Top 5 Open Source Software For Fractals
At Naper Design, we have a special place in our hearts for Fractals. They are by the far the most intriguing and mesmerizing pieces of digital work(opinion of both Brett and Christian). In keeping with most designers, we are going to share a top 5 of Fractal producing software that we have personally tested. Here are the Criteria:
- Must be Open Source (Free, because we are indeed cheep)
- Must be user friendly (requiring less than a doctorate)
- Must produce quality Fractals in various formats and layers
- Must be able to import into Photoshop/illustrator (this one usually separates the wheat from the chafe)
In keeping with this list we tested over 30 “Open Source” Fractal Development Programs. The first thing to understand is that Open Source does not always mean Open Source. Sometimes “Open Source” means “Trial Period”… which we do not approve of. We don’t believe it wrong from developers to make profit. On the contrary, we believe it to be their responsibility. Our problem is when we see a bait and switch or false advertisement. So, if you have a program that falls in line with offering itself as Open Source and it is not, then there is the reason the your software will not make this list.
As for the “Import” criteria. We will be posting our experiences later in the year with our personal endeavours with these programs> What I will assure you is that they are indeed representative of the ability and that the programs below will import correctly (sometimes requiring a little bit of coaxing) into Photoshop and Illustrator.
Granted, we probably could have, and likely will use a larger field at a later date. Until then, here is the list of % best fractal programs given the criteria listed above.
1. Gnofract 4D
“Gnofract 4D is a free, open source program which allows anyone to create beautiful images called fractals. The images are automatically created by the computer based on mathematical principles. These include the Mandelbrot and Julia sets and many more. You don’t need to do any math: you can explore a universe of images just using a mouse. It runs on Unix-based systems such as Linux and FreeBSD and can also be run on Mac OS X”
2. Fract-O-Rama
“Fract-O-Rama is a Qt-based fractal generation program. All fractal images are specified using the program’s fractal scripting language, so it is possible to explore a wider variety of fractal types/options than with many other generation programs. Full source is included, and the program readily compiles/runs on UNIX or win32 (win32 binaries are also available, as a Qt commercial license is required to build the program on windows). It comes with documentation and many example fractals.”
3. Fractal Explorer 2.0
While it is another oldie, this is a great one.
“Fractal Explorer application represents a fractal generator that will produce mysterious and beautiful mathematically based images. Not just a tool for professionals, FE can provide hours of entertainment for beginners and experts alike !”
4. Apophysis
For the record, We realize this is an old one, but seriously, it’s still a great one for anyone who just loves fractals..
“Apophysis is a freeware Windows program for designing and rendering fractal flames . It was created by Mark Townsend and has since been improved and updated by Peter Sdobnov, Piotr Borys and Ronald Hordijk. Fractal Flames were originally developed in 1992 by Scott Draves . This Wiki is intended to be a central location for information about Apophysis and resources for Apophysis users.”
5. ChaosPro
Chaos Pro has to be the most versatile, user friendly and most adaptive piece of software that we have used so far that fits the Freeware/Open Source Criteria. The system integrates flawlessly with both Adobe products and with Autodesk (making for some really nice renderings). The other benefit is that every aspect is in real-time.. meaning a little bit of computer lag, but faster renders…. Here is the description from their site.
“ChaosPro is a real time freeware fractal generator for MS Windows with support for many different fractal types (2D and 3D), true color support, animation support. Due to its integrated compiler it is quite fast even if you write your own formulas within ChaosPro.”
Many will likely complain that Chaoscope, Electric Sheep,and a few other notable programs are not included. I would urge you to again, read the criteria. They had one or more shortcomings in the way of the set limits of this post.