{"id":6539,"date":"2026-08-24T13:02:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T17:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=6539"},"modified":"2026-08-24T14:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T18:25:10","slug":"engravers-paradise-fractal-imaginator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=6539","title":{"rendered":"Engraver’s Paradise: Fractal Imaginator"},"content":{"rendered":"

For those of you who took way too many math and science courses and have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s an example of an engraving:<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Engraved illustration from the Dispensary, Canto 1,<\/em> 1714<\/p><\/div>\n

An engraving is literally a picture drawn on the printing plate using a sharp, steel tool to etch the lines of the image into the plate.\u00a0 The ink is wiped onto the plate and stays in the scratchings while the untouched parts of the plate are wiped clean of the ink.\u00a0 The result, when the paper is pressed onto the plate, is the ink from the etchings is printed to the paper reproducing the picture the engraver engraved into the plate.\u00a0 If you took high school art classes like I did, you will know that this method is called intaligo<\/em><\/a>. The image is composed then of etched lines and cross-hatched lines to add shadings.\u00a0 But it’s all lines.\u00a0 Nothing but lines.<\/p>\n

Here’s another engraving to give you a better idea of the style of image that this process produces.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Engraving from Ovid’s Metamorphoses<\/em>, 1676<\/p><\/div>\n

Note the swirly lines on the clouds of smoke in the top of the image and the crosshatching technique to add shading at the bottom of the column of smoke.\u00a0 Again, it’s all lines, there are no solid areas of anything except for the blank, unengraved parts of the image.<\/p>\n

Now, below, is an image made in Fractal Imaginator using one of it’s 3d formulas.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lunarville01<\/em>, made in Fractal Imaginator.\u00a0 Click to see a 4x larger version which is 100x more awesome.<\/p><\/div>\n

Structurally, the image is really just a clay tunnel.\u00a0 Fractal Imaginator, released in several versions from 2006-2014 seems to be oriented towards producing 3d fractal images but occupies a stage of the 3d quest for the elusive 3d Mandelbrot that produced a number of semi-3d fractals.\u00a0 They tend to be characterized by what I think Daniel White<\/a> called “whipped cream” structures which sort of fill in the blanks of the 3d data and was really not a fully 3d formula but a 3d tranformative technique for 2d formulas.<\/p>\n

This is where the art in fractal art gets interesting.\u00a0 From my limited research and previous\u00a0 knowledge of Terry Gintz’s other programs like Fractal ViZion and Fractal Zplot, I think Fractal Imaginator being a collaborative project between Gintz and Jules Ruis, features Ruis’ unique 3d formulas but Gintz’s unique rendering techniques.\u00a0 In other words, Gintz’s rendering algorithms are what is responsible for turning what would otherwise be merely one step on the path to the development of 3d fractals into an engraver’s paradise.\u00a0 So fractal art is as much about rendering techniques as it is formulas.\u00a0 Otherwise, the awesome image above would be just a digital clay hole.\u00a0 Mathematically interesting perhaps but not so artistically appealing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lunarville02<\/em>, made in Fractal Imaginator.\u00a0 Click to view large version.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you’re sharp you’ll notice that this is a zoomed in detail area of the first image, Lunarville01.\u00a0 I’ve included it because of the interesting area in the middle, the light colored area which is the deeper part of the humble clay hole.\u00a0 Here, the rendering technique starts to drift from a simple engraved appearance to the short, incomplete lines of a simple line drawn picture.\u00a0 This is equally interesting I find as the engraved effect.<\/p>\n

But now, T<\/em>he Symphony of Skeletons:<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Cablegram08<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Cablegram07<\/p><\/div>\n

The same rendering technique that produced the engraved look and the line drawn look has here produced a 1970s horror comicbook<\/em> look.\u00a0 Trust me.\u00a0 I read a lot of horror comicbooks and unlike most of my favorite comic books which date from the late 50s and early 60s, the artwork in horror titles actually took a quantum leap upward (instead of downward) in the (early) 70s.<\/p>\n

Here is a fine example of that more free-flowing, artsy, organic style that characterizes many of the horror comics of the 70s (but not the superhero titles).<\/p>\n

\"\"

