# Styles

Source: https://www.ascii-magic.com/docs/styles (ASCII Magic documentation)

100 tiles in the style browser, covering 91 render modes. 15 modes are free, 76 need Pro.

A **style** is one render mode plus the parameters it reads. A **tile** is one entry in the browser. They are not the same count, because a mode can ship more than one tile: the ten Glass textures are all the `liquidglass` mode with a different `glassStyle` pinned. Picking a tile sets the mode and applies that tile's pinned parameters over the mode's defaults.

![A photograph of an orange and red orchid against a pale grey background](https://www.ascii-magic.com/landing-assets/docs/halftonecmyk-before.webp)

_Source_

![The same orchid redrawn as overlapping cyan, magenta and black halftone dots](https://www.ascii-magic.com/landing-assets/docs/halftonecmyk-after.webp)

_Rendered_

_CMYK Drops, in the Print and Paper category. The style replaces the image rather than filtering it: every cell is redrawn from the tone underneath it._

## The free 15

These render without an account and without a watermark, at any export size.

![A mountain range redrawn in dense coloured ASCII characters](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/characters.webp)

_Characters characters_

![A figure at a desk redrawn in mixed character sets](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/mixed.webp)

_Mixed mixed_

![A blurred portrait redrawn in block characters](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/block-chars.webp)

_Block block-chars_

![A planet redrawn as a field of dots](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/dots.webp)

_Dots dots_

![Clouds at sunset reduced to a dithered palette](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/dither.webp)

_Dither dither_

![Coral and flowers redrawn as large pixel blocks](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/pixel.webp)

_Pixel Art pixel_

![A paper plane in a hand redrawn as mosaic tiles](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/mosaic.webp)

_Mosaic mosaic_

![A skull redrawn as LEGO studs](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/lego.webp)

_LEGO lego_

![Classical columns and flowers redrawn as extruded voxel cubes](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/3d.webp)

_Voxel 3d_

![A figure redrawn as a grid of cross marks](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/cross.webp)

_Cross cross_

![A paper plane redrawn as a grid of diamonds](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/diamond.webp)

_Diamond diamond_

![A portrait redrawn as horizontal line segments](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/lines.webp)

_Lines lines_

![A figure redrawn as diagonal strokes](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/diagonal.webp)

_Diagonal diagonal_

![A portrait redrawn with saturated disco colour blocks](https://www.ascii-magic.com/app/style-thumbs/disco.webp)

_Disco disco_

_Fourteen of the fifteen have a browser thumbnail. Braille is the fifteenth: it renders at a high enough density that a thumbnail of it reads as the photograph, so there is nothing useful to show at this size._

## Every category

Ten categories, 100 tiles. Tier is per render mode, so every tile of a Pro mode is Pro.

### ASCII and Text 6 tiles

| Tile | Mode id | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Characters | `characters` | Free |
| ASCII Studio | `asciiStudio` | Pro |
| Block | `block-chars` | Free |
| Dots | `dots` | Free |
| Mixed | `mixed` | Free |
| Braille | `braille` | Free |

### Pixel and Blocks 6 tiles

| Tile | Mode id | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel Art | `pixel` | Free |
| Mosaic | `mosaic` | Free |
| LEGO | `lego` | Free |
| Voxel | `3d` | Free |
| Hex Mosaic | `hexmosaic` | Pro |
| LED Matrix | `ledmatrix` | Pro |

### Print and Paper 15 tiles

| Tile | Mode id | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Dither | `dither` | Free |
| Stippling | `stippling` | Pro |
| Risograph | `risograph` | Pro |
| Comic | `comic` | Pro |
| Sketch | `sketch` | Pro |
| Engraving | `engraving` | Pro |
| Warhol | `warhol` | Pro |
| Cyanotype | `blueprint` | Pro |
| Halftone | `halftone` | Pro |
| Woodblock | `ukiyoe` | Pro |
| Posterize | `posterize` | Pro |
| Mezzotint | `mezzotint` | Pro |
| Pointillize | `pointillize` | Pro |
| Crosshatch | `crosshatch` | Pro |
| CMYK Drops | `halftonecmyk` | Pro |

### Geometric 15 tiles

| Tile | Mode id | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Cross | `cross` | Free |
| Diamond | `diamond` | Free |
| Lines | `lines` | Free |
| Diagonal | `diagonal` | Free |
| Specimen | `specimen` | Pro |
| Low Poly | `lowpoly` | Pro |
| Droste | `droste` | Pro |
| Truchet | `truchet` | Pro |
| Iso Extrude | `isoextrude` | Pro |
| Flow Field | `flowfield` | Pro |
| Lattice | `lattice` | Pro |
| Topography | `topography` | Pro |
| Forms | `forms` | Pro |
| Schematic | `schematic` | Pro |
| Neon Grid | `neongrid` | Pro |

### Distort 8 tiles

| Tile | Mode id | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Smudge | `smudge` | Pro |
| Pinch | `pinch` | Pro |
| Spherize | `spherize` | Pro |
| Twirl | `twirl` | Pro |
| ZigZag | `ripple` | Pro |
| Ripple | `zigzag` | Pro |
| Polar | `polar` | Pro |
| Shear | `shear` | Pro |

