HOW DO YOU GET THOSE EVER-POPULAR SPIRALS IN UF??? i've been trying for weeks and i just can't get it!!!! how do you do it?

Here's a link to a tutorial I wrote that, in part, goes into how to use the "Switch Mode" function in the top toolbar of the UF workspace to find spirals - or other nifty things you might see. The tutorial is in the top right corner.
http://backroom.renderosity.com/%7Efractal/CommunityPage/Links-FracTutorials.htm

Basically what you do is click the "Switch Mode" icon and then move your cursor around within the fractal window you have open. As you move it around, you'll see at the right that the "Fractal Mode" window now has a picture of your fractal in it. Watch the picture as you move your cursor and, when you see a neat spiral or shape, left click and a new fratal window will open identical to the spiral you saw in the Fractal Mode window. And that's all there is to it! It's best to select a basic Outside coloring (ucl) like Orbit Traps (use "point" trap mode) in the Standard.ucl folder or maybe Toby's Doodads II in the tma.ucl folder first so you can see shapes better. Make yourself a simple, one bar gradient of maybe white or another color you like so it isn't so "busy" that you can't see anything definite because of all the "noise" and maybe set the Outside "Transfer Function" to something "small" like "sqrt" (square root).

LOL - you won't find many spirals in my gallery, especially the early pages because I didn't know this "trick" and had to resort to writing down the Re/Im "locations" from other people's spirals and then trying them all out on different formulas to see if I could get a spiral or just entering numbers in those general ranges. Needless to say, it RARELY worked! lol No joke - I thought these folks were either math whizzes or maybe it was because they wrote the formulas and knew intimately what numbers to use to get a fractal to "spiral up". LOL So finally in '04, Panny Brawley tipped me off. Boy was I embarrassed that I didn't know how to do it or even what it was! I reckon it would have helped if I'd read the manual even a LITTLE but you know how us guys are, eh? lol. Still haven't read more than 5 pages of it - I keep getting sidetracked looking at the pictures - lol Good luck spiralling!

Rick

Message edited on: 03/22/2006 21:04

You can find spirals in the Mandelbrot and the Julia formulas just using the default formula parameters. The zoom feature and the gradient are really important in defining the spiral. Try this. Open up a new fractal using the "Mandelbrot (Built-in)" formula in the "Standard" file. Use the "Standard" gradient file. Now go to the "Outside" tab and open Toby's "Doodads II" file. So far, you are just using default parameters. The first thing I do is go to the "Outside" tab and start changing the "color density" and "transfer function." With the default Mandelbrot parameters, the "Standard" gradient file, and the default Doodads II parameters, it works pretty well to change the "color density" to 16 and the "transfer function" to "CubeRoot." Open the gradient file and try moving the colors around using the sliding tab at the bottom of that file. You will start to see shapes around the edges of the Mandelbrot figure. For example, there's one that's almost on the center/top of the black figure. Zoom in on it. See the beginnings of a spiral? You can find them in any location around the rim of the Mandelbrot figure. Now you'll have to start playing with the gradient file to focus more on the spiral - to make a distinct edge between it and the background (if that's the effect you are looking for). Then start playing with the different parameters in the Doodads II formula. Send me your email address and I'll send you some more info and some starting points. It takes a little practice, but once you've found the first one, you'll probably find that you can't NOT find spirals! LOL! It took me awhile, too. I finally begged Paul Carlson to show me how to find them. When I finally did find one, I was surprised at how easy it was! Happy fractaling! Linda

Attached Link: http://www.wack.ch/fame/ufg/

Attached Link: http://www.ultrafractal.com/mailinglist.html

Dr. JT is back again?????? My worst nightmares come true...

