Lend Me Your Senses and Prepare to be Amazed!
It's been almost a month since I got onto Steemit and while I'm very happy with the new focus I've gained, I suddenly realised that I haven't really show-cased my work as an artist yet. That will be remedied as of this post.
Also, stay tuned, because I've got TWO "special-somethings" planned for you guys... ;)
Okay, I'm usually rather modest, so today's title surprised me. Before I backspaced though, I thought to myself, Wait... It's not only about my work... Before I ever thought that I would one day deign to call myself an artist, indeed, I was amazed when I first discovered fractals and what they might mean for the artsphere....
So I am certain that you will be amazed, as I was, by their beauty. My own rendition of them, I hope, will only further focus that feeling.
Before I continue, please, first take a look into this world:
And... Welcome to my realm.
The video you saw is one, high-res. example of the chaotic fractal dimensions I get to explore when in search of a new piece of art. It's not really as beautiful as that though... What I usually see while I'm working is a highly pixelated preview image.
Why? Because what you're seeing in the video and image above is a real 3-dimensional space, that really exists in a virtual universe. The light you see has a source, and it reflects off of objects. So it takes a lot of processing power to render all that! ... Working with pixelated previews helps speed up the process.
Just to give you an idea: that two-minute video took my Intel i7 twenty seven hours to render! And an average piece of art, say 8000x6000 pixels, can take anything between 2 to 20 hours.
Now, my thing is not really on the animation side. There are people out there doing amazing things with fractal animations and I highly recommend you check them out... Google "3D fractal animations" to see what I mean.
But no, my thing is in the still images... A unique moment captured through my lense. (Indeed, I often consider what I do to be part photography). I usually put my work into two categories... Designs, and Fine Art.
Designs are when I discover some interesting fractal pattern in the chaos, and see great potential for replicating the aesthetic with changed parameters... Here are two examples of this:
As pretty as these are, they are relatively easy to make, and I usually only render them at around 5000x5000 pixels.
But then there are those special moments, where I find something unique... Something worthy of days spent tweaking parameters, shifting colours dozens of times, and rendering at max. resolution no matter how long it needs. These are my fine art pieces. Here are two examples of them:
You'll notice that the first one, "Khaos Bellus", has no true 3-dimensional objects in it, while "Didn't Planet" quite obviously does. This is because each was created with a different program. There are many, many fractal programs out there, but these two are my favourite: JWildFire, and Mandelbulb 3D.
Just as oil paints and brushes are the tools of their trade for some, mine are these two programs, along with the usual suspects in digital image manipulation.
So there you have it... This is me. This is what I spend a huge portion of my time on earth doing. The whole idea of using maths to create art has intrigued me since the first time seeing a fractal (the Mandelbrot Set) displayed on a screen back in 1999. I hope I've conveyed at least a part of that intrigue into your mind... =)
As for future posts, I intend on slowly featuring new and old art alike, with descriptions of them that I don't usually indulge myself with, perhaps using Steepshot. On my site, I have no descriptions because I feel the whole point of art is to let others discover a personal connection with a piece. Artist's own descriptions can get in the way of that...
And that brings me to a question I have for you all... A timeless question that always lends insight into the people who answer it... ;)
What is art? Or, what qualities must a thing have in order for you to consider it as art?
And now it is time for those special somethings I mentioned ;) ...:
Special Something #1:
The first artwork featured in this post is titled "The Tardis Rose".
Why do you think I gave it that name?
The person who I consider best answered this question after 7 days will receive a high resolution image of the The Tardis Rose. I never give away high-res. images of my Fine Art pieces so you'll be the only person other than myself who has one =)
Special Something #2:
So, on my Patreon page, I have a $5 reward category. Everyone in that category is entitled to a monthly, free, high-resolution desktop wallpaper that is unavailable to the public (i.e. I don't put them up for sale and I don't give the download link to anyone but them). The above image is an example of one of these wallpapers =)
Here's the deal: Everyone who upvotes this post, and resteems it, within 7 days of it being published, will not only be put on that mailing list to receive future high-res. wallpapers, but will also receive 5 wallpapers from previous months immediately!
If you'd like to be on the list, please share proof (a screenshot) of upvoting and resteeming in a comment below, and include your e-mail address.
Finally, a big thank you to @markrmorrisjr and my fellow #dolphinschool classmates for all the support you've given me so far. I couldn't ask for better company as I start my journey here on Steemit. Anyone looking to learn about how to succeed on this platform should check out Mark's Dolphin School right away. It has already started, but there will be more so be sure not to miss the next one!
Awesome images. What kind of work do you do? I still do not understand how one can earn a living doing fractal animation. Still so cool, like a fancy video game. I do not know how people can wait 27 hours for rendering. I now wonder how long it takes to render an animated movie? Cool stuff. Thanks!
Thank you! Indeed, I don't earn a living from fractals - yet! Hehe. One can dream though...
Right now, I'm an English teacher.
BTW, did you see the second "something special" I offered? Resteem this post and I'll add you to my high res. wallpaper mailing list ;)
AGGGHHHHH! Why do you only have 24 views and 13 votes. This is amazing. Wow. I love it. Seriously, having earned my life in a wide variety of art, including not being a slouch at theatrical scenic design construction and painting, most "digital fractal art" is meh, to me, this is incredible, especially, khaos bellus. I'd hang that on my wall. Nicely done! critique: if you can, move your video or a lower res copy to Dtube next time. It doubles your post exposure on steemit and potential for all the good things, followers, money and upvotes and comments. Next, good use of smaller paragraphs to create white space, some subheads in there would seal the deal. Well done, resteeming this now, because I love the art, and considering making you the first to get two revenue share spots.