### Blur and Focus 4 tiles

| Tile | Mode id | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Motion Blur | `motionblur` | Pro |
| Tilt-Shift | `tiltshift` | Pro |
| Gaussian Blur | `gaussianblur` | Pro |
| Radial Blur | `radialblur` | Pro |

### Glitch and Signal 10 tiles

| Tile | Mode id | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| CRT Screen | `crt` | Pro |
| Pixel Sort | `pixelsort` | Pro |
| Forensics | `forensics` | Pro |
| Digital Distortion | `glitch` | Pro |
| Datamosh | `datamosh` | Pro |
| Lofi | `lofi` | Pro |
| RGB Split | `rgbsplit` | Pro |
| Scanline | `scanline` | Pro |
| Thermal | `thermal` | Pro |
| Beacon | `beacon` | Pro |

### Light and Colour 11 tiles

| Tile | Mode id | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Disco | `disco` | Free |
| Anaglyph 3D | `anaglyph` | Pro |
| Gradient Map | `gradientmap` | Pro |
| Prism | `prism` | Pro |
| Dreamdust | `dreamdust` | Pro |
| Light Wind | `lightwind` | Pro |
| Kaleidoscope | `starburst` | Pro |
| Warpbloom | `warpbloom` | Pro |
| Duotone | `duotone` | Pro |
| Edge Glow | `edgeglow` | Pro |
| Aberration | `lens` | Pro |

### Glass 16 tiles

| Tile | Mode id | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Frosted Glass | `frostedglass` | Pro |
| Tinted Glass | `stainedglass` | Pro |
| Shatter | `shatter` | Pro |
| Vitrine | `vitrine` | Pro |
| Glass Orb | `glassorb` | Pro |
| Fluted Glass | `flutedglass` | Pro |
| Cross Reeded | `glass-cross` on `liquidglass` | Pro |
| Hammered | `glass-hammered` on `liquidglass` | Pro |
| Diamond Glass | `glass-diamond` on `liquidglass` | Pro |
| Hexagon | `glass-hexagon` on `liquidglass` | Pro |
| Ripple | `glass-ripple` on `liquidglass` | Pro |
| Ice Crackle | `glass-crackle` on `liquidglass` | Pro |
| Chevron Prism | `glass-chevron` on `liquidglass` | Pro |
| Seedy Bubbles | `glass-seedy` on `liquidglass` | Pro |
| Glass Pixel | `glass-pixel` on `liquidglass` | Pro |
| Jello | `glass-jello` on `liquidglass` | Pro |

### Material and Texture 9 tiles

| Tile | Mode id | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Waves | `waves` | Pro |
| Oil Paint | `oilpaint` | Pro |
| Watercolor | `watercolor` | Pro |
| Chrome | `chrome` | Pro |
| Thin-Film | `thinfilm` | Pro |
| Marble | `marble` | Pro |
| Molten Metal | `molten` | Pro |
| Crystallize | `crystallize` | Pro |
| Emboss | `emboss` | Pro |

## Shared parameters

Every glyph and cell-grid mode reads these. The defaults are the shipped values, checked against both default blocks in the engine state.

| Parameter | Default | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| `fontSize` | 11 | 3 to 80 | Cell size in pixels. The panel calls it Font Size, Dot Size, Pixel Size or Block Size depending on the mode, but it is one value. Smaller means more cells and more detail. |
| `charSet` | `@#S08Xx+=-;:. ` | 17 presets, or custom | The tone ramp, darkest glyph first. Only the Characters mode reads it. |
| `coverage` | 100 | 0 to 100 | Does three different jobs depending on the family, see below. |
| `bgMode` | blur | blur, solid, original, none | What sits behind the glyphs. `none` keeps alpha, which only PNG preserves. |
| `bgBlur` | 8 | 0 to 60 | How hard the background is blurred. Blur mode only. |
| `brightness` | 0 | -100 to 100 | Applied to the source before the tone is mapped to glyphs, not to the finished frame. |
| `contrast` | 100 | -100 to 100 | Neutral is 0, so the shipped default of 100 is already a strong boost. Lower it before you decide a style is crushing your shadows. |
| `invert` | false | toggle | Flips the tone-to-glyph mapping, so bright areas get the dense glyph. |
| `invertImage` | false | toggle | A negative of the finished frame, applied last. Different from `invert`. |

### Coverage is not one slider

The name is shared but the behaviour is not. Three families read it three ways:

- **Colour-tile modes** (Pixel Art, LEGO, Mosaic, Voxel, Disco) skip any cell darker than the threshold, so lowering it drops the dark cells and keeps the bright ones.
- **Text and geometric modes** use a deterministic per-cell hash cull, so lowering it thins the grid evenly rather than by brightness. Deterministic matters: the same cells drop on every frame, so an animation does not shimmer.
- **Modes with no cell grid** ignore it entirely. The slider still moves, and nothing changes.

> **Note:** If a slider appears to do nothing, check which family the mode belongs to before assuming it is broken. Coverage on a glass or blur mode is the most common case.

