The first thing we will do is render one of the samples then a thorough explanation of all the controls in the
main window will be given.
I always like to see the possibilities of a program so maybe you do too. Just start by using the samples Drop-Down box. Whenever you make a selection from the Samples drop down list (right lower corner of the control window) the correct parameters will be set in the control window for one of the sample scenes. After that pressing 'Render' will finish the job. For a demonstration press the button.
After this you might want to zoom in on the render window. To do this
Usually I start out with one of the predefined values from the sample box. Then press the render button.
After that I change the coloring algorithm and/or tweak the 'number of colors' indication and render again.
You might want to zoom in on the render window, however let this always be the first thing you do since it will change all the parameters in the control window to that of the render window.
With mandlebrot and julia fractals you have to be carefull not to "hit" an "apfelmaenchen". It is the apple shaped figure, rendered when you press the following button.
To understand why this takes a long time you have to know how fractals are rendered.
Usually fractals are formulas iterated a number of times. In this program the formulas use complex numbers. The result is used again as an argument into the formula. A complex number can be pictured as a vector with a certain length. What the program does is to repeat the above process until a predefined number of iterations is exceeded (dependend on the number of colors) or when the resulting vector exceeds a hard coded length.
When the program is ready iterating the number of iterations is taken to color the particular point. You could for instance use an algorithm like '1' is green, '2' is a little lighter green etc. or '1' is red and '2' is darker red. As you can imagine there are an infinite number of ways to color fractals, even coloring functions not based on the number of iterations. However the coloring functions in FracHunt are always based on iterations. Ok, back to mister apple.
This particular figure exists of an area in which the resulting vector will not exceed the predefined vector length. Therefore it will, for every point, go through all the selected number of colors. If you have say 100000 colors, the program have to go that number of times through the formula for every point. The result might be that it takes day's, week's or even the lifespan of the universe to calculate your fractal.
I can't give you a proper definition of a fractal although there might be a correct definition around somewhere. However fractals are usually characterized by the fact that you can zoom in on them and see more or less similar structures all over again.
The striking resembles with 'products' of god or nature (depending on your point of view) has added to the popularity of fractal rendering. For instance fractals are often used to create 'height fields' for popular 3D rendering software like PovRay. The fractals rendered as height fields might for example resemble a mountain.
The reason to use fractals in 3D rendering programs is that you often need something created that is highly random. For instance a mountan has a sort of random height for a certain coordinate. So why not use simple "noise". The problem is that if points close to eachother should have heights close to one another. And that's where fractals come in. The look unpredictable but have values the usually are close to eahother for adjacent points.
Usually fractal renderers come with a wealth of options. FracHunt however has a limited set of options but is very easy to use especially when you use the sample list box.. This is great if you just start out exploring fractals or want to do some simple things like generating great MS Windows backgrounds. When you have the feeling that FracHunt is limiting you in your possibilities you might want to check out Fractint.
to grasp the full potential of fractals.
Quick Start
Render tactics
Fractals General Information