If you love to see nice fractals, or generating fractals is part of your hobby, then you might want to try out some really cool fractal generators. For people who are not familiar with fractals, fractals can simply be defined as mathematical constructs, natural or artificial things that are self-similar (similar in appearance) no matter how much they are zoomed. The degree of this similarity can vary among different types of fractals. Beyond the self-similarity, fractals are basically revered for their repetitive detailed patterns.
We have all seen fractals even if we were not aware of it. For example, clouds and trees are natural fractal shapes. They exhibit similar and very detailed patterns infinitely. Fractal shapes are almost exactly the same at varying scales or maintain fine, detailed pattern. They exhibit fine details at both very high and low magnification. While the cloud is a natural fractal, there are mathematical fractals created by computers. The most popular mathematical fractal is Mandelbrot set, which exhibits great self-similarity and reveals fine details even at very high magnification.
Free Tools for Generation of Fractals
There are several tools to lay your hands on to generate fractals. Some of the following tools are web-based, while others require downloading and installing. Go with whichever tool you are comfortable with and start generating fractals.
1. Turtle Graphics Renderer
This is a web-based fractal generator and viewer that will blow your mind away. The app allows modifying different aspects of your work like axoim, constants, iterations and so on. The examples provided on the homepage makes fractal generation very easy.
2. ChaosPro
ChaosPro supports fractal generation for Windows. It lets you create 2D and 3D fractal types, animation and true color. You can check their gallery page for several examples of fractals generated with ChaosPro or visit their download page to get a recent version of their software for your computer.
3. GNU XaoS
GNU XaoS provides a powerful fractal zoomer that lets you zoom in and out of several fractals, and thus explore fractals to a great degree. GNU XaoS displays Mandelbrot, Newton, Phoenix and many more fractal types. Unlike ChaosPro which runs on Windows alone, GNU XaoS runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and other Unix-like systems.
4. Apophysis
Apophysis lets you create, edit and render fractal flames, which are extensions of Iterated Function Systems (IFS) in Windows. Like GNU Xaos, it is regarded as one of the very powerful fractal generator.
5. Mandelbulber
This is an experimental tool specifically developed for rendering Mandelbrot fractals like Mandelbub, Mandelbox, Menger Sponge, JuliaBulb, BulbBox and Iterated Function Systems (IFS). It runs on Windows and Linux and allows 3D shading – environment mapping, hard shadows, ambient occlusion etc as well as key-frame animation of floating-point parameters.
6. Fractint
Fractint was developed for IBM PCs and compatible computers to generate fractals. It is a very versatile and extensive fractal generator that you can use for free.
7. GIMP
GIMP is described as the GNU Image Manipulation program. It is a freeware for image editing like image composition, image authoring and photo retouching; and it runs on most operating systems. It has a powerful tool for creating fractals called Fractal Explorer.
Conclusion
Fractals bring you in touch with endless possibilities. By creating, editing and rendering fractals, you can come up with awesome, unimaginable image views. If you truly love to see fractals, you will appreciate the power exhibited by the above tools. Beware however; you can get carried away for several hours when you start generating fractals.