## Character ramps

Only the Characters mode reads `charSet`. 17 presets ship, in four groups, and any string can be typed in as a custom ramp. Order matters: darkest first, and the trailing space is the lightest step, so dropping it removes the ability to render an empty cell.

| Preset | Group | Ramp |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Classic | `@#S08Xx+=-;:. ` |
| Classic ASCII | Classic | `@%#*+=-:. ` |
| Ink | Classic | `@&$%#?*+~:. ` |
| Minimal | Classic | `█▄▀ ` |
| Forensic | Classic | built from a shared constant |
| Blocks | Blocks | `█▓▒░ ` |
| Bars | Blocks | `█▇▆▅▄▃▂▁ ` |
| Quadrants | Blocks | `█▛▙▟▜▚▞▘▝ ` |
| Braille | Blocks | `⣿⣷⣦⣤⣠⣄⡄⠆⠄⠂ ` |
| Numeric | Coded | `8069453271. ` |
| Binary | Coded | `10 ` |
| Hacker | Coded | `@#10Xx*+-. ` |
| Alpha | Coded | `WMBHAXKOQwvcr:. ` |
| Dots | Glyphs | `●◕◑◔○∙·. ` |
| Geometric | Glyphs | `█◆◼▲▼◇△▽·. ` |
| Math | Glyphs | `#ΣΔΨΩ×÷+·. ` |
| Katakana | Glyphs | `ﾊﾐﾋﾂｳｼﾅﾓﾆｻﾜｵﾘｱﾎﾃﾏｹﾒｰ･ ` |

> **Note:** The Forensic ramp is special: picking that exact string switches the renderer onto a bitmap stamp path rather than drawing font text. Editing it by one character drops back to normal glyph rendering, which is the honest behaviour but can look like the preset broke.

## The dither engine

Dither is free, and it is the deepest of the free modes: 15 algorithms and 15 palettes, which is 225 combinations before you touch any other parameter.

### Algorithms

Three families, and the family matters more than the individual choice if you are exporting video.

#### Ordered (stable in animation)

| Algorithm | Id |
|---|---|
| Bayer 2×2 | `bayer2` |
| Bayer 4×4 | `bayer4` |
| Bayer 8×8 | `bayer8` |
| Bayer 16×16 | `bayer16` |
| Halftone (clustered dot) | `halftone` |
| Radial | `radial` |
| Horizontal Lines | `linesH` |
| Vertical Lines | `linesV` |
| Diagonal Lines | `linesD` |

#### Noise

| Algorithm | Id |
|---|---|
| White Noise | `whiteNoise` |
| Blue Noise | `blueNoise` |

#### Error-diffusion (organic, stills)

| Algorithm | Id |
|---|---|
| Floyd–Steinberg | `floyd` |
| Atkinson | `atkinson` |
| Stucki | `stucki` |
| Sierra Lite | `sierraLite` |

> **Warning:** Error-diffusion algorithms carry each pixel's error into its neighbours, so a tiny change in one frame moves dots across the whole image in the next. On a still that is the look you want. On video it boils. Pick an ordered algorithm for anything that moves.

### Palettes

| Palette | Id | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Mono 1-bit | `mono` | Pure black and white, no midtones. |
| Grey 2-bit (4 levels) | `grey4` | Four levels of grey. |
| Grey 3-bit (8 levels) | `grey8` | Eight levels of grey. |
| Game Boy | `gameboy` | Eight colours, one bit per channel. |
| CGA Palette 0 | `cga0` | The four-tone green of the original handheld. |
| CGA Palette 1 | `cga1` | The cyan, magenta and white of CGA mode 4. |
| Pico-8 (16) | `pico8` | The red, green and yellow alternative CGA set. |
| C64-ish (16) | `c64` | The sixteen colours of the Pico-8 fantasy console. |
| NES-ish (16) | `nes16` | Sixteen colours in the spirit of the Commodore 64. |
| 3-bit RGB (8) | `rgb3` | Sixteen colours in the spirit of the NES. |
| Cyberpunk | `cyberpunk` | Eight pure RGB corners. |
| Pastel | `pastel` | Saturated magenta and cyan against near-black. |
| Risograph | `riso` | Low-saturation, high-value tints. |
| Sepia | `sepia` | Flat risograph inks. |
| Original colours (preserve) | `original` | Warm brown monochrome. |

## Variants

Most styles ship one curated look. The free modes ship four each, Stippling ships four and Forms ships seven. A variant is a saved set of parameters for that mode, not a separate mode, so picking one and then moving a slider is normal use rather than a fight with a preset.

Over MCP the variant is an index: `variant: 0` is the first look, and the render result tells you how many that style has.

## Where a style's own parameters live

Beyond the shared set, most modes add their own panel. Those parameters are documented in the editor next to the control, because they change with the mode you are on, and a full list of every per-mode parameter would be a list of several hundred entries that goes stale on every release. Two reliable ways to read the current set for a mode:

- Open the mode in the editor. The panel under the style grid is the complete set.
- Encode a recipe and decode it. [The recipe format](https://www.ascii-magic.com/docs/recipes) carries every non-default parameter by its real key, so a decode is a machine-readable dump of what that look actually set.