This
tutorial will teach you what final transforms in the Apophysis
fractal program are, and how to visualize their effects and utilize
them. This special form of transform is very powerful and can
completely change the look of a fractal. We’ll first build a base
fractal so that you can visualize each variation easily, and then
we’ll look at the practical application.
What
Are Final Transforms?
A
final transform is a very special form of transform in Apophysis. As
the name implies, there can be only one. It acts as a funnel would.
All of the regular transforms are funneled through this one transform
so that the effect you see is whatever variations are found on the
final transform. The final transform can so drastically change your
original fractal that you may not even recognize it.
Why Use Final Transforms?
The
simple answer: because they make things easy. There are other ways to
accomplish the same effect that the final transform gives a fractal,
but they are very complicated and not necessary in most instances.
The sheer speed and power afforded you by the final transform is
enough incentive to learn how to use them.
Lets
get started by building a test fractal and then looking at the effect
a final transform has on the fractal.
1. Creating a Test Fractal
Step
1
Load
Apophysis and open the Editor. Click the button for a New Flame.
This will give us a blank canvas to with which to start.
Step
2
Before
we proceed any further, close the Editor window and open the
Gradient Adjustment window. We will assign a gradient to the
fractal so that the colors are clear and evident when we make changes
to the final transform.
Choose
a gradient that includes several bright and contrasting colors. I
have selected 531_Dark_Rainbow.
Step
3
Open
the Editor again and switch to the Variations tab. Remove
linear from your fractal by changing the value to 0. Look for
the blur_square variation and add 1 to the value. Older
versions of Apophysis might include the square variation and
you should use this if blur_square is not available. If
neither is an option in the version of Apophysis you are using, use
sinusoidal and blur both with values of 1. The effect
is nearly identical, with slight nuances.
Step
4
Click
the button in the toolbar to turn on the Post Transform option
for Transform 1. This is the button with a PX and a Triangle beside
it. Switch to the Triangle tab. Change the unit size for the
move box (the box with the up and down arrows on the left; and
left and right arrows to the right) to 1 unit. Move this transform up
1 and to the left 1. At this point, you will not see any
change in your preview window.
Step
5
Click
the Duplicate Transform button in the top of the toolbar. Move
this transform to the right two units. Switch to the Colors
tab. Change the Color speed to -1. Choose a new color for this
transform by adjusting the value in the Transform color box.
I’ve selected 0.740.
Step
6
The
process is very similar for the next two transforms. Again, click
Duplicate Transform. This time move Transform 3 down two units. Change to the Colors tab and adjust the color. I chose
1.000.
Step
7
Duplicate
this transform as well. Move it to the left two units. In the
Colors tab, choose one more color. This time I’ve selected
0.406.
I
would highly recommend you save the fractal at this point.
Congratulations, you’ve created your test fractal. Now we’ll apply
the final transform and take note of its effect.
2. Applying the Final Transforms
Step
1
In
the Editor window, click the FX with a triangle icon in the
toolbar which is the Enable Final Transform button. You will
not notice an immediate change in the preview window because Linear
is the default variation. You will, however, have a new grey-colored
transform in the editor. Switch to the Variations tab and set
linear equal to 0. You will notice that your fractal
disappears completely from the preview window.
Step
2
Add
1 to the swirl variation. Notice the change. Try adding more
and taking away from swirl. Take note that in this instance
the size and shape does not change, but the lighting and hue of the
fractal do. Remember this trick and use it to your advantage when you
need to increase or decrease the lighting in your fractal.
Step
3
Take
some time to explore and try out different variations on the final
transform. Next, mix two different variations together and see how
the effect changes the fractal as a whole. Below are a few
examples.
This is the effect of applying Polar = 1 to the final Transform.
Below is LazySusan = 1 applied to the final transform.
Here I have mixed both Elliptic and Auger with a value of 1 on the final transform.
Feel
free to spend some more time exploring the Final Transform. Don’t
forget that you can move it, rotate it, and even apply a post
transform to it just as you would any other fractal transform.
3. Using a Final Transform on Fractals
Step
1
For
ease of use, we will stick with our base fractal. Turn the final
transform off by clicking the button in the toolbar to disable the
final transform. Select Transform 1 from the Transform
dropdown menu. Click the Clear button at the bottom of the
Variations tab to remove all variations. Add a value of 1 to
the linear variation. Finally, change the Weight of
this transform to 1.
Step
2
Repeat
this for transforms 2 through 4 so that all transforms now have
linear equal to 1. We just created a very simple square tile.
Step
3
Add
a new transform to the fractal by clicking the New Transform
button in the toolbar. Remove linear from the Variations
tab by changing its value to 0 and add blur_square (or your
square variation) by changing its value to 0.5. Change the Weight
of this transform to 2.
Step
4
Duplicate
Transform 5. In the Triangle tab or at the top of the toolbar,
activate the post transform. Move this transform over to the
right 1 unit.
4. Activating the Final Transform
Step
1
In
the toolbar of the Editor, Enable the Final Transform.
In the Variations tab, click the Clear button to remove
all previously used variations. Experiment with different variations
and combinations.
Step
2
I
decided to use a combination of variations on the final transform.
The combo is checks = 1 and Circlize = 1.17. I also
flipped the transform vertically along its axis.
5. Rendering the Fractal
Step
1
Now
all that is left to do is to clean up the fractal and adjust the
lighting. Close the Editor window as you will no longer need
this window. Open the Adjustments window and switch to the
Rendering tab. The fractal looks quite dull and I want it to
really pop. Change the Gamma to 5 and the Brightness to
20. Notice how much “stronger” the fractal now looks.
Step
2
Use
the move, rotate and zoom tools in the main window to adjust the
framing and fractal position as you see fit.
Step
3
Click
the Render button (purple gear) in the toolbar of the main
window to open up the rendering dialog. Choose the path to save your
fractal. I chose unusual render settings for this fractal, but it
gives it a very nice appearance. Oversample of 3. Filter
of 1.6. Density of 20,000. Of course, you should feel free to
experiment with different settings and compare the results.
Here
is my result.
Congratulations!
You have just designed your own fractal from scratch and applied a
final transform to it. Not only that, but now you have a working
knowledge of final transforms, how to test them, and how to apply
them to your own fractal designs. Have fun!
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