dithering
A technique used in {computer graphics} to create additional
colors and shades from an existing {palette} by interspersing
{pixel}s of different colours. On a {monochrome} display,
areas of grey are created by varying the proportion of black
and white pixels. In color displays, colors and textures are
created by varying the proportions of existing colors. The
different colours can either be distributed randomly or
regularly. The higher the {resolution} of the display, the
smoother the dithered colour will appear to the eye.
Dithering is used to create patterns for use as backgrounds,
fills and shading, as well as for creating {halftones} for
printing. It is also used in {anti-aliasing} in order to make
jagged lines appear smoother on screen.
(1994-11-02)