I went and read the Trotsky tutorial. It's ok, as far as it goes, but seems pretty outdated. It explains nothing about using the "Switch Mode" function and the "hunt and peck", method of "trying minute changes" to the default Re/Im location numbers is pretty much the same haphazard way I used before Panny clued me in to the Switch Mode. And the tutorial uses a formula that ALREADY is spiralled up from the start. This method would not be very useful in finding spirals in 80% of the formulas that now exist that don't display a spiral in their initial, default locations. There is no explanation of the alpha channel (UF 2x) or opacity settings of the gradients either, but maybe that's in another section? I did see some interesting ucl's used, though, and I reckon one needs to read as many tutorials as they can if they really want to figure this stuff out. All of them have parts that others don't and you can fill in a lot of gaps by reading them.

But I am not THE Dr. J.T.. And I sleep well; with or without Dr. J.T. in my mind. And what's wrong with Dr. J.T.? (question for Andreas Lober). Why don't you start a new tutorial on your website? Just a few questions from my side. Have a nice weekend all. Jos.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=1181071

Quote from Kid_Fisto (Craig Collins): "According to UF, this shouldn't have rendered, nor should i have been able to open UF. i never bought it, but it still works after 210 days on the eval copy. weird." (Mar 19, 2006).

Only KID'S are showing us that sort of behaviour; in my humble opinion.

Have a nice and creative time in using UF (the LEGAL version of course!)

.:Marleen:.
(partner from Jos Boogen).

Message edited on: 03/24/2006 15:03

What we have here is a lack of experience with both topics. Craig will learn and JT faded out years ago. Maybe it would be best to leave both alone.

I belong to a group of (anonymous) JT victims. What's wrong with him? I do not know, I am not a specialist for such things...

sofie-filo wrote: >Quote from Kid_Fisto (Craig Collins): "According to UF, this shouldn't have >rendered, nor should i have been able to open UF. i never bought it, but it >still works after 210 days on the eval copy. weird." (Mar 19, 2006). > >Only KID'S are showing us that sort of behaviour; in my humble opinion. A comment on this comment. It took me almost two years to decide to buy Ultra Fractal. If it had stopped working after 30 days like it says, I probably would never have bought a license for it (and then gone on to buy version three, and likely one day soon version four). The complexity was just too overwhelming at first, and until I started to master it, I didn't want to pay for it. Given the fact that the program doesn't actually stop working after the 30 day trial period (no hacking required), something Frederik Slijkerman is undoubtably aware of, and that Craig isn't really making much use of the program as of yet, I don't really see what the big deal is. Maybe if we help Craig learn to use UF, he will buy a license.

Message edited on: 03/24/2006 21:23

Can anyone explain me why Jos and Marleen sound so much the same? Would it not be time for Marleen to buy her own legal nickname? Or is her (siamese)trial version working for eternity....? Just rambling, do not bother to answer, it is OT anyway LOL Don't shoot FractAlchemist, She is doing her best:-))))))) Have a great evening all, Eveline

Quote: "Can anyone explain me why Jos and Marleen sound so much the same?" Why should we? We have ONE account; ONE legal version from UF; ONE computer; ONE e-mail adress; ONE nickname etc.. So, Eveline: what's your problem? The more accounts - different e-mail adresses - nicknames etc. people have is asking for problems. We are partners for life; more as 25 years together in a good and happy relationship and unmarried too. Are we living in sin now? Have a nice weekend all. Marleen & Jos.

Spirals can be cool.

Though I think he deserves to get filty rich (which I'm sure he hasn't) for the amount of enjoyment he's afforded all of us - especially me! - by making UF, I get the impression that Ultrafractal is more a labor of love to Frederik and that the money isn't what it's all about to him... Heck, he even sent back the check I'd written to him for UF2 a year after I'd sent it because he couldn't cash US checks and said not to worry about sending another one. That's not to say nobody should pay for UF but just that I'm sure he's not wringing his hands and losing sleep worrying about it a whole lot.

What Rykk is saying is that if you want a free copy of UF send in a U.S. check. j/k

LOL - that was back before I had a credit card. I was a "cash money" only kind of guy for a long time until I started needing one to rent a car...or to buy something on the 'net. I'd seen too many people get messed up with them. "Don't spend money ya don't have", ya know?