Starting Out

:idea: This is a work-in-progress! If you have any comments then contact me with the contact link at the top of the page. Thanks for your help. :idea:

First things first you need to understand what a fractal is. The best definition I could find was this:

Fractal: a complex geometric figure whose small-scale and large-scale structures resemble one another. Fractals represent mathematical equations and may be used for illustrating the regular features of complex objects and patterns.

www.germantownacademy.org/academics/US/Math/Geometry/stwk99/emilyh/def.htm

Or, in laymans terms, a fractal is a weird random image that is related to itself. If you want an example, check out my gallery.

To create a fractal you will need some software. Suprisingly there are quite a few programs out there, but my favourite is Apophysis. Not only is it free and open source, but is easy to use as a beginner and still harbours many advanced features and options to create truly stunning images.

It can be downloaded from www.apophysis.org by following the download link. I would advise downloading the latest possible version as there are often bug fixes and extra features and tweaks added that make the software and rendering (saving the picture) faster. The latest stable version is 2.02, but I prefer the beta 2.03 as it has many new features and little extras to make life an awful lot easier. To get the very latest version you need to check the SourceForge page here.

Download the latest version and follow the installation instructions. Make sure you note down the folder it installs to as this is where all of your images will end up (by default). Open Apophysis (Normally called something like ‘Apophysis203b.exe’ and we can get started!

When you open the program for the first time you will see something like this:

Main Apophysis Screen

You have actually just made your first fractal. It may look great, or it may look awful, but there are ways to tweak them and manipulate them.

Click the Options button (Apophysis Options Button) and we can set things up just the way you want them.

The Options screen has 7 tabs:

  • General
  • Display
  • Random
  • Variations
  • Gradient
  • UPR
  • Paths

Each of these controls some aspect of either the window and interface or controls how the fractals are made.

General
Apophysis Options - General

This would probably have been better named ‘Miscellaneous’ as these are some of the weirdest options. The only real important ones are the three tickboxes and the tranparency section. To start with, make sure the transparency is set to ‘No transparency’, although I will say how to use transparency in a later tutorial.
The three tickboxes are purely your own taste, but I would suggest ticking the top one and leaving the other two blank, but thats just me.

Display
Apophysis Options - Display

This tab contains the settings for your preview of the fractal. The section on the left is all about how the actual fractal looks, and the only one you really need to be concerned with is the top one. This can be set to taste. The higher the number, the better the preview is but the longer it takes. With a slow computer, use a low number of about 25-50 but for newer computers try anything from 75-150.

Random
IMAGE HERE

Here you have some control over the fractal you end up with. The two transforms sections at the top of the dialog box can alter the image, and the best thing to do is to practise, muck around and guess. Setting a larger range for the transforms options causes more random effects, but a lower range gives you more control. ‘Forced symmetry’ is relatively simple. If you want your fractal to have any form of symmetry, then change those options to suit. ‘Random batch’ allows you to select how many fractals appear in the list each time you generate a batch (set of fractals) and the title prefix for each one if you save it.

Variations
IMAGE HERE

Variations are various ‘effects’ or ’shapes’ that can be applied to the fractal. For example, ’swirl’ creates a swirl shaped fractal, ‘heart’ creates a heart shaped fractal, ‘diamond’ creates a diamond shaped fractal… You get the idea. Tick the ones that the software can choose to apply, it may apply all of them, some of them or just one, they are just possibilities. Ticking ’swirl’, ‘heart’ and ‘diamond’ means your fractal could be any one, two or all three of those. Again, practise and try ticking single transforms to see the kind of shapes you get to start with. Then, move on to ticking two, three, four and other various combinations. For something entirely random, click the Set All button :)