Add film grain or digital noise to an image.

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Drop an image here, or click to choose one

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Quick Tool Overview

Add Noise to Image puts grain back into images that are too clean — either for character, or to break up the visible banding that 8-bit gradients produce on cheap screens. Grain size, colour and whether it concentrates in the shadows are all separate controls, which is what separates film grain from digital noise.

What it does
Adds film grain or digital noise
You give it
An image and a noise amount
You get back
The image with grain applied
Best for
De-banding gradients and adding film character
Image Tools Free, unlimited use No sign-up Runs in your browser

About the Add Noise to Image

Adding noise deliberately sounds backwards until you have seen a gradient band on a cheap screen. A little noise breaks up the flat steps that 8-bit colour produces, and the result reads as smoother than the clean version it came from.

The other reason is character. Digital images are clean in a way film never was, and a small amount of grain restores some of that texture. The controls that matter are the amount, the size of the grain, whether it is monochrome or coloured, and — the one most tools leave out — whether it falls evenly or concentrates in the shadows, which is where real film grain lives.

Key features of the Add Noise to Image

Fixes gradient banding

A few percent of noise dithers the visible steps in skies and flat backgrounds, and reads as smoother than the clean version.

Film or digital

Clumped, midtone-weighted monochrome grain, or even per-pixel coloured noise — they look nothing alike.

Shadow weighting

Real grain is strongest in the midtones and shadows, and that distribution is available rather than assumed flat.

Adjustable grain size

One pixel reads as sensor noise; two or three reads as film stock.

Warns about file size

Noise is exactly what lossy compression handles worst, and the page says to add it last.

How to use the Add Noise to Image

  1. 1

    Load the image

    Photos, gradients and flat graphics all take grain differently.

  2. 2

    Set the amount

    Under 10 percent for de-banding; 15 to 30 for a visible film look.

  3. 3

    Choose the grain size

    One pixel is digital noise; two or three reads as film.

  4. 4

    Weight it to the shadows

    Real grain is strongest in the midtones and shadows, not in the highlights.

Frequently asked questions

To break up banding in gradients, which is the visible stepping you get in skies and flat backgrounds on 8-bit displays. A little noise dithers those steps and reads as smoother.

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