In
this tutorial you will learn how to use the Apophysis fractal program
to create a Grand Julian style fractal from scratch. The Grand
Julian style gets its name from the Julia set formula credited to the
French mathematician Gaston Julia. Julian is a corruption of his last
name with the addition of the “n” to stand for the numeric
variable being applied to the formula.
At
the end of this tutorial you’ll be able to create a fractal similar
to this one.
1. Setting Up the Base
Step
1
After
opening Apophysis, click the Gradient button in the main
toolbar to open up the Gradient Adjustment window. We will now be
selecting a color palette with which to work.
You may wish to adjust this later but for now we
want something that will allow us to see the contrast between the
various transforms we will be adding.
I
have chosen 076_gris.landscape as my gradient. If you would
like to follow along exactly with me, please do the same. In addition
to this, change the Rotate setting to -14. This setting simply
moves through the gradient to choose a new starting point. We’ve done
this since the beginning color of the gradient is rather dark and
thus makes the entire base dark and difficult
to see.
Step
2
Close
the Adjustments window and open the Editor from the
main toolbar. We first need to clear out the random fractal that was
generated and start with a clean canvas. Click New Flame in
the top left-hand corner to reset the fractal to a blank state.
Step
3
We
now have a transform with Linear = 1 setup. Locate the Variations
tab in the Editor and change linear from 1 to 0. Scroll down
the variation list until you find blur and change this to
0.45.
You
should now see a large orange circle in the preview window. This is
the base for the fractal. It has a profound effect on the rest of the
Julian texture and shape, and thus is paramount to the
overall “feel” of the fractal.
Step
4
Click
the New Transform button at the top of the editor toolbar.
This adds the yellow triangle Transform 2. Once again, locate linear
in the variations tab and remove it by changing 1 to 0. Next, find
julian in this list and change its value to 1.
The Julian formula and this transform in
particular will control the overall structure of the fractal. Even
minute changes to this transform can drastically alter the overall
appearance.
Step
5
Before
moving onward, we need to make more vital modifications to Transform
2. Change the Weight value to something relatively high, such
as 15. We want the rendering engine to give high priority to this
transform and run the majority of pixel calculations through it.
Switch
to the Variables tab. Change julian_power to 2 and
julian_dist to -1. These values project the Julian
variation away from the center of the fractal rather than towards it
as it was set up previously.
Finally,
change to the Triangle tab. Rotate the transform
45 degrees (default 15 x3) counterclockwise. Move the transform up
0.3 units by clicking the up arrow 3 times with the default
of 0.1 units. No doubt at this point you see a drastic change in the
preview window.
Step
6
Next
we will change the color of transform 2. This adjustment can be very
time consuming and will need modification throughout the design
process. Feel free to spend as much time as you like on it.
Switch
to the Colors tab. Modify the Transform Color value
from 0 to 0.943. Take note of the change in appearance of the overall
fractal in the preview window. Changing the Color Speed
setting also drastically impacts the fractal’s appearance. We will
be leaving this setting as is for the
moment, but feel free to adjust it and see what effect it has on your
fractal.
At
this point in the tutorial you have the very basic Julian
setup. As the name of the tutorial implies, we want a Grand Julian!
How do we make it grand? Follow along as we add intricate detail with
more Julian transforms.
2.
Adding the Details
Step
1
Now
it is time to get creative with more Julian
transforms. Each transform we will be adding will include a different
amount of the Julian variation and
modifications to the variables in the Variables tab.
Add
a new transform by clicking the New Transform button in the
Editor toolbar. This will add in a new, green transform:
transform #3. In the Variations tab, change the linear
value from 1 to 0. Find julian and change this value to 0.46.
Notice this is 0.01 unit larger than our base
Transform #1.
Switch
to the Variables tab and change julian_power to 22 and
julian_dist to -1.
Finally
change to the Colors tab and set the Transform Color
to 0.726 and Color speed to -0.5.
Step
2
At
this point, adding new details is as simple as duplicating the
transform. Click the Duplicate transform button at the top of
the editor to create Transform 4.
In
the Variations tab, modify the value of julian to 0.56.
Switch
to the Variables tab and change the julian_power value
to 12.
Then
to the Colors tab where you can adjust the variables to your liking.
I chose the following settings:
Step
3
Let’s
now reduce the size of the blurred base transform. Switch to
Transform #1 and on the Variations tab change the blur
variation to 0.25. In addition, change the Weight to 2 to give
more presence to the base. You should notice a drastic change to the
fractal in the preview window.
Step
4
Select
Transform 4 again and then click the Duplicate Transform
button in the toolbar. This will provide us with a new julian
transform to work with.
Change
things up this time and add 0.05 gausian_blur to the transform
on the Variations tab. Change the julian setting to
0.3.
Switch
to the Variables tab and set the julian_power to 26.
In
the Colors tab, modify Transform color to 0.486 and
Color Speed to -0.199.
You
have now created your first Grand Julian fractal. There is still much
customization that you can add, and some suggestions are provided
below.
3.
Finishing Up the Fractal and Rendering
Step
1
I
personally am not a fan of the color scheme thus far. Close the
Editor window for now and let’s choose a different gradient from the
Gradient adjustment window.
Select
007_fashion-bug and change the Rotate value to -122.
You’ll
notice that the word Rotation has a dropdown arrow beside it. Click
this and select Saturation. Change this value to 10. This increases
the saturation of the gradient. There are many other options in this
dropdown menu to explore in adjusting the colors of your fractal.
Step
2
Now
we need to make some adjustments to the framing of the fractal. We’re
going to do some simple framing for this fractal but I encourage you
to experiment and find some more interesting angles and zooms.
Switch
to the Camera tab of the Adjustment window. Change the
Rotation value to 45. Now take your mouse and left-click and
drag over the word Scale to increase the zoom of the fractal.
Do not use the Zoom slider as this will cause your fractal to render
very slowly.
Step
3
Close
the Adjustment window. Click the purple gear button in the
main toolbar of Apophysis to open the Render window.
Choose
the name and file destination for your fractal render.
Change
the Density setting to 10,000. Filter Radius can be set
to your preference. I like to go with higher values
such as 1. Do not set the Oversample to
a value higher than 2.
Click
Start to begin the render.
Congratulations!
You’ve completed your first Grand Julian fractal from scratch all the
way to final render. Now that you have the basics under your belt, it’s time to explore the fractal further.
4. Take
It a Step Further
Notice
the incredible change to the fractal that adding one more Julian
transform and changing the framing can create.
Try
using different variations on the base transform (Transform #1).
Experiment with the gradients window and colors tab of the Editor to
find new pieces of the fractal that were previously hidden. Don’t
forget to try adding small amounts of other variations to the Julian
transforms and see how they interact.
Finally, use a Final Transform.
This powerful transform can drastically alter the overall structure
of your fractal and provide you with incredible new forms that you
never thought of previously.
Here
are a few more examples of some Grand Julians for your inspiration.
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