Recently, a deviant asked me to explain to her what Fractal Art was. I replied in a note, and felt that what was said in the note needed to be said in a news article. So here is the note I sent to her, complete with links to info about fractals and different programs used in generating fractal art.

The note:

Fractal art is artwork based off of a mathematical phenomena called fractals. Fractals can be generated on a computer, but can also be found in nature. Examples of fractals in nature include the seeds in the center of a sunflower, seashells, leaves, flowers, and ferns.

Here is a good definition of what a fractal is from answers.com: A geometric pattern that is repeated at ever smaller scales to produce irregular shapes and surfaces that cannot be represented by classical geometry. Fractals are used especially in computer modeling of irregular patterns and structures in nature.

Here's a link to Wikipedia's page about fractals: [link]

Fractal artwork can either be a single fractal, positioned and colored as the artist pleases, or many different fractals layered ontop of one another, depending upon the fractal program being used.

One of the most basic fractal art programs, and the one that is probably the best for someone just starting with fractals, is one called Chaoscope. Fore more info on this program, take a look at the ~Chaoscopers account, and the Chaoscope website: [link] . Chaoscope is a free program, and everything you create in it is yours.

Another free program is Apophysis, which is more complicated to use than Chaoscope, but can do a lot more than the previous program. For more info on Apophysis, visit the *Apophysis account here at dA, or the Apophysis website: [link] . This program also has a lot of "hacks" created by users of the program, most of which can be found at the *Apophysis club.

Another main program used by people here on dA is called Ultra Fractal. Ultra Fractal is not a free program, although they do have a free trial offer. I'd recomend downloading the free trial before buying the program and going through the tutorials found in the help section before purchasing it. There are two types of the Ultra Fractal program, the regular version and the animation version. For info and resources of Ultra Fractal, see the club here at dA, *Ultra-Fractal, or visit the website: [link] .

Xenodream is another fractal program that is pretty nifty. It creates fractals in 3D, and you can import these fractals into other 3D programs like Bryce. This program is not free either, and I'm unaware if they have a trial version. The best places to go for info on Xenodream is the club here, *Xenodream, or the main website for the software: [link] .

There are many other fractal programs out there that you can search for. These are just the main ones used by artists here on deviantART. Some other programs I've seen around dA include Mind Boggling Fractals, Fractal Explorer, and many others I can't name off the top of my head.

Check out =ImagersFractalDDs for even more resources on fractals and fractal art, as well as some really cool fractal artists. All of the clubs and groups here dedicated to fractals are more than willing to answer any questions anyone may have. The same goes for many of the talented fractal artists found around here, people like *CabinTom, `ClaireJones, *Thelma1, and ~FarDareisMai.

Just like every other artform, Fractal Art takes skill and talent to pull off. Things like color, shape, framing, subject matter, audience, and a myriad of other things are all involved in the creative process behind fractal art. Some people think it's just pushing some buttons, sliding some sliders, and punching in numbers. While fractals can be created this way, it doesn't gaurntee that the end result will look even remotely good. Careful consideration is put behind everything in a fractal art piece, and each piece is unique to the individual artist. And just because you know how to use one fractal program, doesn't mean you know how to use another one. I use Ultra Fractal, and believe me, the program still surprises me and I've been using it for almost a year. I don't know Apophysis well, but I'm learning at the moment, and I can't wait to be able to afford and pick up Xenodream and get started there.

I hope that explains a lot. Any other questions you may have, I can try to answer. If I can't, surely one of the clubs or other fractal artists can.