The Artfkt collection library
CRT
Luminous cells and imperfect screens
CRT makes an image feel emitted by a screen: colored phosphor structure, luminous spread, scanline gaps, imperfect convergence, and a curved display boundary.
Use a restrained display texture or assemble a more unstable screen treatment in Artfkt. The collection separates the visible parts of that look so you can decide which ones the composition needs.
Included in Artfkt for Mac. All collections, one desktop studio.
Start with the screen surface
Phosphor Mask organizes the image into RGB stripes, slots, or dot triads. Phosphor Glow adds colored light spread around a luminous lattice, with mask strength controlled independently. Scanlines shapes the dark gaps between display lines. Compare the lattice and line spacing at actual display size: fine patterns can disappear or compete as the image is reduced.
Bright shapes on dark grounds make emitted light especially readable. If the source is uniformly pale, strong glow can erase the difference between a crisp edge and its surrounding spread. Establish enough dark space for the luminous parts to matter.
Add one kind of instability at a time
Color Convergence separates the display channels around a chosen point. Magnetic Purity introduces tinted blotches, strongest near the edges. Screen Curvature changes the surface geometry and rounds the corners with transparency. They address alignment, color uniformity, and framing respectively.
Interlace changes the relationship between alternating fields. Screen Roll moves the picture through a blanking band, while Screen Burn retains residue from bright regions over time. These temporal treatments need playback to assess properly. They should not be mistaken for a complete tape-recording simulation; the VHS collection addresses a different part of the visual language.
Keep the displayed message readable
Treat scanlines and phosphor cells as image detail, not a substitute for composition. Large lettering and clear silhouettes survive a screen treatment more readily than fine captions. Put essential small copy outside the treated image when the design allows it.
Check curved transparent corners against the background used in the final composition. For still artwork, select a stable frame that reads on its own. Use brightness modulation deliberately when making motion work; movement is optional, and a convincing screen image does not require flicker.
Effects in CRT
10 effects to explore and combine.
Scanlines
Shape the dark gaps between luminous display lines.
Phosphor Mask
Resolve the image into luminous RGB stripes, slots, or dot triads.
Screen Curvature
Bow the display surface inside softly rounded transparent corners.
Phosphor Glow
Spread colored light around a luminous RGB phosphor lattice.
Interlace
Alternate field-line intensity and horizontal alignment.
Screen Roll
Roll the image vertically through a travelling blanking band.
Color Convergence
Separate the three display guns radially from an adjustable convergence point.
Brightness Flicker
Modulate tube luminance with a fast flicker and a soft hum swell that drifts vertically.
Magnetic Purity
Wash drifting tinted purity blotches across the tube, strongest toward the frame edges.
Screen Burn
Retain a faint tinted residue of the brightest image regions and let it recover slowly.
Creative applications
- Give a bold title or icon a luminous monitor appearance for a technology-themed poster.
- Frame photographic artwork as a curved screen within a larger composition.
- Study temporal screen residue or field alignment while keeping surrounding typography stable.
Starting workflow
- For a luminous title study, start with large pale lettering against a dark image background.
- Apply Phosphor Glow. Balance Glow strength and Light spread before deciding how clearly the mask should show.
- Add Scanlines at a strength that introduces line structure without burying the lettering.
- Use Screen Curvature if the composition needs a visible display boundary, and inspect its transparent corners over the final background.
- Compare the result at the intended viewing size. Keep this still study free of temporal additions unless movement serves the design.
Make it part of your next composition.
Combine CRT with other collections, images, and editable text in Artfkt for Mac.