The invention discloses a method of synthesizing multi-level raster shapes in which a raster shape (32) suitable for approximating the ideal shape (20) in a raster display device (104) is synthesized by dividing a plane (22) into a plurality of pixel areas according to a pixel grid, then by representing the shape (20) as one or more arcs (406) in the plane, where the arcs collectively, and in conjunction with an insideness criterium, divide the plane into an inside region and an outside region, and then by separating the pixels into inside pixels, outside pixels, and boundary pixels. Initially, boundary pixels (330) are assigned a coverage value of 0 or 1 based on a pixel-coverage criterium, and then it is corrected by a correction value resulting in a coverage value between 0 and 1. The correction value for a pixel might be a numerical value indicating the fraction of the pixel covered by the correction region; the correction value may also depend on the geometry of the correction region represented by the value and the region's location within the pixel.