Comic book & pop art halftone effect
Give any photo a Roy Lichtenstein-style comic or pop art look with bold Ben-Day halftone dots in color or black and white. Free, instant, no watermark.
Tone: contrast, dot gain, min / max dot
Comic & pop art halftones: what to know
Vintage comic books printed flat colors with Ben-Day dots — evenly spaced dots of cyan, magenta and yellow that mixed into skin tones and skies on cheap newsprint. Pop artists like Roy Lichtenstein blew those dots up to canvas size, and the look has been shorthand for "comic" ever since.
This page starts in CMYK with large 18 px dots and a contrast boost, which gives bold, visible color dots. For a black-and-white manga screentone look, switch Mode to Single color and try 8–12 px dots at 45°. Add a little positive dot gain for heavier, inkier shadows.
Export a PNG for social posts and posters, or SVG for print and merch where you need the dots to stay sharp at any size.
CMYK pop art
ScreentoneRecommended settings
- Large cells (16–28 px) read as pop art
- Contrast 1.2–1.5 for punchy flat areas
- Single color + 45° for manga screentone
- Positive dot gain for inky shadows
How to make a halftone
- Add an image. Click Upload image, drag a file onto the preview or paste with Ctrl/⌘+V. Photos, logos and gradients all work; transparent PNGs keep their transparency.
- Choose shape and size. Pick dot, line, square, diamond or cross, then set the cell size (dot spacing) and screen angle — or switch to CMYK for four color separations.
- Tune the tones. Open Tone to adjust contrast, dot gain and the minimum and maximum printable dot for screen printing, DTF or engraving.
- Download. Choose the output width and click Download PNG, or SVG for vector dots. Tick Transparent background to export only the ink.
FAQ
How do I make a halftone for comic & pop art?
Vintage comic books printed flat colors with Ben-Day dots — evenly spaced dots of cyan, magenta and yellow that mixed into skin tones and skies on cheap newsprint. Pop artists like Roy Lichtenstein blew those dots up to canvas size, and the look has been shorthand for "comic" ever since.
Can I export a vector SVG halftone?
Yes. Click SVG to download every dot, line, square, diamond or cross as a vector path. Each ink is a single compound path in a rotated group, so it opens cleanly in Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity Designer, Figma, Cricut Design Space and LightBurn.
What cell size should I use?
Cell size is the distance between dots in pixels. At 300 DPI output, cell size = 300 ÷ LPI: 6–7 px is about 45–50 LPI (screen printing on 230 mesh), 10 px is 30 LPI, and 16 px and up gives a bold pop-art look.
What are the standard CMYK halftone angles?
Cyan 15°, magenta 75°, yellow 0° and black 45°. The three strong inks are 30° apart, which produces a small rosette instead of a visible moiré; yellow is placed on the remaining angle because its moiré is the least noticeable.