VFX Atlas
M 143 / 18306 Space & Opticsalgorithm output

Frosted Glass

space & optics

Typeface · Glass Antiqua

Atlas demonstration: the free source photo and the computed Frosted Glass. A young child in a white shirt and cap sits against a vibrant turquoise wall. The light scatters across the image in a granular fashion, making the subject appear as if viewed through a decorative textured pane.
Atlas demonstration: the free source photo and the computed Frosted Glass. A young child in a white shirt and cap sits against a vibrant turquoise wall. The light scatters across the image in a granular fashion, making the subject appear as if viewed through a decorative textured pane.Image: Christian Gertenbach kc_gertenbach · CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons), processed for the AtlasView source ↗

Prompt

Apply Frosted Glass to make the photograph appear viewed through a rough, translucent pane. Scatter nearby details into fine granular distortions, soften edges, mute contrast, and diffuse highlights into cloudy patches while retaining the existing color palette. Avoid sharp reflections or opaque frosting. Preserve the original subject and composition.

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

Identify

You see a blurry, scattered image that looks like light passing through a rough, semi-transparent pane of glass.

Principle

The algorithm adds random noise to pixel coordinates1 before applying a blur filter2. This randomly displaces nearby pixels, mimicking how a textured surface scatters light rays.

Try it out

Adjust the noise intensity to see the glass change from slightly misted to heavily textured.

Classification

Calculated image processing result.

Further examples · 9 images

Frosted Glass, applied to “Flaunter - Interior (Unsplash)”
02 Frosted Glass, applied to “Flaunter - Interior (Unsplash)”This interior scene features floral arrangements set against a classic room with framed pictures. The fine, random displacement of colors creates a distinctive pebbled texture that obscures sharp details.Flaunter .com flaunter (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Frosted Glass, applied to “Happy dog at Anjuna Beach (Unsplash)”
03 Frosted Glass, applied to “Happy dog at Anjuna Beach (Unsplash)”A portrait of a smiling dog is captured in warm, bright lighting. The stippled distortion creates a soft, diffused look where individual pixels are scattered into a rough, translucent pattern.Samantha Scholl sauriel (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Frosted Glass, applied to “Bridge Nightfall City Skyline (Unsplash)”
04 Frosted Glass, applied to “Bridge Nightfall City Skyline (Unsplash)”A city bridge is illuminated at night, casting reflections across the water below. The pointillist-like scattering of the light sources perfectly mimics the effect of a rough glass surface.Will Langenberg wlangenberg (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Frosted Glass, applied to “Misty forest creek (Unsplash)”
05 Frosted Glass, applied to “Misty forest creek (Unsplash)”A misty forest path is lined with dark, vertical tree trunks. The grainy, semi-transparent overlay gives the impression of looking through a bathroom window at a rainy outdoor landscape.Alex Iby ibydesigns (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Frosted Glass, applied to “Vegetable Market 1 (Unsplash)”
06 Frosted Glass, applied to “Vegetable Market 1 (Unsplash)”Close-up greenery and a pink flower are shown in a garden setting. The heavy noise and blur filters combine to transform the organic shapes into a painterly, scattered mosaic of light.Peter Feghali peterf (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Frosted Glass, applied to “Fish Market (Unsplash)”
07 Frosted Glass, applied to “Fish Market (Unsplash)”This image depicts a close-up of a textured fabric or patterned surface. The computational manipulation is highly evident, scattering the fine details into a grainy, refractive mosaic that perfectly mimics textured glass.chuttersnap chuttersnap (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Frosted Glass, applied to “Monochrome parrot macro (Unsplash)”
08 Frosted Glass, applied to “Monochrome parrot macro (Unsplash)”The portrait captures the profile of a parrot in monochrome. The displacement of pixels creates a distinct stippled appearance that obscures the bird's feathers as if viewed through a heavy crystalline filter.Dawn Armfield darmfield (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Frosted Glass, applied to “Close-up on a skewbald horse (Unsplash)”
09 Frosted Glass, applied to “Close-up on a skewbald horse (Unsplash)”A close-up view shows the head and mane of a horse in an outdoor setting. The light rays appear scattered across the fur and background, creating a quintessential pebbled surface distortion.Ivan Bertona ibrt (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Sources