How old is 3D imagery? In case you’re wondering, and you’re also stupid, 3D imagery has been around as long as humans have had two eyes. It’s pretty common actually and goes under the generic title: see-ing. In fact, if you think about it, the usual flat, 2D kind of imagery seen in most artwork, … Continue reading
In addition to the fractal art world, I also try to follow events in the Linux desktop world. I’ve noticed some similarities, particularly with respect to the perennial question asked by both fractalists and Linux-ists: When will the rest of the world discover what we’ve discovered? You all know something about Linux; probably as much … Continue reading
Add the following two links to your bookmarks/favorites and visit them every day and you will stay up to date with 80% of all that’s interesting in the fractal art world today. Recent Uploads to the gallery and Recent Posts to the forum at Fractalforums.com: Recent uploads Recent Posts One of my favorite posting themes … Continue reading
We recently received an inquiry here at Orbit Trap; an email requesting where the Fractal Universe calendar featuring the work of Cornelia Yoder could be bought. I was flabbergasted… But I Googled the title, found it on Amazon.com and sent off a reply anyway. Strange, I thought, but many people find hunting for things on … Continue reading
Yep. They sure are! See if you can guess what fractal program made this one: Oh. You guessed wrong. But that’s understandable. You see, the entire fractal generator that made the explosion was destroyed in the making. Fast rendering time! –but it only works once! I think they called it “Ivy Mike” because they weren’t … Continue reading
~Click images to view on original site~ Doesn’t this just freak you out? I’ve actually held a few seashells like this in my own hand and seeing that computer art pattern on such a natural and living thing is just deeply weird. We’ve all seen fractal patterns in broccoli, pine cones and spiral snail shells … Continue reading
A new and wondrous discovery in the land of 3D fractals has been made by a veteran Fractalforum member, Erp Trafassel (trafassel). In response, Daniel White (twinbee), who sparked the original 3D fractal quest for the “Holy Grail”, the 3D Mandelbrot, gave the Mandelbulb a 5/10 in achieving the goals of their quest but gave Trafassel’s recent achievements a 7 or 8. Continue reading
A new fractal program (alpha version) yFractalExplorer. It’s real-time rendering abilities include displaying the image as color ascii art. A couple other examples of animated fractal ascii art which begs the question: “Is fractal land ripe for an ascii art revival?” Of course not, but it’s still cool to look at once in a while… Continue reading
Hermann invites stranded passengers at the Munich airport to share a beer. A look at one of his artworks and the java applet based method by which Hermann displays them. Jwm-art’s two recent images of similar simple methods but rich style. A suggestion for a new smiley/emoticon for Fractalforums.com Continue reading
Although some fractals today can look extremely realistic, I find they don’t usually mix well with photographic elements. Computer-made imagery just seems to clash –aesthetically– with imagery from the real world. But just recently I discovered a few examples of just the opposite; harmony and synergy in a image mixing fractal and non-fractal imagery. Continue reading
A UPR is probably something that can be copyrighted because it’s really no different than a computer script. And computer software can be copyrighted… so is that the end of it? But what if someone changes something in your parameter file just a little bit? What if I take a “1” and make it a “10” and then start selling prints of the image online? What distinguishes a derivative work apart from an original work with respect to a parameter file? With images it’s a whole lot simpler. Continue reading
In a previous post, Can you really copyright an Ultra Fractal parameter file?, I questioned the validity of copyright protection for parameter files. I based this on my observation that what parameter files do is categorically different from what image files do and more in keeping with the types of things the US Copyright Office … Continue reading
I’m not an Ultra Fractal user but I do follow the daily exchange of information on the Ultra Fractal mailing list. Up until recently I never thought anything of those copyright notices, but after giving myself an award winning internet education on copyright, I’ve begun to feel that those copyright notices on UF parameter files are …a little weird. Continue reading
Known as JackOTradez or FractAlkemist and probably a few others, Lloyd Garrick (a name he rarely goes by) has made a sizable collection of fractal videos using Fractint and some very effective musical soundtracks. Continue reading
Although the works of Max Ernst (1891-1976) might exhibit a pronounced frontal brow on their foreheads, closer examination reveals startling similarities between them and the contemporary fractal art that now inhabits the same landscapes they once did. Continue reading
Back in the Halcyon group-hug salad days of Orbit Trap, I put up a post about titling. I used my own images (and several others) to investigate whether titles unfairly nudge viewers to the artist’s interpretation or favorably provide additional meaning-making material. I’d like to re-visit the question using some images I recently saw on … Continue reading
~ Click on images to view full-size on original site ~ In defense of Valerie, tohu777’s image fooled me too. I thought it was an art installation out in some desert somewhere. Even now I’m not so sure it’s not a real photograph. But of course, what difference does it really make? It makes a … Continue reading
A “liquid canvas abstract” is a floating painting — an artistic expression of color and form on a liquid “canvas” using oil-based pigments. The evanescent image is preserved photographically in high resolution. No digital construction is involved. from http://www.richardtoddartist.com/about/ I had the idea for a liquid canvas about 20 years ago, but I was too … Continue reading
