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Twitter

Pixel Sorting Just Got So. Much. Easier.

Tweet any picture at @pixelsorter and the social media-controlled algorithm will spit out your very own warped, pixel-sorted glitch art.

Web developer, JavaScript instructor, and digital artist Ways Spurr-Chen has taken the elusive art of pixel sorting to the masses, programming an impossibly easy-to-use Twitterbot to push, pull, and rearrange the pixels of any image, and tweet them back as beautiful abstract art.

Using commands sent via tweet, @Pixelsorter offers a stunning variety of options for manipulating images Alongside their attached image of choice, Twitter users can type one of 14 presets or commands todictate their pixel-sorting pattern preference. To create the rain-like pixel motion found in the image above, for example, one needs only type preset[drip]. Without a preset or a command, @pixelsorter automatically implements "a slight 'shaking' of the parameter values, making sure that random results you get are not identical/boring," according to Spurr-Chen's instructions.

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And even amid the appeal of the social-media-as-easy-glitch-art-apparatus, veteran pixel sorters can still find a wealth of customizable potential within the interface. Each command's variables, including as hue, resolution, and the pixel range of each parameter, can be adjusted just as succinctly. As for his bot's unique results? Spurr-Chen is currently developing a way to highlight crowd-favorited digital manipulations. Keep an eye on @Pixelsorter to see the best of Twitterverse's auto-glitch art skills.

We had a little fun with @pixelsorter ourselves, so take a look at our own whacked out glitches below:

Before:

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After:

Before:

After:

Before:

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After:

After an additional, preset[triphop] pixel-sort:

And here are a few examples of what the Twitter at large has done with @pixelsorter's capabilities.

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Check out Ways Spurr-Chen's other work on his website, and find an album of his favorite pixel-sorted images here. And to sort your very own, homemade pixels, tweet an image or two to @pixelsorter. h/t r/glitch_art

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