Channels split. Signal lost.
Subtle chromatic aberration, full anaglyph 3D, VHS scan-band glitches, CRT scanlines. Six presets plus shift slider, direction angle, and reshuffle. Y2K aesthetic on tap. Nothing uploads. For real glitch art, learn shaders.
Add a glitch effect to a photo
Pull the red and blue channels apart for chromatic aberration, and tear or scanline the picture like a failing VHS or CRT signal.
What you can change
- Subtle
- Lens
- VHS
- Anaglyph
- CRT
- Heavy
- Channel split
- Split direction
- Torn scan bands
- CRT scanlines
How it works
- 01Drop in a photo, or open one of the samples.
- 02Pick a preset, then set how far the channels split and in which direction, and switch torn scan bands or CRT scanlines on and off.
- 03Download it at full resolution. Nothing is uploaded — the work happens in this browser tab.
Tuning the antenna…
Add a glitch effect to a photo
Pull the red and blue channels apart for chromatic aberration, and tear or scanline the picture like a failing VHS or CRT signal.
What you can change
- Subtle
- Lens
- VHS
- Anaglyph
- CRT
- Heavy
- Channel split
- Split direction
- Torn scan bands
- CRT scanlines
How it works
- 01Drop in a photo, or open one of the samples.
- 02Pick a preset, then set how far the channels split and in which direction, and switch torn scan bands or CRT scanlines on and off.
- 03Download it at full resolution. Nothing is uploaded — the work happens in this browser tab.
Tuning the antenna…
Six places broken signal beats clean
- 01 for posters
A glitchy band poster
Heavy preset — 30px shift, 45° angle, scan-band glitch on, CRT lines on. The portrait turns into a busted-signal hero shot. Print on cream stock, type the band name in serif, staple to telephone poles.
- 02 for tiktok
VHS-aesthetic clip cover
TikTok creators who run the 'lost video tape' aesthetic open every clip with a glitched still. VHS preset gives you the exact RGB-shift + scanline combo Y2K nostalgia content runs on. Drop in the cover, post the clip, watch the engagement.
- 03 for thumbnails
A YouTube thumbnail with chromatic-aberration urgency
Subtle aberration (Lens preset) on a normal portrait reads as 'this video has stakes'. Tech YouTubers, drama channels, breakdown explainers all use a hint of RGB shift on the cover image. Reads as 'edited', drives clicks.
- 04 for stories
A single-frame Instagram story that glitches
Stories live and die on the first half-second of attention. A heavy-glitch frame at the start of a story makes thumbs stop. Use Heavy or Anaglyph for max stop-power; Subtle for a 'something's off' tease.
- 05 for music
Single artwork for an electronic track
Electronic music covers run on glitch. Anaglyph preset on a portrait turns it into something that looks like it came off Soundcloud in 2014. Pair with the Halftone tool for full underground-electronic-music identity.
- 06 for film aesthetic
A Y2K-feel set of photos
The full Y2K aesthetic mixes RGB glitch + film grain + warm light leaks. Run a roll of photos through this tool with the VHS preset, then through Film Grain and Light Leak. Suddenly your phone shoot looks like 1999 home video.
Frequently asked
Does the photo upload anywhere? +
No. The pixel manipulation runs entirely in your browser. Your photo never touches our servers — we don't run an image pipeline at all.
How does RGB shifting actually work? +
We split the source photo into red, green, and blue channels. Then we shift the red channel by some pixels in one direction, blue by the opposite, and keep green steady. Where the photo is colorful, the channels separate visibly — the chromatic-aberration look. Where it's neutral grey, no visible shift.
What's the difference between Subtle and Anaglyph? +
Subtle uses a 4-pixel shift — it reads as a high-end-camera lens flaw, almost invisible until you look closely. Anaglyph uses a 22-pixel shift — like the red/blue 3D-glasses effect, blatantly visible. Lens sits in between.
What does scan-band glitch do? +
Adds horizontal random offsets to bands of pixels, simulating tracking errors on a VHS tape. Click 'Reshuffle bands' for a fresh random pattern. Pair with CRT scanlines and the result reads as a frame from a busted CRT TV.
Why does the photo look slightly blurry? +
Channel-shifting moves R and B channels, leaving G in place — so colored edges sharpen but neutral edges can soften slightly. This is the same softness real cheap-lens chromatic aberration produces. For sharper results, use less intensity.
Can I shift the channels in different directions? +
Not in v1 — R goes one way, B goes the opposite, G stays still. Direction-angle slider rotates the R/B axis. For asymmetric shifts (R one way, B another, G a third), you'd need to run the photo through this tool multiple times.
now what?
A few moves after the signal breaks
next →
Halftone Effect
Layer riso dots over the glitch for zine vibe.
Open
next →
Duotone Effect
Recolour the glitched frame in two flat tones.
Open
next →
ASCII Art
Push the broken-signal feel further into typed characters.
Open
next →
Add Text to Photo
Drop a caption in mono or display type.
Open
next →
Crop & Resize
Reframe for 9:16 stories.
Open
next →
Social Banner
Crop wide for an X or LinkedIn cover.
OpenThe rest of this shelf
Photo Filters
Eight looks plus the original — vintage to cinematic.
Open
Film Grain
Tri-X, Kodak Gold, Lomo — pick a roll, see the grain.
Open
Pencil Sketch
Photo to graphite drawing in two clicks.
Open
Tilt-Shift Effect
Make real cities look like tabletop dioramas.
Open
Light Leak
Sunset, lomo red, golden hour — bleed light into corners.
Open
Photo Negative
Film negative to photo, plus cyanotype, blueprint, X-ray, darkroom, sepia.
OpenLearn GLSL shaders.
This tool fakes the look. Real glitch artists write fragment shaders that simulate signal decay, drop frames, corrupt buffers. Look up Beeple's earlier work; check out shadertoy.