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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Fractal eXtreme: The Barnsley Sets

In my previous post I said I would now go into all the other kinds of fractal sets Fractal eXtreme has available.  (Auto Quadratic, the "Hidden Mandelbrot", Barnsley 1, 2 and 3, Classic and Complex Newton, and Nova/NovaM).

I've since played around with those various sets and believe me, some of them are mind-blowing. The thing is, I can't fit them all in, in one post. So I'll start with the less interesting Barnsleys. Actually, before I start with them, let me just cover one that really doesn't merit much attention: The Classic Newton. This is what it looks like when it loads:


Actually I think I changed the colours to make it a bit more exciting, hehe. And sure, it doesn't look so bad, you might say. But here's the thing: When you zoom in, there's only more of the same. Truly, what you see above you is all there is. I got hopeful when I noticed it had a "Duplicate as Julia" option (which you may have noticed some of the others don't have) but surprise!, no matter where you Alt-click on the original, the Julia looks exactly the same! And thus, these are the last few seconds I will spend on this "fractal". (Ok, just a few more to give it at least this small tribute: It is the first step towards the Complex Newton, a much more interesting cousin).

Ok, now for the Barnsleys! Once again, I'll start with the more boring option: Poor old Barnsley 2. Upon loading, this it what you get:



Not very inspiring is it? But there is hope, you think... Julias! What do it's Julias look like? Well, just as the zoom in on the original, they're mostly very geometric. Could be useful I suppose, if you're looking for something in this specific style... I saved two examples to show you:


With a bit more creativity than I had patience for at the time, you could yield a Julia zoom that's very pretty... But that's all. Pretty. 

Next comes Barnsley 1. Upon loading:


Kinda like Barnsley 1, but with symmetry. And its Julias are slightly more interesting, but still very geometric:


Also notice that they're always nicely encircled. So yes, very pretty and if you zoom in, tweak the colours a bit, and frame it correctly, you'll get some very pretty images. And of course if you go further and whip out some Photoshop skills, you might even end up with something worthy of the Fractal Art genre. But now for the last and most interesting, Barnsley 3.

Upon loading:


Hmm.. Kinda reminiscent of another fractal we know, right? And indeed, it's Julias are too:


 I did them in red, just for a change in scenery. But yes, as you can see, Barnsley 3 yields Julias that are somewhat similar to the Mandelbrot Julias, but they seem twisted and somehow, even without colouring them red and black, more sinister. Of course, zooming in on both the original (certain specific zones of it) and the Julias produces some very interesting shapes that you won't find in the original Mandelbrot set.

Alright... That's it for now. Stay tuned, things are gonna get magical ;)

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