Orbit Trap

somewherein the worldthere is a cave and the eye that looks from itsees the star of arabia years have passedthe eye, unblinkinglooks from it pale, dark, written with redsees the star of arabia the wind…

Here’s another theory in the rough; something that I think is relevant to Fractal Art, and probably all artforms: There are “Artists” and there are “Craftsmen”. An artist is… I don’t know what an artist…

The Fractal Art world is an odd place. The strange combination of technical people (mathematicians, engineers, programmers) and artsy, creative people is curious and could almost be the setting for a mystery novel. My wife…

Orbit Trap has abandoned the goal of becoming a group fractal blog due to lack of interest. Continuing to present Orbit Trap as a group blog is confusing to readers and misrepresents it’s actual content.…

I apologize for not keeping a closer eye on the Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest 2006. If I had, these comments of mine wouldn’t have come a whole year late, but it’s just recently that…

Before I start to comment on this year’s Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest, I should tell you something: I don’t like contests. I think they trivialize art by turning it into a sports competition. The…

If you’ve ever driven on a highway in a snowstorm you probably know that the best way to stay on the road is to drive with one wheel just off the edge of it. I…

Browsing fractal sites usually leaves me with a feeling best described by the fancy term, “Ennui“. There just isn’t much originality. I don’t know why. Maybe most fractal artists makes fractal art for reasons other…

It’s always amazed me how careful and disciplined insects can be. One of the many wonders I saw when visiting the tropical Gulf coast of Mexico were leaf-cutter ants. Up here in Canada (Toronto), ants…

Made from the original, below, using Block Wave with default settings on a resized (enlarged) version I wonder how many of us, capable of doing so many things, would be reduced to only one single,…

The scenery of Walden is on a humble scale, and, though very beautiful, does not approach to grandeur, nor can it much concern one who has not long frequented it or lived by its shore;…

As Orbit Trap rolls towards its first anniversary, Tim and I are looking back — and also looking forward. Initially, we used a by-invitation-only process for selecting contributors to Orbit Trap. We have decided to…

“So radically innovative are Ultra Fractal’s capabilities that they have literally redefined fractal art since the program’s debut.”(From Ultrafractal.com) It’s complicated. Believe me, it took me a few years to come to such a radical…

In a nutshell, it doesn’t do what Inkblot Kaos, Sterlingware, Tierazon or Xaos does. I want something that sprouts artwork after a couple of clicks. Ultra Fractal? It’s just too much work. Too many layers.…

Before there was only sand and the Shat al Arab. But now, plumes of color from the petro-chemical plants. From oil comes the pigments and inks of modern industry, turning the sombre land into oceans…

I have wanted nothing elsebut to release the machinefrom its stall I have told ityou are better than the othersfaster than the others,they paint with sticksand they talk like fools Sure, a lot of it’s…

Sometimes the past fails us, and we have to write our own ancient legends. The 8th voyage of Sindbad, and other things that were probably imagined, but never recorded. How many books could be filled…

When Robert Oppenheimer witnessed the first nuclear explosion, a project which he personally managed, he apparently said, “I am become Death, the destoyer of worlds”. When I first tried out this photoshop filter, I said,…

There are the few that are Great, and there are the many that are Little. The Great are classics, or well on their way. Everyone knows them. They have a following. They have names. They…

The smaller you look, the larger you see. There are two modes I apply when working with fractals or graphic software in general. One is to keep a close eye on what does what, and…

Why did the fractal cross the road? To travel back in time? Compare this image: The familiar Mandelbrot Set form. With this image: An Ottoman illustration of the sacrifice of Ismael (1583). The resemblance should…

Well, it’s actually just one, but with such power, such awesome, earth-quaking power. Ilyich the Toad’s multi-crystal.8bf is a fairly standard distortion, multi-faceted, lens filter. We’ve all seen variations of this all over the place.…

Some filters make mountains, and some filters make dust. More about Illyich the Toad’s multicrystal.8bf. I start with a fractal, and then smash it up. I smash some more. Not much fractal left now. If…

Orwellian, 1984, Mouthpiece of Baal, Howling Telescreen. My latest fractal Rorshach test. It looks a bit like an old “Victrola”. They were one of the earliest record players, before electricity was widely available, and relied…