Artifracts
Creating Fractal Art
WHAT IS FRACTAL ART?
Let's start with...

What is a Fractal?
A fractal is a never-ending pattern, which repeats across different scales and in nature, can be seen everywhere. The next time you go for a walk through woodlands just take a look at a fern. It is intricately detailed and all the leaves are little copies of the branches. The entire fern is created by the same shape being repeated over and over at different scales. But there is always randomness and variation and no two fronds are ever identical. But natural fractals don’t stop there, they are seen in seashells, trees, snowflakes, rivers, clouds, leaves – everywhere you look.

Computer-generated Fractals
Abstract fractals can be generated by a computer calculating the same equation over and over in a never-ending feedback loop. It can be infinitely complex – just like many naturally-occurring fractals. Fractal patterns can be symmetrical and organised while others are chaotic and organic in character.

Creating Fractal Art
There are a number of computer programs that can be used to generate fractals. Each of these programs is unique and has its own characteristics. Sometimes I combine two or more fractals together or edit them further in Photoshop and occasionally I draw into them too. Just like any other creative software, the ability to design comes from knowing the software well and having a clear idea of what you wish to achieve.

Fractal Software
This is Mandelbulb 3D, which is one of several computer fractal generating programs that I use.