DSC — Designer’s Side Chick

DSC — Designer’s Side Chick

A companion app for palette based design workflows

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I want to share a tool I built called Designer’s Side Chick (DSC). It’s a companion app for designers who already have a main tool they love, but need extra help with dithering, palettes, and color control. DSC is made to support your existing workflow, not replace it..I’m giving out 1,000 free trial keys valid until February 1st. You can try it via the project page or join the WhatsApp group for downloads and discussion. Feedback is welcome
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
DSC — Designer’s Side Chick gallery image
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Launch tags:Design Tools•Productivity•3D Printer
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What do you think? …

ahmet celal kupeli
Maker
📌

Hey everyone 👋
I’m the maker behind Designer’s Side Chick (DSC).
I built this because I kept running into the same problem: great design tools, but very little control when it comes to dithering, palettes, and print-ready color constraints. DSC isn’t meant to replace your main design software it’s a companion that handles the messy parts like palette locking, dot-based output, and repeatable color workflows.
One important thing to note: DSC doesn’t blend or compare images. You extract a palette once (from a CMYK chart, brand colors, or swatches), then apply those color rules to other images. The dot overlay is generated using only the allowed colors, which makes it especially useful for print workflows.
I’m actively building this in public and would really love feedback good or bad.
What works, what doesn’t, and what you wish it could do next.
Thanks for checking it out

PS: DSC is currently in beta, and I’m actively shipping updates and refinements based on real user feedback. I’m also working on a companion tool called The Other Chick, which will generate dithering algorithms and palettes using mathematical rules and integrate directly with DSC.

What Designer’s Side Chick (DSC) Can Do ?

DSC is a companion tool for designers, printers, and makers who need precise control over dithering, dots, palettes, and output. It’s not meant to replace your main design software it supports it.

Image & Workflow

  • Open and process raster images with a fast, live preview

  • 2D and 3D workflows (switchable)

  • Non-destructive workflow you can experiment freely

  • Real-time preview updates while adjusting settings

  • Adjustable zoom, pan, and canvas background

  • Invert pan controls option (because everyone’s brain works differently)

Dithering Engine (Core Feature)

  • Toggle dithering on/off at any time

  • Multiple dithering modes:

    • Grayscale

    • RGB

    • Indexed (palette-based)

  • Adjustable dithering strength (blend original vs dithered)

  • Control grayscale levels (2–256)

  • Control color levels (2–256)

  • Ordered dithering presets:

    • Bayer 4×4, Bayer 8×8

    • Clustered matrices

    • Halftone patterns

  • Error diffusion presets:

    • Floyd–Steinberg (normal + serpentine)

    • Floyd–Steinberg serp.

    • Atkinson

    • Burkes

    • Sierra (full, two-row, lite)

    • Stucki

    • Jarvis–Judice–Ninke

    • Diffusion Row

    • Diffusion Column

    • Diffusion 2D

    • Diffusion Grid

    • Skip Neighbors

    • Skip 2 Neighbors

    • Skip 3 Neighbors

    • Fan

    • ShiauFan 1

    • ShiauFan 2

    • 4x4 Bayer

    • 8x8 Bayer

    • 4x4 Cluster

    • 8x8 Cluster

    • 5x5 Half Tone

    • 8x8 Halftone

  • Advanced/custom diffusion kernels:

    • Custom weight control (right, down, diagonals)

    • Experimental diffusion patterns (fan, grid, skip neighbors, etc.)

  • Error spread control

  • Performance downscaling for fast previews (full resolution export later)

ahmet celal kupeli
Maker

Dither-Only Image Adjustments

(These affect only the dithering stage, not the original image)

  • Sharpening

  • Brightness

  • Contrast

  • Gamma correction

  • Hue adjustment

  • Saturation control

  • Individual RGB channel balance

Overlay / Dot System

  • Enable dot overlay on top of the image

  • True halftone black & white mode

  • Show original image under dots (for reference)

  • Adjustable dot grid cell size

  • Dot opacity control

  • Minimum and maximum dot size

  • Diameter strength control

  • Variable dot shapes:

    • Circular

    • Polygonal

    • Star-like forms

  • Adjustable edge count

  • Star inset control

  • Outline width control

  • Outline opacity

  • Per-dot editing mode:

    • Click individual dots

    • Edit color, size, and height overrides per dot

Palette Tools

  • Extract color palettes from images

  • Editable palette grid view

  • Enable/disable individual palette colors

  • Palette-based indexed dithering

  • Palette mapping for dots and exports

  • Palette reuse across projects

3D / Board Mode

  • Convert dot data into height-based geometry

  • Board-style 3D generation

  • Adjustable board dimensions

  • Height scaling controls

  • STL export

  • 3MF export (multi-color capable when palette-mapped)

  • Designed for CNC, laser, and 3D printing workflows

Export Options

  • Export dithered images

  • Export dot overlays as vector or raster

  • Export extracted palettes ( Json, CSV, ASE )

  • Export 3D models (STL / 3MF / 3MF Stacked)

  • Export at full or preview resolution

  • RGB and CMYK workflows supported

  • Optional ICC profile handling ( import and apply the workflow )

Color Calibration & Palette Transfer (Very Important Feature)

One of the main reasons I built DSC was color control, especially for print-focused workflows.

DSC allows you to separate color decisions from image content.
The software does not blend images or compare them — it simply applies strict color rules to dot overlays.

How It Works

  • Import an image that already contains the exact colors you want

    • Example: a CMYK color chart, brand palette, fabric test print, or swatch sheet

  • Extract a palette directly from that image

  • Keep that palette as a color rule

  • Import a completely different image

  • Apply the previously extracted palette

  • Generate a dot overlay using only the allowed colors

  • Convert a millions-of-colors image into a strict limited-color result

Real-World Example

  • You have a CMYK color chart (or any 4-color print reference)

  • You extract those 4 colors into a palette

  • You import a full-color photograph

  • You enable Indexed / Palette mode

  • DSC generates the dot overlay using only those 4 colors

  • No blending, no averaging each dot is mapped to the nearest allowed color

Result: a controlled, print-ready image that respects your ink limits.

Why This Is Useful

This workflow is especially helpful for:

  • CMYK print preparation

  • Screen printing

  • DTF / DTG printing

  • Fabric and textile printing

  • Brand color enforcement

  • Ink usage control

  • Consistent color output across multiple images

Why This Matters

Instead of guessing colors every time, you can:

  • Lock your color palette once

  • Reuse it across unlimited images

  • Keep the same dithering, dot, and output settings

  • Achieve predictable, repeatable results

DSC doesn’t just apply a filter it forces images to obey your color rules.