To experience the full beauty of these images, I suggest changing your color mode to "true color" 24-bit or 32-bit under your display property settings if your graphics card allows. (Unless you are running an older card you should be able to do this!) If you are running at 256 colors or less you will lose much of the detail and the vibrant colors!

Why I wrote this tutorial.
My first exposure to the "Wonderful World of Fractals"came in the fall of 1998 when a friend, Will, was showing some of the fractals he had created. I had never seen these before and was fascinated by the beauty & complexity of this art.

This started me off on a search to find fractal programs so that I could try creating these incredible images myself. I soon had several programs to try but not a clue on how to use them! These programs had been generously created by the authors but the help files were woefully inadequate or non-existent for a novice to figure out how to use them.

After having other people tell me they were having trouble figuring out the programs, I thought I would share what I have learned by creating this tutorial. This is only a simple introduction to most of the functions of this program but by the end of it you will be familiar enough with this program to embark on creating your own!

What is a fractal?
First and foremost, I am NOT a mathematician, so this is my attempt to describe in layman terms what these incredible images are! If you would like a more detailed explanation, check out my links page, where you will be able to find numerous links for a more in-depth look at the science of fractals.

Fractals are complex, detailed geometric patterns found throughout the natural world. In this case they are complex computer generated images or designs of amazing detail. They are created using mathematical formulae and are infinite in their ability to be viewed in ever increasing detail.The closer you look (zoom in) the more detail there is. Each image represents it's parent image (self similar) but are not static.They can be incredibly mundane or extraordinarily beautiful! New formulas create new fractals, maybe the next type will be named after you! You will NOT need to know any complex math theories in order to create your own images and to enjoy this medium! Just the desire and a little creativity will go a long way!

What kind of computer do I need?
Even if you have an old 386 running DOS you can create these images! (It may take you 'till the next millennium to generate them but you can still create them!) The newer your machine, the quicker the images will generate. Some programs will generate images faster than others. Tiera-Zon could generate the initial images in a matter of seconds on my old Pentium166.

How do I get started?
First of all, you will need a fractal program to generate your own fractals. These can be purchased for around a $1000.00.     Just kidding!   ;)

I will be using Stephen Ferguson's "Tiera-Zon" throughout this tutorial. You can download this free program now by clicking here! I have included links to several sites on the internet where you can obtain this program and others FREE! There are many programs to try, each with unique characteristics.

Probably the oldest & most widely used program (at least until recently) is Fractint. I have only "dabbled" in this program due to it's DOS interface. There are many newer programs, with my current favorite being Tiera-Zon 2.7 by Stephen Ferguson. Stephen has created a number of terrific programs, many of which can create fractals in true color format, (millions of colors), as opposed to 256 color mode.These produce fractals with much more brilliant colors. I also like Iterations (256 color mode), also by Stephen.

These are only my preferences! I would recommend downloading & trying several to find what you like!

WARNING!
Some of the pages in this tutorial may be slow to load due to the photos and/or your connection speed to the internet. I have tried to make the images as small as possible but wanted you to be able to see the programs window in order to fully understand what I was doing on each step. This is to make it easier for YOU to use! If you don't want to wait for all the images to load, don't! You can just follow the text instructions and move on. Enjoy!

Ok, I can hear you saying "Enough already! Let's get to it!" So without further ado, let's get started!