stipple

Imagine an artist making shade not with lines, but with many tiny dots. That is the main idea of "stipple." As a verb, it means to mark or cover something with small dots. In drawing and painting, it is used to build tone, shade, and texture. The closer the dots are, the darker the area looks. You might see this in fur, skin, shadows, or printed images made from tiny dots.

The word can also describe a surface or effect that looks dotted or speckled. For example, light coming through leaves may leave a dotted pattern on the ground. So "stipple" can refer both to making marks with dots and to the dotted look that results.

"Stipple" usually refers to making or covering a surface with many small dots. As a verb, it means to add dots in order to create shade, texture, or pattern. Artists often use this method in pen-and-ink drawing, engraving, painting, and digital art. Instead of smooth blending, they change the spacing of the dots: more dots make an area look darker, while fewer dots make it look lighter.

The word can also be used as a noun for the dotted pattern or effect itself. A picture may have a fine stipple, or a wall, leaf, shell, or animal skin may show a stippled surface. In printing and image-making, the idea also appears in pictures that are built from tiny dots, which can give a grainy or textured look.

More broadly, "stipple" can describe any speckled or dotted appearance, especially when the pattern is made of many small marks close together. You might speak of sunlight leaving a stippled pattern on the ground, or of a surface that looks softly spotted. In all these uses, the central idea stays the same: a look or method formed by many tiny dots.