VFX Atlas
M 164 / 18307 Filters & Motionalgorithm output

Anisotropic Diffusion

filters & motion

Typeface · Jost

Atlas demonstration: the free source photo and the computed Anisotropic Diffusion. A busy city street shows pedestrians moving past a glass entrance and a red-coated doorman. The algorithm has simplified the blurred motion of the crowd into smooth color gradients while keeping the architectural text and straight lines of the doorway crisp.
Atlas demonstration: the free source photo and the computed Anisotropic Diffusion. A busy city street shows pedestrians moving past a glass entrance and a red-coated doorman. The algorithm has simplified the blurred motion of the crowd into smooth color gradients while keeping the architectural text and straight lines of the doorway crisp.Image: Boris Stefanik bstefanik · CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons), processed for the AtlasView source ↗

Prompt

Apply Anisotropic Diffusion, smoothing random grain and tiny color fluctuations within surfaces while stopping cleanly at strong contrast boundaries. Give flat regions a softly painted finish, preserve continuous tonal shading, and keep important outlines crisp without sharpening halos or exaggerated brush marks. Keep the original subject and composition.

Paste it into LetzAI with your own image to apply the effect ↗

Identify

You see a smoothed image where flat areas look painted, but important edges and outlines stay perfectly sharp.

Principle

The algorithm blurs neighboring pixels1 together to remove random noise. However, it stops blurring whenever it detects a sharp contrast boundary2.

Try it out

Vary the diffusion time to watch the photo change from slightly clean into a flat, cartoon-like picture.

Classification

Calculated image processing result.

Further examples · 9 images

Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Snow covered leaves on a branch (Unsplash)”
02 Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Snow covered leaves on a branch (Unsplash)”Autumnal leaves are partially covered by a thick layer of fresh, white snow on a branch. The transition between the organic shapes of the leaves and the snow is handled by preserving sharp jagged edges while the internal textures are flattened into pools of pure color.Sorina Bindea sorinetzu (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Coffee, Chemex, and book (Unsplash)”
03 Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Coffee, Chemex, and book (Unsplash)”A graphic novel titled 'Le Muret' rests on a table next to a coffee carafe and a small cup. The high-contrast text and the illustration's linework are preserved with total clarity, whereas the dark tabletop and coffee show a significant reduction in noise.Andrei Bocan gestaltfabrik (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Man sitting on food truck (Unsplash)”
04 Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Man sitting on food truck (Unsplash)”A street vendor takes a moment to look at his phone while sitting beside a metal food cart. The algorithm has simplified the metallic textures and fabric into oil-like planes while preserving the fine dark outlines of his profile and the cart's hardware.Gaetan Boutet lobster (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Lake in a mountain valley (Unsplash)”
05 Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Lake in a mountain valley (Unsplash)”High peaks and green valleys surround a still mountain lake under a cloudy sky. The water and grassy slopes exhibit a distinctive painterly quality, yet the jagged silhouettes of the rocky ridges are clearly defined against the soft clouds.Veri Ivanova veri_ivanova (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Nature's Bird Bath (Unsplash)”
06 Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Nature's Bird Bath (Unsplash)”A bright orange flamingo stands amidst churning water, its neck curved in a graceful arc. The bird's feathers are smoothed into a seamless velvet texture that contrasts sharply with the frozen, crystalline edges of the splashing waves.Ray Hennessy rayhennessy (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Asian food market (Unsplash)”
07 Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Asian food market (Unsplash)”A group of people are gathered under a pavilion structure at an outdoor market setting. The processed areas take on a watercolor quality, yet the vertical pillars and the figures' silhouettes remain clearly defined against the softer background.Les Anderson lesanderson (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Trendy Bakery Foods (Unsplash)”
08 Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Trendy Bakery Foods (Unsplash)”A collection of small, decorated gourmet donuts are arranged on a white tray. The algorithm has removed the fine grain of the icing and sprinkles, resulting in a series of smooth, rounded shapes that retain their distinct boundaries.Samuel Yongbo Kwon theyongbo (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Wet forest road (Unsplash)”
09 Anisotropic Diffusion, applied to “Wet forest road (Unsplash)”A narrow asphalt road winds through a dense, dark forest of evergreen trees. The road surface and the distant foliage are smoothed into painterly patches, though the overall silhouette of the treeline against the sky remains sharp.Nathan Anderson nathananderson (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Sources