Fixing banding stripes in gradients
In digital graphics, a phenomenon happens called “banding” where big stripes appear throughout gradients. Early in my career I didn’t know what to do with these, and I thought maybe something was wrong with my monitor. But it’s actually a common problem, and quite simple to fix.
The reason banding happens is because computers can only produce so many colors. When your work involves gradients that are extremely nuanced, the computer simply can’t produce enough colors to gradate gracefully. This was especially apparent in older computer graphics where color palettes were even more limited. To fix it, we use a technique called Dithering.