{"id":5962,"date":"2018-01-25T21:23:48","date_gmt":"2018-01-26T02:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5962"},"modified":"2018-03-10T10:06:48","modified_gmt":"2018-03-10T15:06:48","slug":"kandid-beats-apophysis-chaotica-and-jwildfire-with-millions-of-colors-tied-behind-its-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5962","title":{"rendered":"Kandid beats Apophysis, Chaotica and JWildfire with millions of colors tied behind its back!!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The purpose of this posting is to show you that an old, point and click program operating in grayscale can be more creative and artistically profitable to use than a cutting-edge fractal flame renderer like Chaotica or JWildfire.\u00a0 Should you happen to agree with that conclusion, the question then arises: “Why is there so much more interest in a program like Chaotica and JWildfire among fractal artists than there is in one like Kandid?”<\/p>\n

Hands up everyone who’s ever used Kandid<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nobody’s even heard of Kandid except for me.\u00a0 Kandid is a java-based genetic art program from 2002 that features several kinds of algorithms including an Iterated Function System Affine Transformation; Voronoi Diagram; Cellular Automata and a bunch of other things.\u00a0 By far my favorite is the IFS Affine Transformation in Grayscale mode.\u00a0 It can operate in color modes but the results are always awful.\u00a0 Kandid’s Sourceforge site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most fractal artists work with “advanced” programs that require them to make most of the creative decisions and which leads to a creative process that revolves around their guidance and direction and therefore produces work that is largely an expression of them.\u00a0 This is micro-managing the algorithms and really interferes with mechanical creativity.\u00a0 The more you’re involved in the decision making process the more you’re to blame for the results of it.<\/p>\n

Why do they do it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Only deliberate, “intelligent” control can make fractal algorithms produce consistently themed imagery.\u00a0 I think the tastes of fractal artists have become so stylized over the years that only conventional themes interest them anymore because only those things attract the attention of their peers.\u00a0 I would characterize the fractal art world as a craft community where technique and refinement rather than the iconoclastic attitude of an art community is the driving force behind new works.\u00a0 Fractal art is now oriented around fractal artists rather than fractals.\u00a0 It’s a social scene.\u00a0 But I think most art groups eventually evolve into that, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise.<\/p>\n

The Art Gallery of Doctor Moreau<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kandid is a genetic art program and makes new things in an entirely different way.\u00a0 There is no artist needed or even any way for one to get involved.\u00a0 It’s a purely mechanical process with the exception of selecting pairs of images to “breed”.\u00a0 Can you call yourself an artist when all you do is check off two pictures and then watch them “breed”?\u00a0 I don’t really see these things as my artwork or identify with them personally because they’re entirely the result of Kandid’s automatic gene shuffling and random mutation.\u00a0 In a farming context, my role would be described as that of a breeder.\u00a0 Any personal resemblance between me and my horses would be absurd.<\/p>\n

~ Click on images to view the larger size version ~<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

More fractal than the coastline of Britain or a Sierpinski corn-flake!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Look closely at each image and you will see that every sub-unit is actually a copy of each large scale image.\u00a0 Sometimes the smaller particles are flipped or rotated, but they are all self-similar on every scale.\u00a0 I never noticed it at first until I stumbled across some really obvious examples.\u00a0 The image just above is a good depiction of self-similarity.\u00a0 Note the shape of the cloud in the background of the main image and then note how each of the small floating “puffs” are identical but scaled down to the point that they’ve become mini-thumbnails.\u00a0 Some are flipped left to right, but each small one contains all the elements of the large one that forms the entire picture.\u00a0 Recursive as well as self-similar, these images are about as fractal as fractal art can get.\u00a0 And 100% mechanically made!\u00a0 No “artist” required.\u00a0 The program will entertain you.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Screenshot of all there is to Kandid: a bunch of breeding cells. Note the top right and bottom left cells marked with green triangles are the parents hand chosen by the user for breeding and the rest are the children.\u00a0 You click the top-left button on the toolbar and the children cells change.\u00a0 Change your parental pair selection or click again.\u00a0 That’s all there is to it.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The only parameter settings that there are. I don’t know what they mean, but adjusting them does change the results somewhat.\u00a0 I think the limit for mutation is 1.00.\u00a0 I tried 9.99 but it stopped me.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kandid conveniently makes available every image you’ve saved for re-breeding later. It displays the corresponding image file for each\u00a0 accompanying chromosome file containing the genetic parameters that define the image’s graphical characteristics.\u00a0 You don’t actually breed the images, you breed the parameters.\u00a0 This is generally how most genetic programming works, I would guess.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Main opening screen for Kandid. The options are IFS (top row) Cellular Automata (next row down), then Voronoi Diagrams and then a bunch that I’ve never found very useful like L-systems and something that allows for POV ray export and things like that.\u00a0 Ironically, there’s a Flame Fractal function but it’s very primitive although maybe it wasn’t back in 2002 (second row from bottom).<\/p><\/div>\n

