How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop

Learn how to turn your photo into a halftone dot pattern in Photoshop with this step-by-step tutorial, including how to create a black and white halftone pattern and add color!

Note : This tutorial is for Photoshop 2024 or older.

Step 1: Convert the image to black and white

First, you need to convert the photo from color to black and white.

In the Layers panel , click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon.

Then select Black and White from the list.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Add a Black and White adjustment layer.

A Black and White adjustment layer is added above the image on the Background layer.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Add a Black and White adjustment layer.

Photoshop's Layers panel showing the new adjustment layer.

And the image is instantly converted to black and white.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
The image is converted to black and white.

Step 2: Increase the contrast of the image

The halftone vignette effect works best on high contrast images. So we'll use a Levels adjustment layer to increase the contrast of our black and white image.

Still in the Layers panel, click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon again .

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon.

This time, select Levels from the list.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Add a Levels adjustment layer.

A Levels adjustment layer is added above the Black and White adjustment layer.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
The Layers panel shows the new Levels adjustment layer.

Then, in the Properties panel , use the black point (left) and white point (right) sliders below the histogram to increase the contrast.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Black point and white point sliders below the histogram in Photoshop.

Ideally the black point slider should be moved to start on the left side of the histogram and the white point slider should be moved to start on the right side of the histogram. This ensures you have true blacks in the dark areas and true whites in the light areas.

Not all images will need both sliders moved. In the example image, the histogram is already fully extended to the left, so there is no need to adjust the black point. But there is still some room to brighten by dragging the white point slider a little to the left.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Drag the white point slider to the right edge of the graph.

And now the contrast looks better.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Image after contrast adjustment.

Step 3: Add a new layer filled with 50% gray

Next, we'll add a new layer to use for the halftone effect.

Click the Add New Layer icon  at the bottom of the Layers panel.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Add a new layer.

A new blank layer is added above the Levels adjustment layer.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
New layer added to the Layers panel in Photoshop

You need to fill this new layer with 50% gray.

So with the layer selected, go to the Edit menu in the Menu bar and select Fill.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Select the Fill command from the Edit menu in Photoshop

In the Fill dialog box , set Contents to 50% Gray and click OK.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Set Contents to 50% Gray in the Fill dialog box in Photoshop

The image is temporarily hidden by a gray layer.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
The document is now grayed out.

Step 4: Convert layer to smart object

The biggest challenge when creating a halftone pattern is knowing how big the dots need to be. But you can give yourself some room to experiment by first converting the layer to a smart object.

In the Layers panel, right-click on the layer.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Right click on the layer in the Layers panel.

Then select Convert to Smart Object from the menu.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Select the Convert to Smart Object command in Photoshop.

A smart object icon appears in the lower right corner of the layer thumbnail.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Smart object icon.

Step 5: Reset Foreground and Background colors

Before continuing, press the letter D on your keyboard to reset Photoshop's Foreground and Background colors to default.

This sets the Foreground color to black and the Background color to white. We will need these colors for the filters in the next step.

The current Foreground and Background colors are displayed in thumbnails near the bottom of the toolbar. Right-click the layer in the Layers panel.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Foreground and Background colors in the toolbar.

Step 6: Open Photoshop's Filter Gallery

To create a halftone pattern, two filters are needed from Photoshop's Filter Gallery.

So go to the Filter menu and select Filter Gallery .

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Open the Filter Gallery in Photoshop.

The Filter Gallery consists of a large preview area on the left and two columns on the right. The first column is where we select the filter and the second column is where we adjust the filter settings.

Filters are divided into groups, with the Artistic group open by default. Each filter in the group is displayed as a thumbnail.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Filter groups and thumbnails in the Filter Gallery in Photoshop.

Step 7: Use the Halftone Pattern filter to add dots

Open the Sketch group. Then, click the Halftone Pattern filter to select it.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Select the Halftone Pattern filter from the Sketch group.

The filter options appear in the upper right corner. Make sure that Pattern Type is set to Dot and Contrast is set to 0 .

Then use the Size slider to set the initial size for the dots. For example, I'll set mine to 6.

Since we can't see the image in the preview area, we don't know what this size will look like until we apply the filter. But that's okay because we can go back and resize it if needed.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Halftone Filter settings in the Filter Gallery in Photoshop.

Step 8: Use the Torn Edges filter to roughen the dots

Notice in the preview area that our dots are actually just blurry squares. So we'll use the Torn Edges filter to roughen them up and make them look more rounded.

In the lower right corner of the Filter Gallery, click the plus icon to add a new filter above the Halftone Pattern filter.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Add a second filter.

Then, still in the Sketch group, select the Torn Edges filter .

