PRESENTATION

In my past I have run an art shop, had a couple of galleries and organised exhibitions all over the UK. One of the things you cannot do when you enter an exhibition or a gallery is to show work that is not presented in a manner that is fit for sale. I do admit times have changed, just about anything goes today...

However I spend a lot of time looking at fractals and other art on dA and feel that some of you are missing out on what could be a really great image by not presenting your work in it's best light. Sometimes images look unfinished or very samey.

We are at the threshold of many new and wonderful art forms through digital art, we are making images the world has never seen, make the best you can of them.

After spending hours rendering an image, many of you can't seem to wait to upload it as a finished product. Why not take another look at your image and consider if you could make it any better... What about a small border? What about a big fancy border? Does the image need any more light? (Very important, your thumbnail will never get enlarged if all that can be seen is a slight hint of colour on a black background)

BEGINNERS

Some of us have been making Apophysis images for a very long time and we have been looking and commenting on images at the same time. It is hard to find something that is completely original looking out of randomly generated flames. Please look at all the options and remember if you want to be looked at your image has to be able to shout out to get any attention at all. Look at other Apophysis images and see if you can come up with something new, explore what you have. Apophysis is a very powerful program capable of many wonderful and extraordinary things.

Most important use the resources within dA. [link]
To keep up to date with these resources, go to the profile page and click on Watch this deviant.

Join FracFan : [link] Don't be afraid to ask for help. Many of us are very willing to help where we can or to point you in the right direction.

COMPOSITION

Composition is very important, look at other art and see how the artist has placed his images to take you to a specific place in the picture. For example colour perspective, to keep it simple warm colours in the front and cooler colours at the back.
This site has some very interesting features that will help you:
[link]


TECHNIQUE

Every time a new script or Plugin comes out (or nearly as often a new or hacked version of Apophysis) and we just can't wait to get it and have a go... What we see for a while is loads of images that have a similar look. Often what is shown is a close up slice of an image that shows the new technique at work. Is this actually a picture or just an example of the new feature?

Try to do something a little different with all the tools at your disposal. Use the variations and variables. Use the transforms, PX and FX. Try to set new boundaries, alter the scripts, experiment, just as you would if you were painting or drawing.

SECURITY

If you add a border and a signature to your work you are helping to stop the infamous art thieves taking your image for gain. There is free software out there that will remove watermarks and anyone can do a screen capture to take what you have done. Not much point in disabling the right click/save method. I don't think any of us can afford to
copyright every image we make. I know I wouldn't even consider it. I am happy to share my work with everyone on dA.

USING OTHER SOFTWARE

I know some like to present your images exactly as the program finished them, however I would say that even though what you have is in this case a fractal, why not turn it into a work of art, if you feel the result you already have could benefit. We need to allow fractals to become a great art form and not drift into the detritus that some would have us believe they are.

If you can't afford Photoshop, then Paint Shop Pro is a wonderful alternative. If even that is too much for you to spend then The Gimp is a free download : [link]

FILTERS

If you are either a Photoshop or a Paint Shop Pro user, you can collect some wonderful filters from all over the web. This is a great place to start : [link]
Some are free others you will have to pay for. The Gimp already has loads of special effects you can use to enhance your image.

EXAMPLES

This is one fractal I made with Fractal Explorer, I have presented it in 2 very different ways. The Globe has been through Paint Shop Pro filtering. First of all I centred the image as for this purpose I need it to be symmetrical. To do this I use the crop tool. It has a centre point you can fix in the middle of your image and work around it to make sure the sides are all even. Then I saved it as a SAVE AS image. That way I can keep the original for the time being. Next I went to Effects and found Flaming Pear (more filter software) and used a filter called Flexify 2. For this you input your image as a rectangle and you have a choice as to what exactly you want it to come out as. I chose Mirror Ball. You can keep looking until you find a few you like, then go back to find THE one. This was easy. Still in Paint Shop Pro I decided to find either a suitable border or a frame. Firstly I had a plain white back ground which I wasn't too keen on, I decided to try a patterned background. As I had previously uploaded many of my completed fractals into the pattern saving part of the palette, then all I had to do was to use the Magic Wand to select the area I wanted to change, then go to the quick palette chooser/patterns and find the one I liked. I tried a few and settled on one with a few wisps of colour, enough for this image and added it with the paint pot colour replacer.

Now it looked like it could do with a frame, not just a border. So still in Paint Shop Pro I found my picture frames and after trying half a dozen decided on the one I liked best. This is the finished picture:
[link] signed in the bottom right, which is the traditional place to sign your work.


A DIFFERENT LOOK TO THE SAME IMAGE

This one is much quicker. I have the original image, remember I used SAVE AS to save the globe. I am still using Paint Shop Pro. Firstly I am going to use clarify, just to give this a little extra pizzazz as I am going to add some colour. I want this to look soft and subtle so I am using Harry's filters, the ones you can get for free. There is one that gives you a double sphere of colours and you can keep clicking through until you find just what you want. Having done just that all that remains is to add in this case a simple border. I added a 10 pixel black line, followed by a 30 pixel line of a colour that is in the image. Then another 10 pixel line in black. I then go to effects 3d and buttonise and add a 30 pixel solid edge to finish. Again I use a colour that is in the image and will compliment the whole thing.

[link] This is the completed image.

All this digital art is very exciting and as yet there is no single program that will do everything you would like to create your wonderful new work of art. Don’t be afraid to experiment and don’t make rules for yourself that put limits on your creativity.

This article has been written with fractal artists in mind. The method can just as easily fit other types of art.

I wrote this before the 3D hack came out. We now have to think about perspective and colour perspective, cool colours at the back and warm in the front. John Constable did it even with his signature, in red and placed traditionally bottom right in the image, taking the eyes over the red and into the rest of the work. He also used small red 'smudges' whenever he wanted the viewer to stop and take notice. You would not see the red, your eye would go past it into the distance of the image. [link]

This article has been written with fractal artists in mind. The method can just as easily fit other types of art. I hope you find it of some use. Thank you for your valuable creative time.

Roz