Another one

Using a script which combines mods from several fractal artists, and tweaking it a bit.

Fractals for desktops?

I've been into windows customization for a while now...since around 2000. I have always been the one at work that had to be different. I still am today, making and using my own icons, and using whatever limited software is allowed. One of the easiest, and most acceptable, ways to customize one's desktop is through wallpapers. I have gone through many, both at work and at home. My wallpaper folders are crammed with so many interesting and beautiful images. About half are photographs, some of mine, and most from caedes.net. The rest constitutes a mixture of screenshots from Myst/Uru, works from some great artists like vlad and David Lanham, as well as the great new selections from Windows Vista.

As much as I love fractals, I don't have very many of them in my wallpaper directory. Not sure why. I suppose most fractal art can be too busy for my taste, at least to have glaring at me when I don't have a window or program open. I have used my own renders as wallpaper at work, and have actually received some nice feedback from co-workers. Now, when working through Apophysis, and choosing flames to tweak and render, I keep the desktop in mind. Some flames are meant to be displayed in such a manner, some not. The search continues...

Who Goes There?

My first combination of Apophysis and Uru. The flame came first. It sat on my hard drive for well over a year before I did anything with it. When I saw it amongst the random batch, I just knew it was something special, just wasn't sure how. One day, while looking through some Uru screenshots, it suddenly hit me. Took some tweaking in PSP, and a re-render of the original flame (higher res), but I'm happy with the outcome. :) The title is from one of my favorite books, which later became one of my favorite horror movies, "The Thing".

Merging two art mediums

Two things I love to do the most, on my off-time, are making flame fractals and playing Myst Online:Uru Live. Creating flames is therapeutic, almost meditational, helping me to focus on an object or space. It helps me to move away from the stress, structure, and chaos of daily life...to a more open, slower-moving, almost fluidic thought process.

Uru Live parallels fractal art in many ways. It is not the typical FPS MMORPG. It can be intense though, and it does have its technological foobar moments. But, like fractals, it is a mostly relaxing and enjoyable escape from real life, especially when meeting friends online. I enjoy the beautiful, exotic and vast landscapes that Cyan feeds us every other week. It is a good experience to exercise one's senses, with wonderful sites and sound, and the familiar brain-crunching puzzles. I have all of the soundtracks from the Myst series, and have taken gigabytes of screenshots.

I am starting to experiment with combining fractals and Uru art. I tend to not create just for the sake of combining images, but instead wait to be presented with a compelling flame image, or a scene in Uru that needs the magic of an orb or flame.

Long days, and even loger nights

Just starting hour three...of a 13-hour shift. Sometimes I feel like I live in this office. :-/ If I can make it through this evening, and one more on sunday...I'll be home free. Well, at least for my mini-vacation.