ELI5: What Is Pointillism?

Pointillism is a style of painting where an artist creates an entire picture using only tiny, individual dots of color instead of long brushstrokes.

Think of it like magic trick for your eyes that you probably see in everyday life all the time.

Here is how it works:

• Television and phone screens: If you look at a cartoon on a TV screen from far away, you see smooth shapes and bright characters. But if you put your nose right up against the glass with a magnifying glass, you will see millions of tiny glowing dots of red, green, and blue. Your brain naturally glues those tiny dots together to make a full picture.
• Toy building blocks: Imagine building a giant green dinosaur using only thousands of tiny blue and yellow plastic bricks. Up close, you see every separate block. But when you step across the room, the blue and yellow mix together, and you see a solid green dinosaur.
• Sprinkles on a cupcake: If you drop hundreds of red and white sprinkles on a cupcake and look from across the kitchen, the frosting looks pink.

When you stand very close to the painting, it just looks like a bunch of messy dots. But when you take a few steps backward, your brain does the work for you. It mixes the dots together so you see a beautiful, glowing green field.