← Atlas · Topics: assets, typography-and-styles, 3d-and-shaders
Pointilliser
- Type
- tool
- Verdict
- Useful
- Licence
- Look only licence, not stated
not-statedThe tools are available in the browser and offer optional coffee support; no reuse licence or terms were stated at review. - Agent channels
- none
- Pricing
- free
- Reviewed
What it is
Pointilliser is a pair of browser-based graphics tools by designer and developer Ben Elwyn. The 2D editor turns text or an uploaded image into gradients or solid areas built from circles. The 3D editor arranges spheres around typed text and adds lighting, materials, effects, camera and animation controls.
When to open it
- When lettering should feel tactile, granular or sculpted instead of using a conventional text fill.
- When you want to explore how point size, scatter, density and colour change a typographic image.
- When a text treatment needs a dimensional or animated version as well as a flat graphic.
Most useful
- Pointilliser 2D: set canvas ratio and size, choose text or image input, then adjust font, gradient or solid fill, grain, colours, draw order, point size, variation, scatter and render precision. Export a PNG.
- Pointilliser 3D: shape text from spheres, with separate panels for text, structure, materials, lighting and effects. The creator's project page describes sequencing animations; credit Ben Elwyn when sharing that animation workflow.
- Visual direction: both editors use a black workspace and compact white controls alongside a large preview. The 2D example renders serif lettering as small, shaded spheres over a soft grainy gradient, making material and depth legible even in a flat canvas.
- The creator's project page includes further examples and links to both tools.
Using it with agents
There is no published MCP, API, CLI, llms.txt or agent guide. Open the 2D or 3D editor in a browser, export an image, then provide that file to your agent.
Watch out for
- The public 2D editor exposes PNG export. The creator's project page describes 3D animation sequencing, but the live editor did not make an animation export option clear.
- No price or licence terms were stated on the tool pages at review. Do not assume the generated artwork or the site code is open for reuse.
- The 3D preview may take time to initialize; its controls can appear before the scene is ready.
Reusable ideas
- Keep the parameter panel visually quiet and let a large, high-contrast preview demonstrate what each control changes.
- Reuse one visual technique across 2D and 3D versions, while giving each editor controls that fit its output.
- Treat font, point distribution, lighting and camera as connected parts of a typographic effect rather than unrelated decoration.