The glitch effect: slices, offset and RGB shift explained
What a glitch effect actually does to an image, what the three controls change, the companion effects that complete the look, where it works and where it ruins the picture, and the one-click tool with a live example.
Beginner3 min readUpdated 27 September 2026Glitch tool · Effects
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What each control does
| Control | Range | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Offset | 10 to 100 | How far the shifted strips move. Low values give a subtle tear at the edges; high values throw strips across the frame. |
| Slice height | 5 to 100 | How tall each strip is. Thin strips look like interference; tall strips look like a frozen frame. |
| Randomize | 0 to 1000 | Which strips move and by how much. Scrub it until the tears land somewhere that helps the picture, usually away from the eyes. |
Finish the look
- RGB Shift separates the red, green and blue channels by a few pixels, the colour fringe every real glitch has. Keep it small; it doubles the edges of everything.
- Scanlines or CRT put the image on an old screen. One or the other, not both.
- Pixel Sort smears bright or dark runs into streaks, the heavier datamosh look.
- Noise at low opacity ties the layers together.
Each of these is a live filter layer in the Editor, so the order and the opacity stay adjustable. Distortion effects has every setting.
Where it works, and where it does not
Glitch reads best on faces, on type and on clean product shots, because the eye needs something intact to measure the damage against. It works for music artwork, event posters, gaming and tech thumbnails. It ruins small text, busy photos and anything that has to be read in a hurry. On a thumbnail, glitch the background or one edge of the face and leave the words alone.
How to do it in Voidcanvas
- Open the Glitch tool and drop in a photo.
- Set Offset and Slice height under Adjust. Press Shuffle for a new arrangement of slices, or scrub Randomize.
- Press Download PNG, or Send to Layer Stack to open the Editor with the glitch as a live filter layer.
- In the Editor, add Filter, Distort, RGB Shift and Filter, Enhance, Scanlines above it, and paint the glitch out of the eyes with the Eraser on the filter layer.
Common mistakes
- Everything glitched. Nothing left to compare against. Lower the offset or mask the effect off the subject.
- Unreadable text. Glitch the image, not the words, or offset a duplicate of the text by a few pixels in one colour instead.
- Every companion at once. RGB shift, scanlines, CRT, noise and pixel sort together is a texture, not a glitch. Two is plenty.
Can I get a different glitch each time?
Yes. Press Shuffle on the Glitch tool, or scrub the Randomize slider. Filters with a random element also get a fresh pattern each time you add one in the Editor.
How do I make glitch text?
Set the text, duplicate the layer twice, colour the copies cyan and red, set them to Screen and offset each by a few pixels. Then put a Glitch filter layer above with a small offset and mask it off most of the letters.