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A recent posting by Tim Hodkinson at the Orbit Trap web site was titled:  "Fractal Art: No Money (http://orbittrap.ca/?p=1282)" .  It basically discussed the feasibility of making any worthwhile amount from selling fractal "artwork".  And was followed by several comments from others.

I also read a rather recent article posted through the Associated Press (AP) about David Jenkins and his fractal creations.  He has a studio in Kingman, Arizona that he works from, with apparently some success.  (A quick Google search using the following keywords:  "David Jenkins" Kingman digital artist  will produce several links of the same information.)  The original article was titled:  "Kingman digital artist uses math to make magic", and apparently ran about a month ago.

From the various sources I have read online about David Jenkins, it seems he may be doing fairly well with his fractal endeavors.  But I am wondering if this is just publicity hype or what??  (Might have to send him an email to see what the real truth is.)

Here are some of the links from my Google search:
    http://kdminer.com/m/ArticleDisplay.aspx?articleid=37880&sectionid=1
    http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100514/GJLIFESTYLES/100519895/-1/fosLifestyles02
    http://david-jenkins.fineartamerica.com/
    http://www.kingmanart.com/news.htm
 

This is a great find.  I think the reporter does give the impression that Dave Jenkins is making a living at selling fractal art.  I'm skeptical though because this guy is also a retired professional engineer.  His artwork at the FineArtAmerica site is interesting for it's unique style.  This guy isn't just another "fractalbook" artist.  I still think he's only making supplemental income though.

And what's with this?

Is there a secret custom support department for UF?

Perhaps the journalist writing the article isn't familiar with fractal art or digital art in general and is misunderstanding some of the things Dave Jenkins is telling him?

What's most interesting about this guy is that he seems to be operating in a non-fractal art environment and yet still receiving a positive response from his peers and apparently customers too.  It's a big world I guess.

ahh the fractal Illuminati!

Not exactly secret, there are no departments at all, just one person - Frederik Slijkerman and that's it :)

my simple comment about this comment...  sex sells.  In Renderosity, if you want your image to be clicked on, put a nude V4 into the image (I guess mystery in the thumbnail might be a factor).  Fractals have the lowest hit rate imaginable. 

Having said that, I'd love to see software that lets you apply textures to fractal images and insert objects into fractal worlds.  If a program like mandelbrot 3d could be used like a general purpose rendering tool (be able to add detail (texture) and whatever to the camera in a fractal world), it would be a massive hit for those that like to play with toys.

Wow, these forums are barely used! Thread has not been used in 90 days, and still far from the bottom of the front page.
It seems trivial shapes like the dodecahedron are better known than fractals, even though only the latter has an influence on peoples everyday lives.
To support those who try and use good fractal work to make a living, introduce a person to the world of fractals every now and then when the chance comes.

I hate to ressurect such an old thread, but this struck a nerve with me.

As someone who has recently started a business selling fractal posters, it's discouraging to see so many people saying there's no money in it.  However, OT seems to be focusing on high-art, sold in galleries and such.  I'm marketing my posters toward college students and hippies.  I've seen plenty of similar prints in dorm rooms and headshops.

We'll see how sales go, as I've only just started, but I really think the key is how you position yourself.

yay, keep us informed how it develops!

"...You can’t buy an original fractal print like you can an original painting..."
Yes, you CAN!  :D :D :D

OK...I know I am late to this party, but I just checked out David Jenkins "art". If he is making anything more than a few dollars, the buyers have never seen this site. His offerings are simple and amateurish, and if he really spent 15 years to develop that imagery, I'd think most of the time was spent sleeping. Not only are the fractals used by themselves, but the stuff used, 2D and 3D is very simple, and does not reflect a knowledge of the tools at all. I for one would not believe he can make a living with this stuff.
That said, I do believe fractals can be raised to the level of fine art...and am committed to doing so myself......as others here are

I wonder, there is one field the fractal art might dominate - the wrapping paper. I will definitely try to create some repeating patterns of 2D/3D fractals and offer it for free to a printing company that creates these (they probably print cheap posters too). I mean take a look at what is available, some of the cheaper ones are completely hidious. If they catch on, some profit can emerge. 90% of general people never heard the term "fractal" or saw a fractal image.

Wrapping paper...mmmh why not. At first sight I thought you wanted to create some kind of thick paper with an internal fractal structure for maximum protection and minimum weight (think bubble wrap), could be another idea, huh?

Anyway, let us know if that works...

well..first their is fractal art and then there are fractal software..I use Incendia...the fractals created n generated from dis software doesn't look like my fractals from other software ...so I think a distinction should be made....I have made close to 10K selling my fractal collages...created in Incendia.....it's not a livin BUT...I did get to pay off my credit cards...hee...
 
