8.54. Posterize

8.54. Posterize
	8. The “Colors” Menu

This tool is designed to intelligently weigh the pixel colors of the selection or active layer and reduce the number of colors while maintaining a semblance of the original image characteristics.

8.54.1. Activating the Command

You can find this command through Colors → Posterize…

8.54.2. Options

Figure 16.246. Posterize tool options

Posterize Levels

Here, “level” means “number of colors per channel ”.

This slider and the input boxes with arrowheads allow you to set the number of levels (2-256) in each RGB channel that the tool uses to describe the active layer. The maximum total number of colors is the combination of these levels. A level to 3 will give 3³ = 27 colors.

Preview

The Preview checkbox enables the rendering of changes right on the canvas for immediate evaluation.

8.54.3. Example

Original image. The Colorcube Analysis shows a great number of colors.

Original image posterized in 3 levels. The Colorcube Analysis shows 11 colors (less than the possible number 27).