Image Grain
Add realistic film grain to digital photos. Choose the amount of noise, the grain size from fine single pixel speckles to soft clumps up to 8 pixels wide, and whether the grain is monochrome like black and white film or colored like high ISO color film. The grain is random looking but repeatable, so the same settings give the same result. Ideal for analog looks and hiding banding.
Frequently asked questions
What does the amount control?
Amount sets the strength of the noise from 0 to 100. The noise follows a Gaussian distribution whose standard deviation is half the amount in brightness levels, so 30 gives a typical variation of 15 levels and 100 a heavy variation of 50. At 0 the image is unchanged.
What does the grain size do?
At size 1 every pixel gets its own noise value, giving fine, sharp grain. Larger sizes up to 8 generate the noise at a lower resolution and enlarge it smoothly, which creates softer clumps similar to fast film or large prints.
What is the difference between monochrome and color grain?
Monochrome grain adds the same noise to red, green and blue, so it only changes brightness, like black and white film. Turning it off gives each channel its own noise, producing colored speckles like high ISO color film or digital sensor noise.
Is the grain different each time?
No, the noise comes from a fixed seed, so the same image and settings always give the same grain. This makes results reproducible and lets you compare settings fairly.
Can grain hide banding?
Yes, a small amount of fine grain breaks up visible steps in smooth gradients such as skies or studio backdrops. An amount of 5 to 15 at size 1 usually removes banding without looking noisy.
Why is the downloaded file larger than the original?
Noise is random detail that compresses poorly, and the result is saved as a lossless PNG. Convert it to JPEG or WebP afterwards with the Image Converter if you need a smaller file.
Does grain affect transparency?
No, the alpha channel is left as it is and only the color channels receive noise. Transparent areas stay transparent.
Which formats can I upload?
Upload JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, TIFF or AVIF images up to 5 MB. Animated files use their first frame and images larger than 4000 pixels on a side are scaled down to fit.
What settings look like real film?
For a classic 35 mm look, try an amount of 20 to 30 at size 1 or 2 with monochrome grain. For gritty, pushed film, go to 50 or more with size 2 or 3.
How is the grain generated?
Gaussian values are generated in the tool from a seeded random number generator, enlarged with cubic interpolation by the sharp library when the size is above 1, and added to every color value with clipping at 0 and 255. Because the seed is fixed, the pattern is identical for identical images and settings.