Mosaic effect

A mosaic on a partition the picture chose: small cells where there is detail, large where there is not.

Made with the Cell filterWorks in

Mosaic effect on a portrait of a woman with copper red hair, made with the Cell filter in Filter Archive (Five Inks preset)

BeforeAfter

Cell breaks your photo into tiles that follow its detail: small cells on the face, large ones on a plain background. Fill them with the photo's own colour, a poster of five inks or stone-like tesserae, or show just the grid.

6presets
19settings
3apps

Same effect, different presets.

8 photos, each with its own preset. Try it on yours

Mosaic effect on a portrait of a woman in white sunglasses with a lollipop, made with the Cell filter in Filter Archive (Adaptive Mosaic preset) — Adaptive Mosaic

Mosaic effect on a portrait of a woman in a red jacket on a blue background, made with the Cell filter in Filter Archive (Subdivision preset) — Subdivision

Mosaic effect on a portrait of a woman with silver hair and blue sunglasses by the sea, made with the Cell filter in Filter Archive (Tesserae preset) — Tesserae

Mosaic effect on a portrait of a laughing woman with pink curly hair, made with the Cell filter in Filter Archive (Tesserae preset) — Tesserae

Mosaic effect on a portrait of a woman with black hair, hands on her head, made with the Cell filter in Filter Archive (Ghost Grid preset) — Ghost Grid

Mosaic effect on a wide-angle portrait of a woman looking up at the camera, made with the Cell filter in Filter Archive (Adaptive Mosaic preset) — Adaptive Mosaic

Mosaic effect on a portrait of a woman in headphones holding a CD, made with the Cell filter in Filter Archive (Five Inks preset) — Five Inks

Use the mosaic effect in Photoshop, Affinity or Figma.

One licence covers all three: $9.99 a month or $59.99 once. See pricing

Photoshop

Open Filter Archive from the Plugins menu, pick Cell and press Apply. The result lands on a new layer above your original.

Mac & Windows · Photoshop 2024+

Affinity

Choose Filters, Plugins, Filter Archive on a pixel layer, pick Cell and apply it to that layer.

Mac & Windows · Affinity 3

Figma

Select an image, frame or shape, run Filter Archive and apply Cell as a new layer or in place.

Figma Community

Settings worth touching.

Smallest CellPartition: The smallest a tile can get, where the picture has the most detail.
Largest CellPartition: The biggest a tile can get. The gap between the two sets how varied the mosaic is.
FlattenCells: Below 1, the photo shows through its own tiles.

Plus 16 more in the panel, all editable after you pick a preset.

Mosaic Effect questions.

What is a mosaic effect?

A mosaic effect rebuilds a picture from tiles of flat colour. An adaptive mosaic uses smaller tiles where the image is detailed, so faces stay readable while backgrounds break into big blocks.

How do I make a mosaic effect in Photoshop?

Open Filter Archive from the Plugins menu and choose Cell. Start from a preset such as Adaptive Mosaic or Subdivision, adjust the settings while the preview updates, then press Apply. The result goes on a new layer and your original stays untouched.

Can I use it in Affinity or Figma?

Yes. The same Cell filter runs in Affinity 3 on Mac and Windows, from Filters, then Plugins, then Filter Archive on a pixel layer, and in Figma on an image, frame or shape. One licence covers Photoshop, Affinity and Figma.

Which presets come with Cell?

6 presets: Adaptive Mosaic, Subdivision, Five Inks, Partition Only, Tesserae and Ghost Grid. Every setting stays editable after you pick one, and you can save a stack of filters to use again.