United Colonies of Fractalmania - Coat of Arms
By GDTimothy
@GDTimothy (446)
United States
October 12, 2010 1:21pm CST
As most of my friends on several other sites know, I'm really into fractal art. Fractals have fascinated me for a very long time. Now, although there is some major math involved with programs that generate fractals, those programs are getting easier to use all the time!
But nature herself has been producing fractals ever since time began. Ferns, pine cones, feathers, sea shells, and even trees are great examples. Fractals can be patterns that are themselves made of the same but smaller patterns which in turn are made of yet smaller patterns, ad infinitum. Coast lines and mountains are also describable using fractal mathematics.
In any case, I've included an example of my own fractal artwork here. I'd would love to know what you think about it and fractals in general. I'll even answer questions you may have about them as best I can.
Have you ever done fractal art yourself? Or do you just like looking at the fractals other folks produce? Can you think of any other examples of Nature's fractals?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@GDTimothy (446)
• United States
13 Oct 10
Indeed, crystals do form fractals! Snow flakes come to mind.
You don't really have to have any math background to use some of the great fractal programs out there! See my response above regarding Chaoscope and other programs. These will all let you play around quite a bit without knowing any math. Of course, there are some features of these programs that do indeed require some mathematics, or least it's helpful to know some rather than just tweaking numbers mindlessly to see what works. On the other hand, sometimes just blindly playing around can be fun! :-)
2 people like this
@GDTimothy (446)
• United States
13 Oct 10
Oh, I hear you, and understand completely! I do some writing too, and it is my first love. The trouble is that I have so many and varied interests, that I often get stuck in a loop where I'm doing only a little bit of each thing, and my writing suffers.
But fractal art seems to fulfill a deep need for creative outlet that I haven't had until recently. But I do keep promising myself that I'll start to write more do fewer fractals. :-)
2 people like this
@abitosunshine (765)
• United States
24 Oct 10
My interest in fractals is purely set in viewing your artistry in that form, especially when you combine it with poetry. I've never tried it, don't dare try it or may become addicted, too, and just do not have the time for another artistic addiction, ha! Keep it up, Gary, I love your fractals!
@cyrus123 (6363)
• United States
13 Oct 10
I just looked at your pictures and they are beautiful! It seems like I have heard of fractal art but I never knew what it was. We're going to have Heritage Day in my town this weekend and they usually have a lot of people to sell arts and crafts down there. I wonder if there will be some fractal art down there. Would a cactus plant be an example of a fractal? What about flowers? You said that mountains and coastlines are describable as using fractal mathematics. Could a lake, river, or creek be a fractal?
@GDTimothy (446)
• United States
13 Oct 10
Hey, thanks for responding, Cyrus! Also thanks for the compliment!
And yes, some flowers definitely have fractal forms. Rivers and creeks can be fractals to, based on the course they take - from smaller tributaries to larger streams to creeks and rivers. I hadn't thought of them before! Some cacti are fractal too, especially those that have smaller versions of themselves budding or growing on them that in turn have smaller similar parts.
1 person likes this
