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Hello,    I'm new at fractals, I've always been interested and intrigued by "how the heck do they do that??" I use graphic arts programs, a couple of which do have fractal makers but they are pretty simplistic. I wanted more control over my creations even though I know nothing about the mathematics that are the basis of fractals (and I didn't even realize that till days ago!) I have a decent computer but it seems to be slow and a bit quirky. I downloaded Fractal Forge but haven't got very far with it, as it likes to "hang" often. I surfed a bit more and found Fractal Explorer, which I totally enjoy, or did until it, too, began to act strangely. It opens but the "select fractal" option isn't working, neither does the F6 key that will do the same thing (opening the dialog box). Not sure what is wrong there....if anyone else uses this program and has experienced this problem, kindly advise me...

Anyway, I have made two or three interesting fractals thus far and I'm beginning to get the gist of how it's done. Just wish I had a sure-fire means of creating them without computer problems...!  I can see how these "wierd worlds" can become addictive...

Thank yew...thank yew ver' much...

If you are serious then I recommend Ultra Fractal, it is the most stable of the programs that provide the most potential.
Also Xenodream which is by far the best for 3D IFS and such.

Of course those are both commercial, at least if you want to get full use out of them - though in both cases you can try them for free.

Another commercial option is the Fractal Science Kit, can produce great results but I don't know much about it myself.

The best free alternative to Ultra Fractal is ChaosPro and the other best free software not mentioned so far is Chaoscope.

Also try Terry Gintz software (QuaSZ etc.) I think some of those may still be freely available (older versions anyway).

Of course for Mandelbulbs, Madelboxes, KIFS and the other recent 3D stuff the best options at the moment are Mandelbulber and Mandelbulb3D (CPU) and Boxplorer plus one or two others I think for the GPU (if you have a suitable video card) - I forget where the links for these are.

Hope that helps.

Edit: I should add that there are Mandelbulb and Mandelbox formulas for UF in Ron Barnett's formulas for UF in the UF formula database, plus my own here: http://www.fractalforums.com/mandelbulb-implementation/update-to-the-mmf-wip-formula-for-ultra-fractal/ - note that the link in the first post is up to date and that (I think) my formulas there can be used with ChaosPro but Ron's can't - if you try ChaosPro and want to use my formulas then try contacting Martin (author of ChaosPro) as I seem to recollect that he maybe did fix them to work.

Hi Guys, Yes I have seen Tierazon and Mandelbulb 3D mentioned elsewhere. I think I will try those. So far my experimental downloads have been disappointing... As I say, Fractal Explorer is great but it won't function for me half the time. I did a reinstall once or twice, and each time I did that, it was working again...for a single session, then it started "hanging." 

Erisian, I suppose my computer is already "old" by today's standards (it was a gift, free gratis, from a person I hardly knew who felt sorry for me using Windows 98 on a small, slow and rather buggy computer; this one is probably circa 2007, not huge but it's a lot better than the former one) and I suspect the processor isn't the fastest in the world either. I've been a bit timid about trying the tempting ChaosPro,  I don't know much about my computer's innards and I wonder if mine is fast enough for it.

David, thanks for the numerous tips. I wasn't serious before dabbling around and getting a taste of fractal making...but now I've acquired a healthy appetite! LOL - I use Chaoscope and have wonderful results with it... just not the jewel-like fractal creations I see elsewhere... Most of us women do love anything sparkly...ooooh. And I just got thru downloading Apophysis and I'm learning how to use that too.

I've been a photographer for many years (I'm not old but not young either, heehee)  and since at this time of the year Spring still seems a long ways off and the world is still cold and gray, I had a hankerin' for big doses of color and design, whilst I still have the time and I'm not out wandering around with my camera.... 

Oh, and I have a website being planned, where you will eventually be able to see what I do. I need to do a bit of linking here...

*Keeps being drawn back to watch BrutalToad's morphing "egg"*