--FractaSketch 2.03 now available as FREEWARE--
Graphic design inspired by fractal geometry
FractaSketch: a graphic designer's tool
Introduction
FractaSketch (patented)
is a drawing tool
for Macintosh based on linear fractal geometry.
FractaSketch lets you, the graphic designer, design and colorize
stylized natural and geometric shapes of great complexity and subtlety.
FractaSketch is the first program
that gives you full control
by direct manipulation (no equations!) and it is fast.
Selected parts (such as fixed point arithmetic)
are written in assembly language for speed.
You have control of all aspects of the drawing:
the shape, its complexity, and its colorization.
FractaSketch takes the drudgery out of complex designs while
giving the biggest possible freedom to your creativity.
FractaSketch is not based on the Mandelbrot algorithm
or other point-centered
computationally-intensive iterative techniques.
The program gives much more
variety than the globular shapes generated by Mandelbrot programs.
FractaSketch was developed by
Peter Van Roy.
Version 1.0 was first commercialized by Dynamic Software in 1988.
Version 2.03 greatly extends version 1.0 by adding
powerful color control, editing, linking, and
many beautiful royalty-free images.
The last missing link, the manual, is now in a reasonable
(although not perfect) state.
Version 2.03 is available as freeware (see below).
The designing, drawing, and colorization technologies
of FractaSketch are protected by U.S. patent 5,831,633, granted in 1998.
This patent protects (among other things):
- A basic method for drawing complex black and white shapes.
- A colorization technique that extends the basic method
to provide a simple way to make quite subtle color graduations.
- A user interface to design colored images according
to the extended method.
This patent does not limit your use of FractaSketch
in any way, commercial or non-commercial.
However,
if you are interested in commercial use of
the technologies underlying FractaSketch,
for example to make a plugin,
then please contact the author.
Full release of FractaSketch 2.03 (FREE!)
The following are available:
- FractaSketch 2.03: program
(in English and French),
manual (in English and French), and sample designs.
- FractaSketch 2.03 Image Archive: a vast collection of designs, both in
black & white and color, at all levels of detail and complexity.
This is a valuable resource for the serious FractaSketch designer.
These are both Stuffit SEA 3.5 archives (self-extracting archive);
they can be opened by running them or through Stuffit Expander.
The program was developed with Think C 5.0 for MC680X0 Macintosh.
I am looking for someone to port this version to a PowerPC.
I am also looking for someone to update the program so that it
will run natively under Mac OS X.
If you are interested, please contact me and I will send you
the source files.
How Others Use FractaSketch
- African
Fractals: modern computing and indigenous design,
by Ron Eglash, Rutgers University Press, 1999.
This book shows how fractal geometry is expressed in African culture.
FractaSketch is used throughout to illustrate.
- A FractaSketch illustration from the book African Fractals
is featured in the ``Image of the Month'' column in
the Feb. 1999 issue of
Pour la Science,
the French-language edition of Scientific American.
- Jhane Barnes,
New York clothing designer,
used FractaSketch
for her 1994 line of men's fashions.
- FractaSketch is featured in
the book Exploring Fractals on the Macintosh,
by Bernt Wahl, Addison-Wesley, 1994.
The book comes with a shrink-wrapped early black&white
version of FractaSketch.
- Young Scholars
Fractal Gallery 1997, original designs made by 5th-7th grade students
in a fractal geometry workshop held at
Indiana University
Purdue University Indianapolis in July 1997.
Some of these designs are amazing, especially when viewed
on a 24-bit color screen.
- Greenwood
Community High School Fractal Gallery, more original designs
by high school students, made in February 1998.
There are some neat designs here too.
- The
Fractal Geometry Playshop, original designs by the
participants of the IUPUI/TMMI Math Contest, 1998.
There are some neat designs here too.
- Whiteland
Community High School Fractal Gallery, more original designs by
high school students, made in February 1999.
There are some neat designs here too.
Local copies in GIF format
of some of the designs in the three Fractal Galleries and
the Fractal Playshop are
here.
My favorites are
Sarah's
and
Nick's
designs.
Some Sample Designs
Here are a few examples among hundreds of images created with FractaSketch.
These images can be created in seconds with just a few mouse clicks.
The drawing of these images is completely deterministic.
The design of the shapes
and their colorizations were done interactively
with immediate feedback of the results.
The images can be drawn by FractaSketch to any level of detail.
For best results, the images should be viewed on a screen with
at least 16-bit color depth, or 24-bit if possible.
Higher color depth really makes a difference.
If you make your own designs using the program, I strongly suggest
that you use the maximum resolution and color depth possible.
Even on a fast PowerPC,
some of the most striking and beautiful drawings
can take several minutes to draw.
It seems to be an unfortunate law of nature that the most beautiful images
take the longest to draw.
But we're lucky compared to five or ten years ago: what now takes a
few seconds to draw took minutes back then.
It's just that we're spoiled now:
we demand more intricate images than before!
These images are in Adobe PDF and PostScript formats.
I suggest you download the program (see above) and create
the images on your own Mac--they're all in the release.
-
The scorpion (150K),
PostScript
(125K).
With sting and treacherous red heart.
-
Burgundy dragon (1050K),
PostScript
(360K).
Smooth interplay between light sky blue and deep burgundy
on a dragon's skin.
-
One fine dragon (2500K),
PostScript (1200K)
(
same dragon, less detailed (1400K),
PostScript (760K)).
A dragon with autumnal shades.
-
Autumn fern (550K),
PostScript (590K).
A classic fern touched with autumnal colors at the tips.
Same fern as a 2x2 poster (in four parts):
part 1 (670K),
part 2 (38K),
part 3 (490K),
part 4 (520K).
The four parts in PostScript:
part 1 (680K),
part 2 (200K),
part 3 (540K),
part 4 (570K).
-
Indigo roses (150K)
JPEG (180K).
Notice the small burgundy buds
that grow into bright red and yellow flowers.
-
Hydra sponge (70K). The interplay between shades of
blue, green, purple, and gray gives an underwater effect.
-
Desert pyramid (840K). The pyramid subtly blends into the sand.
-
Fire flower (105K). A fiery flower arrangement.
-
Silk shawl (160K). A delicately threaded pattern for a silk shawl.
-
Shimmering square (230K). A shiny polished surface with
a detailed metallic effect.
-
Phased triangle (64K). A colorized Sierpinski triangle.
-
Star (10K). An infinitely intricate emblem.
These images are copyrighted but can be used royalty-free for any
purpose, commercial or otherwise.
I require only that you mention clearly ``Image by Peter Van Roy,
created with FractaSketch'', and that
you send me a letter (to the university; see my home page)
explaining how you use the images and a copy of
the publication in which they appear.
This page is under construction: more images and formats are on the way!
Please send all comments to Peter Van Roy.