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Hey everybody!

I'm a absolute newbie in the topic of fractals and ask myself how the rendering process in programs like Mandelbulb 3D and Mandelbulber actually works.

Rendering a 2D fractal seems pretty easy as you can simply calculate for each pixel of the plane whether it is part of the set or not and apply a color accordingly.

In 3D for the mandelbulb, however, you need a different workflow as 3D renderers certainly require meshes with textures and face normales that cannot be calculated directly from the applied fractal equation.

Consequently, my question is whether the common tools create a point cloud of surface points (= boundary of the set) that are triangulated afterwards in order to put textures on and calculate normals for the lighting. If not, WHAT is actually rendered?

Thanks,
Sandreal

Thank you 3dickulus for your answer!

I am very interested in programming a simple fractal software for eductional purposes (fractals, rendering, etc.). Can you tell me where I could find some information on coding details for the calculation of fractals (2D/3D) and its rendering process?

Thanks!
I am really looking forward to explore the forum and feel like I there is still a lot of work to do for me

I just found a very good series that explains many topics concerning how to render a 3D fractal:
http://blog.hvidtfeldts.net/index.php/2011/06/distance-estimated-3d-fractals-part-i/