Fractals merging with each other

[agirl_yo]

Please help, how can I achieve this - I want to animate a fly through different fractals, smoothly merging with each other. For example, "Amazing box" fractal slowly transforming to "Beth 323" and then to other fractal. Also changing backgrounds would be awesome.

1.Is it possible using only mandelbulb3d?
2. or only exporting fractals to 3dsmax somehow?
3. or I can only render different fractals fly througs and try to merge them in After effects?

[mclarekin]

Example of morphing between formulas using Mandelbulber

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/RHVCt1WXuAU&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/v/RHVCt1WXuAU&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1</a>

[agirl_yo]

! I love you already, thanks! 

I hope this Mandelbulber isn't any harder to understand than Mandelbulb3D

[mclarekin]

I see you are a newbie to Fractal  Forums, so hello and welcome agirl_yo 

There will be a new version of Mandelbulber released in the next few days, which has an updated user manual.

But the manual is a work in progress, and has yet to discuss how to do this type of morphing,

However, from menu bar select    File - Load examples, and load example called  mandelbox_menger_morph, this is the settings file for that video, and you will be able to see how it was done

Feel free to ask questions here at Fractal Forums, and we can help guide you.

[agirl_yo]

thanks,

I loaded the example of yours, and do I understand correctly that to do this kind of morhping I only animate iterations parameter? (I mean shape morphing, not lights, looks etc.)

For example, if I want Mandelbox fractal from frame 2 to become Kaleidoscopic IFS in frame 5, what I do is increase number of iterations in Kaleidoscopic in frame 5, and simultaneously decrease Mandelbox iterations number in the same frame ??

Or there's easier way?

[mclarekin]

I loaded the example of yours, and do I understand correctly that to do this kind of morphing I only animate iterations parameter? (I mean shape morphing, not lights, looks etc.)

For morphing between fractals  the "weight" parameter is used.  Weight determines the influence each formula has in the image at each frame.  Weight = 0 (0% influence), weight = 1 (100%).
So as  the weight is adjusted from 0 up to 1, then the influence of that formula is introduced. At the same time, the other formulas weight is being reduced from 1 down to 0.

Good practice would be to find a good setting for a "halfway: keyframe.

keyframe#0   formula1 weight = 1 & formula 2 weight = 0
keyframe#1   formula1 weight = A & formula 2 weight = B    // the halfway keyframe
keyframe#2   formula1 weight = 0 & formula 2 weight = 1

The values of A & B that are chosen, control the way morphing works between keyframe#0 and keyframe#2.

[mclarekin]

Here is some more info:


Using weight controls has hardly been tested yet, even though it has been available in the program for a while

Some combination of formulas morph better than others

Animation/morphing takes a lot of render time, so do initial draft animations at low resolution, and choose fast formulas.

In Mandelbulber nearly all parameter can be animated, (and also animated in response to audio files), but integers can not normally be animated therefore you can not morph smoothly between iteration count numbers

[agirl_yo]

  ! I read about this sound animation feature, it's awesome I might also try it. I have two more questions though:

- I cannot find any information on how to assign different material on different fractals? I enabled hybrids, for morphing animation and I want two fractals to look differently. Users guide method gives me the same material on both fractals. I'm changing materials in global parameters>material manager .What am I doing wrong?

- Is it possible to put few fractals in same scene, not as hybrids but just close to each other?

[mclarekin]

In hybrid mode we are making a single fractal so the color is the same at a single frame. We can only change color over time (frames)

But in boolean mode, where you can place up to nine different fractals in your image, you can assign each fractal a different material. Page 26? of the user manual briefly covers this.