# How to Use Noise, Vignette, and Pixelate in Photasium

> Add grain, darken the corners, or turn an area into blocks in the browser without uploading or creating an account. Open Noise, Vignette, or Pixelate in Photasium, set the sliders, and apply.

Noise, vignette, and pixelate

A photo that looks too smooth, a frame that should darken at the edges, or a face or a number plate you would rather hide can take grain, a darkened edge, or blocks. In Photasium that happens in the tab: the file never goes to a server.

## Grain, an edge, or blocks

Noise, Vignette, and Pixelate write into the active raster layer when you click Apply. Noise adds grain, Vignette darkens toward the corners or lightens them when Amount is negative, and Pixelate turns the area into large blocks of the average colour.

[Blur](https://photasium.com/guides/how-to-blur-and-sharpen-a-photo.md) paints a soft or sharp patch and leaves the rest of the photo where it is. [Adjustments](https://photasium.com/guides/how-to-adjust-brightness-contrast-and-saturation.md) sets brightness, contrast, saturation, and a curve, and the sliders preview on the layer. Noise, Vignette, and Pixelate wait until Apply.

## A bright corner beside the person

A story often has a bright corner or a busy edge that pulls the eye off the person. Vignette with a modest Amount and a Clear centre around the middle leaves the face and darkens the frame. A little Noise can put grain back into a photo that looks flat.

Duplicate the raster first if you want the original pixels still in the stack. [Layers](https://photasium.com/guides/how-to-use-layers.md) keeps that copy.

A listing can take a light vignette so the product sits in the middle and the table around it darkens. Keep Amount low and Clear centre wide enough that the product stays as it was. Noise at a low Amount adds grain to a smooth backdrop. Pixelate turns a code or a label on the box into blocks when that text should stay unreadable.

A screenshot, or a photo of a street, can include a name, an email, a face, or a number plate you do not want to share. Select that patch first, then Pixelate, so the blocks cover the letters and the rest of the picture stays sharp. [Blur](https://photasium.com/guides/how-to-blur-and-sharpen-a-photo.md) softens a corner with a stroke when you want that patch softer than blocks.

A scan that looks too smooth can take Noise so the page has grain again. A print can take a vignette so the edges darken and the middle stays open. Raise Clear centre if the type or the subject should stay out of the darkening.

## Noise, vignette, and pixelate in Photasium

1. **Open a photo.** Open the [editor](https://photasium.com/editor), then File → Open, or drop an image on the canvas. Select a raster layer.

2. **Choose a filter.** Open Image → Noise, Image → Vignette, or Image → Pixelate. The dialog names the filter. Noise’s hint says it adds film-like grain to the active raster layer, and a selection limits where it applies. Vignette’s hint says it darkens the corners, or lightens them with a negative amount, and with a selection it centres on the selected area. Pixelate’s hint says it turns the area into large blocks, which is handy for hiding faces or number plates. Select the area first, or the whole layer is pixelated. The photo stays as it is until you click Apply.

3. **Set the sliders.** Noise: Amount runs from 1 to 100 and starts at 20. Monochrome starts checked, so the grain is grey. Turn it off and each colour channel shifts on its own, so the grain takes on colour. Vignette: Amount runs from -100 to 100 and starts at 50. A positive amount darkens toward the corners, and a negative amount lightens them. Clear centre runs from 0 to 90 and starts at 40. A higher value leaves a wider middle as it was, and the change gathers toward the corners. Amount at 0 leaves the layer as it was. Pixelate: Block size runs from 2 to 100 and starts at 12. Each square becomes the average colour of the pixels in it. A selection replaces only the selected pixels in those squares. The opacity in a square is averaged too, so a soft edge turns into steps.

4. **Apply.** Click Apply. The filter is written into the raster and the dialog closes. Cancel, Escape, or a click outside leaves the photo as it was. Apply again runs the same filter on the pixels from that pass. Undo restores the layer to how it looked before that Apply.

If a selection is active, the filter stays inside it. Vignette centres on that area. Noise and Pixelate change the selected pixels, so select a face, a number plate, or a line of type first if the rest of the layer should stay as it was. With no selection, the filter covers the raster.

Noise, Vignette, and Pixelate need an unlocked raster layer. On a text layer or a group the Image menu items stay disabled: rasterize type from the layer menu, or select a raster inside the group. On a locked raster the menu still lists them, and choosing one reports that the layer is locked. The filter writes the photo, even if the mask thumbnail is selected. A layer mask stays as it is, so pixels hidden by the mask change underneath and show again if you turn the mask off or delete it.

## The grain, the edge, or the blocks

The filter sits on the raster you applied it to, nothing was uploaded, and undo brings the previous pixels back. If the pass is too strong, undo and lower Amount, raise Clear centre, or use a smaller block size before you apply again.

Download PNG, JPEG, or WebP if you need a file to send. Come back later and the document is still listed under the editor, until this browser’s storage is cleared. Noise, Vignette, and Pixelate sit with the other [photo editing tools](https://photasium.com/#adjustments): [blur a patch](https://photasium.com/guides/how-to-blur-and-sharpen-a-photo.md), [adjust the whole raster](https://photasium.com/guides/how-to-adjust-brightness-contrast-and-saturation.md), and [export a listing](https://photasium.com/guides/how-to-export-png-jpeg-or-webp.md).

[Open photo editor](https://photasium.com/editor)