House of Mystery #219 from November, 1973<\/p><\/div>\n

Far out, eh?\u00a0 Nothing hits a fractal formula out of the ball park like a cool rendering method.\u00a0 A rendering method is so influential because it can be applied to any<\/em> formula.\u00a0 My way of using a fractal program in fact, is to find some image style that looks good and then experiment with it by applying it to other formulas.\u00a0 In this case with Fractal Imaginator, the image style is not a single rendering option from the menu items but is the main, general rendering style for the whole program, at least for the 3d formulas.\u00a0 It might actually be an artifact of the ray-tracing feature and how the 3d “substance” is built.\u00a0 3d images seem to be build of strips and layers of material which when combined with the sharp ray-tracing effect highlights this strip and layered texture to the 3d objects.<\/p>\n

Here’s another, slightly different incarnation of the rendering style of Fractal Imaginator.\u00a0 I find this to be reminiscent of watercolor paintings or a hand-tinted engraving.\u00a0 Engravings produced as framable wall art back in the old days prior to the 20th century were often hand painted, quick and by the 100s I imagine.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Lunarland01<\/em>, made in Fractal Imaginator. The watercolor look.<\/p><\/div>\n

This leads into my next posting which is going to be about the Sci-fi paintings of Chesley Bonestell and how some of the imagery from Fractal Imaginator fits right into his classic rugged lunarscape style<\/em> which he popularized and came to be the standard look for alien planets<\/em> and unknown worlds.<\/em><\/p>\n

I almost forgot.\u00a0 Many thanks to the recent commentor here on Orbittrap, FractalSauce<\/a> who actually introduced me to the program by the link he posted.\u00a0 Never before has a comment on OT ever been so helpful!\u00a0 I have a lot of Terry Gintz’s programs but I didn’t actually have that one.\u00a0 It was a totally new find to me.\u00a0 I highly recommend FractalSauce’s Deviant art gallery, especially his poured paint paintings.<\/a>\u00a0 Better than Pollock!<\/p>\n

Here is a link to the parameter files for the five Fractal Imaginator images in this post: fi6_files.zip<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To use them, just go to File\/Load Other\/Load Parameters…\u00a0 Here is FractalSauce’s original link to download Fractal Imaginator.<\/a>\u00a0 The program is free thanks to the kind generosity of Terry Gintz and Jules Ruis!\u00a0 True fractal heroes.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fractal Imaginator has a very rare talent: it renders images that look like old-time engraved illustrations, tinted line drawings and horror comics from the 1970s. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1635,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1635","url_meta":{"origin":6539,"position":0},"title":"What the Fractal Universe Calendar did for Fractal Art","author":"Tim","date":"23 September, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 5 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 5 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1635#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/FlowerArrangement2-by-Craig-Hein-Design.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":342,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=342","url_meta":{"origin":6539,"position":1},"title":"Fractal Art is Worthless","author":"Tim","date":"4 September, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Why? Because you can't sell it!Why not? Because Fractal Art, like all digital art, is easily reproduced, that is, displayed on a monitor or printed out -- again and again!Need some more explanation? Digital Art is really a computer file. An oil painting is really -- an oil painting!That's not\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":214,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=214","url_meta":{"origin":6539,"position":2},"title":"Who Dissected Roger Rabbit","author":"cruelanimal","date":"5 August, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Who Dissected Roger Rabbit (2007) The function of art is to disturb. Science reassures.--Georges Braque Andrea Yates believed that cartoon characters told her she was a bad mother who fed her children too much candy...--Court TV News For some reason, disembowelment and bloodshed is a helluva lot funnier when it's\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 3 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=214#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Who Dissected Roger Rabbit (Detail)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/rogerrabbit_detail_ulc.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2634,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=2634","url_meta":{"origin":6539,"position":3},"title":"Lookin’ Sharp","author":"Tim","date":"29 March, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Just when I was beginning to think the 3D fractal scene was plateauing and running out of interesting themes to explore... along comes something sharp.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/The-Center-of-It-All-by-lenord.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1897,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1897","url_meta":{"origin":6539,"position":4},"title":"Why Image files are very different than Parameter files: Derivative Works!","author":"Tim","date":"16 November, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 4 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 4 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=1897#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/param3-11.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":412,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=412","url_meta":{"origin":6539,"position":5},"title":"The Road Stops at Digital","author":"Tim","date":"21 September, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Several questionsIs the entire digital art medium just too new and different for the art gallery world? Has the art world, that great destroyer of cultural norms and traditions, found a free-flowing, anarchic, internet-based digital medium too ab-normal and un-traditional to dive into? Is it because digital art can't be\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=412#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/31708753-6676072162113849126?l=orbittrap.blogspot.com","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lunarville01-600px.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6539"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6564,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6539\/revisions\/6564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}