  <a href="http://www.theparkhotels.com/"

contacted me after seeing my work on flickR.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychoactivartz/

and wanted to buy some of my collages...unfortunately,  I only had 1 file of the 9 they requested.....my old computt was fried and I lost all my work....somehow I was able to convince em ta let me create new works for them....
ended up sellin 6 digital files wit exclusive digital rights to the image and .....I retain the ownership rights of the individual objects that made up the collages....
they were 72" X 52"  TIFF wit 300DPI LZW CMYK  ..that they then resized to
72" x 48" and printed on canvase.
here is a link to the collages sold

   http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychoactivartz/sets/72157628396637919/


It's one thing to sell yer Art..it's  another ta get yer money...1st half recieved in 3.5 months....the 2nd half took almost 8 months...that was scary n stressful...also,  I took a very big hit on what I thought they were worth and what I ended up agreeing to !!!...ggrrrr (limited budget)

I was told by them that they will commission me the next time ??..I can only hope !!

What I found interesting was the fact that they choose images that related more to reality.....than to the otherworldly....

 30 room hotel in Goa on candolim beach, India....they wanted Goa inspired Art...(Goa ia a genre of electronic music) sci-fi, psychedelic, spacey, futuristic, cartoon colors, abstract and robotic were the adjectives for my assigment ??....hee..dat sounded pretty easy...
   I prefer corporations and institutions as clients.....
so,  dis has been my very personal experience in selling Fractal Art.....
  I believe it's only da beginning....and have been inspired to keep creatin wit hard work n dedication toward "Makin Money wit Fractal Art"
.....if it can happen to me....it can happen for you !!!

I had a similar thought seeing some of the fractal 2d creations here. Some of them could work perfect for textile patterns or perhaps in the fashion industry.
(I don't think this topic is dead so I just wanted to add my 2 cent.)

I tried something a while ago but didn't finish. Several years ago I generated this. It's a clipped spherical gyroid.
(http://furan.sweb.cz/PlasmaGyroid.jpg)
My initial tries to make similar effect periodical was unsuccessfull. Then I gave up. I will get back to it some day.
Ok, maybe tomorrow, 'cause I may have something...
Oh, man! I gotta do science too!  :-\

there is a pretty easy way to make such images repetetive ... just copy halve of the outside to the inside, but on the opposite side,
i had once a very suitable tile formula for it, but i never found it again, i works by just adding the areas outside to the inside,
the programm "mutatorkammer" i once wrote featured this, and EVERY image could be made tileable, in a interesting manner, because
the parts that where copied over the images where not copies of the same image

i then got stuck when i had the idea to create collections of tiles e.g. make 3 different images that fit perfectly to eachother to make
a nice infinite tiled surface with random patterns :D but i failed at least all the methods for achieving this where unsatisfying ;)

Fractals have been used in the textile industry for decades now.  They just never seem to become really fashionable to the point of everybody wanting to wear such designs.

the thing with the textiles was mentioned by a friend last time, and n my eyes the real concept of chaos has not really been used in textile industry, ok, we have some shapes, and some spirals, mostly psychedelic stuff, this is in my eyes not the real usage of chaos theory in textiles...

Here is my personal experience with making money from fractal art:

About 10 years ago, I started my pursuit of selling my artwork.  I have come no where near making a living at it, and it has been a LOT of work, but here is what I can claim:

I made:
$X00 from contests (like the old Fractal Universe Calendar contests).
$Xk from people and companies seeking permissions to include my work on their products (books & CDs)
$Xk from online sales from my personal website.
$Xk from teaching a XenoDream course at Visual Arts Academy.
$Xk from showing my work at art galleries and my local shopping malls.  These were all gallery wrapped canvas prints (limited edition of 10) at sizes between 6 and 12 sqr. Ft.
$Xk selling grand scale fractal art murals.  This is my current focus and I actively work to find interior designers and decorators who are interested include my designs in their work.  One of my key selling points is that I am willing to move the colors within a design to match the customer’s home.  This gives the designers a type of power they have never had before, using a fresh new type of art that many people have never seen before.  My ultimate goal is to create a movement in popular architectural decoration via fractal art.

Even if the X's summed up to 25 or 30, that's not a whole lot over 10 years.

One of these days, I will find a commercial designer who wants to order canvas prints by the hundreds or a super massive mural for a hot night club.  Now *that* would be nice.  Until then, I will just keep throwing my line out over and over again, going for that big catch.

I definitely believe it’s possible to make good money from fractal art, but I have only managed to drum up a little jingle change…so far.

Has anyone here ever gone as far as getting a booth together for art walks and festivals? 

I have had booths with a few different local events and exhibits.  The best sales were always with the very small items, which were priced so low that the profit was barely over the actual cost to make.  But I usually sold out of those items.  They were only used to attract people to the booth and get some word of mouth advertising going on.

Rarely did any of the larger pieces get sold.  And only on three separate occasions did I get commissioned to produce a special request piece for somebody.

Never really lost money, but it was a lot of work and time spent.  Any money made just covered expenses for materials, supplies, etc...
 

