A finite difference time domain (FDTD) algorithm with nonstandard finite differences is used to compute light scattering by colloidal particles. The objective of this research is to simulate scattering for cases where multiparticle scattering is significant and where particle shape is arbitrary and not limited to regular geometries commonly illustrated in mathematical solutions such as the Mie theory. in this paper scattering characteristics computed using the FDTD method are compared with known analytical solutions for a number of cases for which a two-dimensional treatment is sufficient. These include scattering by a single infinite cylinder, a hollow cylinder, and two parallel cylinders. The numerical results were found to agree well with the analytical solutions. Results are also given for cases where multiparticle scattering is significant and analytical solutions are extremely difficult if not impossible to obtain.