I have a few rules of thumb I like to keep to when it comes to reviewing fractal art. One of them, if it were boiled down and expressed as a revolutionary slogan painted on a flag, is “Art, not Artists”. It’s not a hard rule to follow in the fractal art world where the … Continue reading
If a tree falls in the woods… …and no one hears it, does it really make a sound? If a tree falls in the woods and it doesn’t cost anything, does it really make a sound? If someone violates your copyright and it doesn’t cost you anything, should you be making a sound? Does copyright … Continue reading
"Think of color, pitch, loudness, heaviness, and hotness. Each is the topic of a branch of physics." Drawing seen on foreignpolicy.com. …into history. From pcmag.com: Benoit Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry, has died at the age of 85, the AFP reports. The French-American mathematician discovered mathematical shapes called "fractals," and developed a geometry that … Continue reading
In my previous post, Copyright and Fractal Art: What the law really says, I quoted from the US Copyright Office what their definitions of copyright privileges and fair use exemptions were. Fair use is something that is always a matter of argument and degree, but some scenarios make for extremely simple arguments –against fair use. … Continue reading
Copyright: the word that launched a thousand fairy tales! Let’s see what the US Copyright Office says about copyright: § 102. Subject matter of copyright: In general28 (a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which … Continue reading
~/~ Fractal images seen on galleries at the Fractal Universe Calendar page. I’d mention the artists’ names, but, of course, since the product was meant to be thrown away, like a soon-withered bouquet, no artists are mentioned on the site’s main splash page — well, other than the New Master of the Fractal Universe. … Continue reading
Cornelia Yoder was true to her words: the Fractal Universe Calendar 2011 is made up exclusively of her images and retains the traditional name although the publisher has skipped like a stone from Avalanche to Lang to Perfect Timing. She has also kept up the time-worn tradition of adhering to that tested and true style … Continue reading
If you’re a critic on the Internet, everyone can hear you scream. –Cameron Woodhead, The Sydney Morning Herald Image seen on blog.hr. It should go without saying that when folks speak out about OT in online public forums, I can hear them. Sometimes, I like to return the favor of pleasant conversation I guess … Continue reading
What has it done for fractal art? It’s brought publishers to the realization that fractal art can be bought in bulk like any other stock imagery they already use. The years of contests, editors, sorting, sifting, short-listing and final cutting are over; just find someone who knows how to make the stuff and order a dozen. Continue reading
Cornelia Yoder: "I was pretty flabbergasted, but did as they asked." It still isn’t safe to wander into your favorite mall gift shop or bookstore. After seemingly undergoing a well deserved decapitation, the staple of fractal schlock, the Fractal Universe Calendar (aka FUC), has recently grown several new Hydra heads. We’ve often been critical of … Continue reading
We’ve all heard of blur. It’s one of those basic graphic effects that every graphics program, and even some fractal programs, automatically include. Most of us though are probably more familiar with the sharpen effect which does the exact opposite which is to get rid of, or at least reduce, blur. Few digital artists, and … Continue reading
I find this work menacing/playful because of the way the optical suggestions of the purity of line makes resonant the larger carcass. Review courtesy of the The Instant Art Critique Generator. The 2009 Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Competition’s crowning exhibition at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad, India, ended two weeks ago. No doubt, … Continue reading
Is DNA an algorithm? Can its renderings be presented as Algorithmic Art? Will they jump down off the wall and attack the well-dressed gallery patrons? Consider the humble jumping spiders of Oklahoma: As always, click on any image to view it on the original web site or in full-size. It’s easy to define (and limit) … Continue reading
Macro photography and fractals have a lot in common. I don’t know what that is, but I just sense that they have a “family resemblance”. Imagine you’re trying to put together a jig-saw puzzle but someone has accidentally thrown in another puzzle with it. While looking for the pieces that match up with the ones … Continue reading
My blogging slows down in the summer when other projects get moved to the front burner. But I’m still lurking around. The 2009 Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest exhibition begins in a little over a week in Hyderabad, India, at the 2010 International Congress of Mathematicians, although (so far) publicity for the event has been … Continue reading
Many people have a favorite sport. Some follow soccer, others american football or hockey, basketball, baseball, cricket… I follow hurricanes, the tropical storms or cyclones that form in the Carribean during summer and fall of every year. There’s never a players strike and you can follow all the action over the internet. In fact, you … Continue reading
I’ve been surfing. From the noisey beaches of Deviant Art to the silent shores of guano islands. Every one here’s a gem to me. Each one gleamed in its own way when I saw it. Continue reading
I don’t play video games much; just an hour every day of Star Wars Battlefront (original one). I have friends in Mos Eisley and although they always lose –horribly– they’re always asking me to come out and “play”. My nephew loaned us his old GameCube and while I’ve never used it because all we have … Continue reading