    I guess this is by way of introductions ….I joined the forum because of the proliferation of fractal generating programs (very cooool.....) considering that just a short few years ago these (Fractal Apps ) were not available unless you wrote one yourself (I tried)...Anyways a great big thanks to the authors of these apps (and this site ) for the opportunity to view the infinite shore.
      I've been a professional artist going on a few years now (I'm A white beard). I've been fascinated by Fractal art since Beniot first wrote his now famous tome......I've been producing fractals since the 80's (my first attempts were hand draw Sierpinski snakes ) and have incorporated them(fractals )ever since in my art.
      You can see my latest results on utube on the Slainnemo channel (Slain being my on line avatar..... http://youtu.be/17OSTHVaO2E)
    
   My “ opinion “  about making art or money with Fractals, is how you pick your media and the subsequent message that invariable comes thru good or bad.
        Art is indeed in the eyes of the beholder and the methods the “ artist “ employed in the production of the “art”.
   The “artist” will embed his message in the art either unconsciously or consciously simply by picking a media and then saying something (the message or not which is also a message )that is the nature of “ art” the media and the message, both of which speak deeply of the producer of the “ art “ which can or cannot produce money......

    Fractals are a media like good oil paints for me ( I prefer Winsor & Newton Hi grade oils)and ( I use them to paint with as a highly trained artist would )I would make a distinction between generating a fractal or hand painting one, both of which I have done, either way I employed all my training as an artist to come up with something original and beautiful that make me want to “ eye of the beholder “ all day long.

    the value we as a society place on art often has little to do with the motivations of the artist....(me personally what I think about my art is to allow the beholder to come up with his or her own message upon viewing I don't care what they come up with once the work is done I try to put it out there message in the bottle style), which is gonna happen anyways (the eye of the beholder).I really don't care if the “ eye” beholds what I behold as the journey is more important then the finished painting... (as an artist I employ 120% of my creative life in the production of the work and I try to produce as finished and polished a work as I can knowing the “eye” does not see  the effort in the production of the art )and then I gather all of the sand of the mandala and throw them into the sea.

    So to sum I would say for me only fractals are a media for my message which is consciously Buddhist in nature (I'm also a practicing Buddhist ..Hear me know.... )and very thankful  for the efforts of other (the programmers and their art as well as this forum................

Making money commercially with any type of art requires finding a market, and then spending a lot of time and effort getting your skills up to the level where you will stand out from the competition. Posters and textiles are two such markets already mentioned in this thread.

I've had a successful career doing commercial 3d artwork - artwork that almost always incorporated fractals, but it is not what most of you here would consider fractal art. Most movies with any CG at all will use fractals (all the way back to the very first all-CG scene, in the Wrath of Khan 1982). But usually these are not the pretty Mandelbrot/Julia type fractals, but the "mundane" noisy texture/force variants of Perlin noise (fBm). The fractals are usually not the subject of the art, but serve to enhance the believability and/or interest of the art. So if we allow ourselves to broaden what we consider fractal art, then there are plenty of people who do make a living with it. In the newest fractal documentary by Nova, they talk to someone working on one of the new Star Wars movies, and he describes creating a realistic lava fountain by affecting a particle stream with fractal forces.

And if you want to make fine art instead of commercial art, then making money should not be your primary concern anyways. If it happens, great you can quit your day job. But don't count on it. Great art is often ahead of it's time and not appreciated for its full worth until much later. Many famous artists of the past died without amassing any fortune from their artwork, yet they made it anyways because they had an insatiable desire to express themselves visually.

Just to throw in my two cents.... ;P

There's a new social network that seems to have FB scared, which to me sounds like it might be the next big thing... http://tsu.co

Yes, "co" without the "m"

It's invite only so use "Mandelsage" when it asks you for a shortcode referral when signing up.

Basically, it's like any other sharing site except that it shares 90% of its revenue with its users and charities. So you get paid for every post, share and friend you add/recruit. I've been using it for two days now and am liking the simple, clean interface. Using it as a platform to get into my fractal art again =)

Nice try  :beer:

 :spam:

Don't take my word for it... Just google it. I have $0,006 dollars so far ;P

I put it like this : tsu(dot)co because of the habit of doing it on FB (who have blocked the whole site) but here's the link:

http://tsu.co/Mandelsage

If it smells like a scam, tastes like a scam, is run like a scam - then it must be legit.
Google is my anti-scam friend.
http://ayesh.me/no-tsu.co

Frankly, I love the look of 3D fractals.

Would I pay someone for a factual image on canvas ... probably not.
Would I use one of the many print-your-own -image-on-canvas sites ... most likely.

And that is the reason Fractal art is unlikely to be a money spinner - for every person that wants to be paid for their image - there is 100's of people willing to give them for free.

 :D

Yep, and for every professional photographer, there are 1000's people who take selfies with their smart phone.

http://www.fractalforums.com/art-discussions/the-price-of-computer-graphics-2-d/ is a relevant thread which, ironically, links to this one as a reference   :dink:

The two are related.

I still say the best way to make money with Fractal Art is as just a small part of a larger work.

Maybe textures for 3D Models, Background Images, "Stock Art" for use by Graphic Designers, etc.  I've even seen them used in Comic Books for Special Effects and "Photoshop" Brushes, Patterns, and that sort of thing.

The rise of 3D Printed Items for sale, and the increase in Book Covers using Fractals is encouraging.

There are always new ways to make things happen, so I look forward to see what new ways people come up with to getting Fractals into mainstream media and art!