Damn... I actually don't know what to say.
Lemme start with, Thank you, Mark. ;P ... To receive such feedback from someone who's been in the space for years means so much to me.
I really do think I need to sit up and pay attention with regards to learning how to do self-marketing.
I agree completely: When I google "fractal art", there's this huge explosion of tai-dye colours and patterns and on the surface, it's all very pretty, but after a while it gets meh. My goal from the outset was to develop my own style and have my stuff be recognisably mine.
Noted, about Dtube. Especially if I get back into the animation side of things, I'll do that. I've been pondering on Steepshot though... Do you think it's a good idea to use it, or rather keep my posts here? And would it count as double posting if I post on Steepshot, and then do the same piece of art here with an extended written part?
And two revenue spots? .. O.O I'm bowled over. Thank you for your consideration and effort.
Oh! And please send me your e-mail so that I can add you to the wallpaper mailing list! =)
Mark! - I just realised something. I completely misunderstood when you said "two revenue spots". I thought you meant you would be putting me down as getting 20% of the reward post! ;P
I now see that you meant the first one to share a 10% revenue spot for the second time! Hehe. Only, I believe you had forgotten, or hadn't realised, that you had already given me that honoured position!
In any case, this comment of yours was reward enough ;) And believe me, I'll fight for the first person to get a THIRD revenue-share spot! lol...
Goodnight o/
I remembered that. Which is why you're not there today spread the love
Man, I was half way through the post and thinking to myself "I'm definitely resteeming this when I'm done" Then, I got to the end and seen that we can resteem it for the wallpapers. So I'm letting you know that I'm resteeming because the post was awesome. The work is beautiful. I do meditations almost every night and watching that video made me feel like I was meditating. Great job. You're gonna hit top 5 again lol
All the love for you! All of it! Hehe... Thank you so much for your kind words.
Please give me your e-mail address so that I can add you to the mailing list! ^^
Or else send it to mandelsage[dot]42[at]gmail[dot]com
@mandelsage Your fractals are awesome. Thanks for sharing
And thank you for commenting! =) Much appreciated.
Your art is just beautiful, truly amaizing!
Thank you so much! =)
I was sure you had something planned like this. Hahaha your visual art is in the form of fractals. I am honestly impressed because fractals groove. I'm actually gonna get started in some visual art next week. I love it. This is the place to be @madelsage. You've got a great future ahead in Steemit.
You are too kind, mineopoly =) ... I'm glad you like it! And I'm looking forward to seeing what you create. If you want the monthly high res. wallpapers, remember to resteem this post ;) And give your e-mail address too.
First of all, beautiful art work, so stoked you’re sharing it here on steemit in a variety of mediums (i.e. video insert is awesome)! Secondly, I love that you are taking the time to celebrate your own art...and acknowledge that it’s awesome! It takes a lot to dedicate your life to making things and it’s really cool to see what it is you do. :) Keep it comin’ and see ya back at #bootcamp.
Thank you, Lily! Indeed, the video is a nice touch that I'd almost forgotten about until I made this post =) ... I think I might try getting into animation again... Like I said though, it takes SO long to render those frames!
Remember, if you want to receive my monthly high-res. wallpapers, you need to resteem this post! ^^ And give me your e-mail address.
My husband was telling me about fractal art just the other day after seeing a post about it on steemit. It fascinated me, your artwork is amazing so your title was spot on.
I instantly thought of Dr. Who and his Time And Relative Dimension In Space (TARDIS), which made me think of space which made me think of spaceships, which is what your macro rose looks like its made out of. So a spaceship that looks like a rose that can take you through space and time.
Side note the outer ring looks similar to a stargate! I love Stargate!
Thank you very much! ^^
Ahaaaa, so! Another Doctor Who fan, woohoo! lol... Your guess is a good one but I won't reveal all yet... Going to wait for the 7 days to pass.
Also remember to resteem this post and give me your e-mail address, if you want to be added to the monthly high resolution wallpaper mailing list ;)
I have resteemed, as for email I wonder if there is a way to do that offline as this is all open. You are on discord yes? If so what's your user name?
Oh, quite right! Okay, so send me an e-mail then: mandelsage[dot]42[at]gmail[dot]com
Or else, yes, I'm on Discord as Mandelsage#6703 =)
Thank you for the resteem btw, especially considering your rule! .. Would you mind explaining a bit more about why it isn't a good idea to resteem too much?
Thanks I'll flick my email through to you soon. Basically your feed is your your marketing wall. If you flll it with others posts it's very hard for your readers to find your work. It was something a curie curator told me when I first started.
Aaahhh indeed, makes sense. I guess, after #dolphinschool, I'll keep my resteems to one day? Or perhaps, 1 for every 2 posts of my own...
I got your e-mail btw, thank you =)
Its up to you, that's just my preference :-)
Thanks for letting me know you got it!
I have sent you an email, can you please let me know if you get it. :-)
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STOPOh, by the way, if you don't tell people your art is amazing, you'll die unnoticed. Sorry, but it's a fact. Do it the way you do it, but own it, you're damn good and I don't say that lightly.
You're making me blush. lol.
I forgot to say, in my other post, if you did want Khaos Bellus on your wall, that could be arranged ^^ ... You'll notice, on my site, I even accept crypto as payment ;)
Yes,i might. Let get through dolphin school and ill get with you
Most excellent =)