Shade a pixel grid with beveled edges
Pixel Relief shades the edges of front-facing square cells. Highlights and shadows suggest raised tiles while the image stays in its original layout. The source colors remain the base of each cell.
Creative applications
- Raised tile studies and graphic image textures.
- Animated lighting across a still pixel grid.
Starting workflow
- Choose Pixel size so the grid reads at the final viewing size.
- Adjust Bevel to set how much of each cell becomes a sloped edge.
- Raise Depth for stronger highlights and shadows, then turn Light angle to move them between sides.
- Place Pixel Art before Pixel Relief at the same Pixel size for a palette-based relief. Use Pixel Tiles as an alternative finishing treatment when transparent gaps matter more than bevels.
Key controls
- Pixel size
Set the square grid width in output pixels. Match Pixel Art’s Pixel size when stacking to keep the cells aligned.
Default: 16 · Range: 1 to 128
- Bevel
Set the edge width as a percentage of the cell. Zero removes the bevel; larger values leave a smaller flat face.
Default: 15% · Range: 0% to 45%
- Depth
Set shading strength. Zero gives flat sampled cells. This is image-space shading, not a mesh height.
Default: 35% · Range: 0% to 100%
- Light angle
Rotate the light direction around the image: 0° lights the right side, 90° the bottom, 180° the left, and 270° the top.
Default: 315deg · Range: 0deg to 360deg
- Mix
Blend the treatment with the input. Zero restores the input exactly; use full Mix to keep the cell treatment distinct.
Default: 100% · Range: 0% to 100%
Practical tips
- Start with Pixel Art and Pixel Relief both at size 16, then compare Depth 0% with 35%.
- Animate Light angle through the shared parameter animation controls to move light around the stationary cells.
Limitations
- There is no camera movement, parallax, mesh geometry, or cast shadow between cells.
- Shading introduces colors beyond a preceding fixed palette.
- Very small cells have little space for separate beveled edges.
- Each grid effect samples its input again. A later grid effect can replace earlier outlines or bevels; start with Pixel Art followed by one finishing treatment.