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Select the Torn Edges filter in the Photoshop Filter Gallery

In the options, leave Image Balance at default (25) and reduce Contrast to 1.

Then, drag the Smoothness slider until the blurred squares start to look more rounded. The setting you need will depend on the dot size you chose in the Halftone Pattern filter.

Since the dot size in the example is set to 6, a Smoothness value of 10 would be appropriate. But just like the Size value , you can always go back and change the Smoothness value if needed.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Torn Edges filter settings in the Photoshop Filter Gallery.

The dots should now look like this.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Halftone Pattern dots with Torn Edges applied.

Step 9: Apply filters

Click OK to close the Filter Gallery and apply the two filters to the image.

The document is filled with halftone dots. We will blend the dots with the image next.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Halftone dot pattern.

In the Layers panel , notice that the Filter Gallery has been applied to the layer as a smart filter. This is because we converted the layer to a smart object before applying the filter.

The benefit of smart filters is that you can go back and edit the settings. We'll do that in a moment.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Filter Gallery smart filter.

Step 10: Change blend mode to Hard Mix

To blend the dots with the image, change the layer's blend mode from Normal to Hard Mix.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Change the blend mode to Hard Mix.

The black and white image is displayed through halftone dots, but the effect is too strong.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Halftone vignette effect with blend mode set to Hard Mix

Step 11: Decrease the Fill value

To reduce the effect, reduce the Fill value of the layer.

Hard Mix is ​​one of the eight blend modes in Photoshop that behave differently when we decrease the Fill value relative to the Opacity value .

So reduce the Fill value (not the Opacity) until you are happy with the result. For example, reduce it to 70%.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Decrease the Fill value of the halftone texture layer in Photoshop

This blurs the dots in the highlights and pushes the effect more into the shadows, closer to a real halftone pattern.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Halftone effect after lowering Fill.

Step 12: Adjust the dot size

If you are not satisfied with the size of the dots, you can easily change it.

In the Layers panel , double-click the word Filter Gallery to reopen it.

Right click on the layer in the Layers panel.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Reopen the Filter Gallery smart filter.

In the right column of the Filter Gallery, the two filters we added are displayed stacked on top of each other, similar to how layers are stacked in the Layers panel .

Select the Halftone Pattern filter .

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Reselect the Halftone Pattern filter in the Filter Gallery in Photoshop.

Then drag the Size slider to select a different size. For example, we will make the dots smaller by lowering the size from 6 to 4.

Again, the value you need will depend a lot on the size of your image.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Decrease the size of the halftone dot.

After changing the dot size, you may also need to adjust the Smoothness value . So select the Torn Edges filter again.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Select the Torn Edges filter.

Since the dot size has been lowered, you will have to compensate by increasing Smoothness from 10 to 11.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Increase smoothness after reducing dot size.

Click OK to close the Filter Gallery. The halftone pattern updates with the new settings and the dots become more consistent.

At this point we have created a black and white halftone vignette effect and you can stop here.

But if you want to add color to the effect, follow the next steps.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Black and white halftone dot pattern created in Photoshop

Step 13: Add a Solid Color adjustment layer

To add color to the halftone pattern, we'll use a Solid Color adjustment layer.

Make sure the halftone pattern layer (top layer) is active in the Layers panel.

Then go to the Layer menu in the Menu Bar, select New Fill Layer then Solid Color.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Add Solid Color fill layer in Photoshop

Step 14: Set blend mode to Color

In the New Layer dialog box , change the Mode (blend mode) from Normal to Color. Then click OK.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Set the layer blend mode to Color.

Step 15: Select a color from the Color Picker

Select a color from Photoshop's Color Picker.

Since we set the blend mode to Color in the previous step, you will see a live preview of how the color will look with the effect.

Click OK to close the Color Picker when you are finished.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Select a color for the halftone effect.

Step 16: Try blend mode Screen

For a different look to the color effect, try changing the blend mode of the fill layer from Color to Screen.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Change blend mode to Screen.

Blend mode Screen uses color to brighten the image and create a lower contrast effect, especially if you choose a bright color in the Color Picker.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Halftone color vignette effect with blend mode set to Screen

If the color is too bright and the effect looks too pale or flat, double-click the fill layer's color swatch in the Layers panel.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Double click on the color swatch.

Then, select the darker version of the color in the Color Picker.

Or choose a completely different color like the example doing here.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Select a new color for the halftone pattern from the Color Picker.

Click OK when you are finished to close the Color Picker.

And here is the final result.

How to create halftone dot pattern in Photoshop
Halftone dot pattern created in Photoshop.

And that's it! That's an easy way to create a halftone dot texture effect in Photoshop.

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