The Question…<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Why is there so much more interest in a program like Chaotica and JWildfire among fractal artists than there is in one like Kandid?”<\/em><\/p>\n

I think what makes the average fractal artist tick is an interest in fractal software development.\u00a0 They like artwork that epitomizes and demonstrates cutting edge rendering.\u00a0 This is not really an art thing, it’s more of a medium thing.\u00a0 Imagine a photography category that focuses and revolves around the latest equipment and specialized techniques.\u00a0 Their photo galleries would be full of very similar subject matter that highlighted differences in the equipment and techniques used.\u00a0 It would be labeled a photography tweaking group.\u00a0 Would they have eccentric subject matter and themes? or much “retro” black and white photography?\u00a0 No, they would use standardized themes because that would make for easier comparison with current artwork and techniques.<\/p>\n

In the fractal art world over the last two decades we’ve improved the rendering but we haven’t improved the subject matter and there’s no point in improving the rendering unless it’s got a subject worth rendering.\u00a0 The 3D fractal innovation of the last few years was the sole exception.\u00a0 The 3D fractal revolution brought both an improvement in rendering as well as an improvement in subject matter.\u00a0 It was “3D imagery” (voxels) but it was also interesting<\/em> 3D imagery.\u00a0 All of a sudden you had a quantum leap in creativity in the themes of fractal places and fractal landscapes.\u00a0 It was much more than a tweak.\u00a0 Artists I’d never been very interested in before suddenly started adding exciting stuff to their online galleries.\u00a0 Something happened to them? or something happened to their software?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An old, point and click program operating in grayscale can be more creative and artistically profitable to use than a cutting-edge fractal flame renderer like Chaotica or JWildfire. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/AffineIfs_Gray_fq385cae_j6z1pxee_x768_y768.jpg?fit=768%2C768&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5929,"url":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5929","url_meta":{"origin":5962,"position":0},"title":"Is that all there is to Chaotica?","author":"Tim","date":"14 January, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Not too long ago, before the advent of the Mandelbox and Mandelbulb 3D fractals, there were basically two types of fractals and two types of fractal artists: plain fractals and flame fractals. Flame fractals were a very interesting new development because they had a whole new look. They were light,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/chaoticafractals-intro-featured.jpg?fit=407%2C234&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5274,"url":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5274","url_meta":{"origin":5962,"position":1},"title":"Fresh Fractal Finds","author":"Tim","date":"11 January, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's a bunch of images that caught my eye while out prospecting with my virtual mule.\u00a0 Let's take a look while I try to psychoanalyze myself and add another chapter in the book, \"Art as Rorschach Test\". ~Click on images to view full-size on original site~ Stratographic detail\/ Prince of\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5274#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"basilica_of_holographic_projections_by_mandelwerk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/basilica_of_holographic_projections_by_mandelwerk.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5983,"url":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=5983","url_meta":{"origin":5962,"position":2},"title":"Is JWildfire any better than Chaotica?","author":"Tim","date":"24 January, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Just like Chaotica, JWildfire has produced a handful of cool looking artworks but has its advances in flame fractal rendering helped artists overcome the obstacle to creative innovation in the genre of flame fractals?","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/jwildfire-flame-fractal-search-deviantart.jpeg?fit=532%2C584&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/jwildfire-flame-fractal-search-deviantart.jpeg?fit=532%2C584&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/jwildfire-flame-fractal-search-deviantart.jpeg?fit=532%2C584&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":923,"url":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=923","url_meta":{"origin":5962,"position":3},"title":"Kandid’s Cellular Automata and the Creativity of Computational Art","author":"Tim","date":"13 March, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Of all the things that the Genetic Art java program Kandid does, I had always found (until recently) it's cellular automata features to be the most enticing and the most disappointing. The cellular automata, true to their synthetic, space age name, looked very computer-ish and although the high contrast color\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=923#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/DirectLca_RGB_g6okgclp_g6okgd84_x427_y427.png?fit=427%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3510,"url":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=3510","url_meta":{"origin":5962,"position":4},"title":"Flame Fractals: Get the Fire Extinguisher!","author":"Tim","date":"22 November, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"My continuing Odyssey in the seas of Deviant Art has brought me to what I shall refer to as the island of Apophysis, that being the great flame fractal program created by Mark Townsend which utilizes the \"flame algorithms\" discovered or invented by Scott Draves, the author of Electric Sheep,\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 10 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 10 comments","link":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=3510#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/image2.jpg?fit=440%2C305&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3521,"url":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=3521","url_meta":{"origin":5962,"position":5},"title":"The Echo of El Greco","author":"Tim","date":"24 November, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Sheeny\", distorted and shadowy: Is it not the echo of El Greco? I like the simple title, too. The image is simple but potent. In this tiny drop of formula there is river, desert, mountains, sky, clouds and eternal silence.","rel":"","context":"With 8 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 8 comments","link":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=3521#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/ufo_by_svitakovaeva-d4h14g6.jpg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5962"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6037,"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5962\/revisions\/6037"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}