Hello there!
All of you might know me as Travii or The Platypus, and I am here today to tell you about miscats in the Fractal Art Gallery and what you can do to prevent your work from being considered a miscat! Hopefully I can help clear up any confusion that may exist!

Ok, well, first of all, what is a fractal? Can this be explained with out long winded math explanations and with ideas and words that we can all understand? Well, yeah! Of course it can! After all, I understand it

See, a fractal is a complex image created using various formulae and algorithms which are computer generated through fractal generating programs. Pretty simple, eh? A fractal is made in a fractal generating program.

Ok, so, what does this mean? Well, it means that images created in Photoshop, Ms Paint, Paint Shop, and Bryce (to name a few) are NOT fractals. I understand they're all very pretty and come close to looking like a fractal, but it just simply isn't a fractal by definition. These kind of images will be placed into the Paintings& Airbrushing>Abstract>Digital category. However, if you use Photoshop and Paintshop in order to manipulate an image and pass a "fractal" filter over it, it's still NOT a fractal. Instead, I suggest putting this into Photomanipulation and then pick the appropriate sub gallery from there

Layering fractals on top of other fractals in an image editing software is ok! They are still fractals, even if they are on top of other fractals. Now, sometimes, you might be tempted to place a few fractals on top of each other to build some scenery for the very spritely Pixie you found in the stock images. This is starting to head towards Mixed Media, and would most likely be moved from the Fractal Art gallery, unless the main focus of the piece are the fractals.
This is ok for the fractal art gallery as Mr. President isn't really the main focus of the piece as much as the fractal surrounding him is.

Post editing and processing in say Photoshop is still ok,like, borders, adding text, and slight color changes. However, of course, if you process the fractal to the point where it no longer looks like the original fractal, I would place this in Mixed Media as well.

Some fractal programs, mainly Ultra Fractal have the abillity to import images. Now, this is nifty and dandy and all, however, if you just import an image and place some of UF's mappings on it that aren't fractally driven, your piece is now a photomanipulation. In order for it to stay in fractal art, you will have to apply some more fractal elements. Otherwise, you can do the same thing in Photoshop or Paintshop with their filters.( Point here, using UF for a photomaniper will get your piece into photomanipulation, not fractal art.)

If you wish to really make fractals, there's plenty of programs out there. Some are free ware and some you have to purchase. Believe me, each program is very different! Each one has it's own little niche of users and all of these programs are capable of creating some seriously interesting pieces through the hard work of the artist.
These programs include (but are probably not limited to ) Apophysis, Ultra Fractal, Incendia, Xenodream, Sterlingware, Oxodizer, Fractal Explorer, Quadrium, and alot more I can't quite place right now.

Now, if you wanna make things simpler for both of us, I'll explain this pretty quickly for you. Yes, there are times when I'm browsing through the gallery that I really can't tell if what you've got there is a fractal! Most times I can, but there have been times when I question the artist. Here's how you can make both of our lives easier!
Place what program(s) you used in the artist's description! Simple as that. This helps alot,trust me! If I've never heard of that program, I can always look it up! And if I just see "created entirely in Photoshop!" Well, you know what I'll be doing to it

Also, if you know your piece is not a fractal, and you place "not a fractal" in the description, but you place it into the Fractal Art gallery, it WILL be moved to a more appropriate gallery. I understand that there aren't some galleries for other math based mediums, however, if it isn't a fractal and you know it isn't a fractal, please don't post it in the fractal art gallery. There are more appropriate galleries to post it in! It would be like posting an animated GIF of a Sonic the hedgehog recolor in the fractal art gallery because it allows animated GIFs because some people like to animate their fractals. ( By the way, said Sonic GIF will be placed into Misc Digital>Animation )

Alrighty, now, for those of you who absolutely ABHOR the miscats in the FA gallery, please report them using the proper tools. What you do is press the "report deviation" button and select "Misplaced Deviation" and then select the category you think it should be in. If you need help, feel free to ask me any questions. If the miscat is incredibly offensive and is a policy violation, report, and come to me so that I may scrap it. The important thing here is that YOU REPORT THE IMAGE FIRST then come to me. This way we can take the proper steps to make this system work more effectively.

I really hope this clears up any confusion there may have been about what belongs in the Fractal Art gallery and what doesn't!
If there are any questions or concerns, feel free to come to me with them.
I promise I won't bite

Platinus
Fractal Art Gallery Moderator