Fractal art with flames and lights using Gimp!
In this period I have experimented some really good effects using The Gimp. I was inspired by the fractal art.
The output of this experimentation is very nice and easy to obtain.
Fractal flames are a member of the iterated function system class of fractals created by Scott Draves in 1992. Draves’ seminal open-source code was later ported into Adobe After Effects graphics software and translated into the Apophysis fractal flame editor.
The tone mapping and colouring are designed to display as much of the detail of the fractal as possible, which generally results in a more aesthetically pleasing image.
Ok, start creating a new document with File —> New… and set the options you prefer; these are my preferences:
Now be sure that color of Foreground and Background is white, and select Abstract 1 as gradient; if you don’t see Gradients tab, click on the button evidenced by the purple circle and choose Add tab —> Gradients:
Go to Filters —> Render —> Nature —> Flame…:
We have to set some options in Rendering tab:
Choose the appropriate Brightness (I noticed that the value 2.00 is really good) for your image; you must consider that a low value makes the images too dark.
Choose also an appropriate Contrast and Gamma; test more values to find your favorite combination.
A very important parameter is the Sample density: if you set a low value, the definition of your image will be low; if you set a high value, the definition will be very high and the lines will be very defined. For example, if you want something like this you must set Sample density to 5.00, but if you want something like this, you must set Sample density to 20.00.
In Colourmap choose Custom gradient to use Abstract 1.
After that, click on Camera tab and set Zoom to 3.00 (to enlarge flames); if you don’t like the position, move X and Y to adjust the image.
To choose your type of flames, click on Edit and choose Random or Spherical, as Variation (also with Sinusoidal you can obtain something good). In Directions you can view the previews of some flames; if you don’t like anything, click on Randomise to generate other previews. When you find your best preview, click on it and click Ok twice (one for the Edit Flame window and one for the Flame window).
The process can take some minutes to complete, and when it’s finished, this is what you can see (a piece of my image):
Good, now be sure to have black as foreground color and white as background color; create a new layer clicking on the apposite button (pointed by the left’s arrow) and choose Foreground color as Layer Fill Type. Click Ok.
Go to Filters —> Light and Shadow —> Lens Flare…:
Set your favorite position for the flare and click Ok:
Change the layer Mode to Dodge:
At this point with right click on the layer, choose Add Layer Mask…:
and choose Initialise Layer Mask to: White (full opacity)
Now pay attention: click on the mask to work on it; select the Paintbrush Tool and use these settings:
As you can see, I try to delete the red circle (generated by the Flare effect) that is too much evident; with the Paintbrush Tool try to give to the light the aspect you want.
After that, select the layer (not the mask) and move the “piece of light” where you prefer. Naturally use the Move Tool:
Ok, now it’s easy! Duplicate that layer and move the new one where you prefer:
The color of lights is too much equal. This is not good. To change the colours go to Colours —> Hue-Saturation… and change the values (in my example I changed only the Hue):
I think you have understand the technique, so I want to explain another tip: duplicate the last layer created, move it where you prefer and change its colour how you desire. Then scale the layer (enlarge it) going to Layer —> Scale Layer…; this operation creates more light that covers a lot of lines:
I hope you have understand every step, but if you have some problems, please ask to me in the comments 
. Ah and remember to use your fantasy because everytime you have a random flame!
This is my final result (1600×1200):
Here you can find some wallpapers:
Commenti»
[...] Read this tutorial in English language [...]
[...] I got some spare time this weekend and decided to make some more hi-res background wallpapers. I use gimps flame render filter to generate the images. A good tutorial can be found here. [...]
After I do the step where you select your type of flame, i see the preview of the image I want to make, but when I click OK twice the program renders the image and then nothing shows up on my clipboard. Any suggestions?
As I write in the tutorial (http://docs.gimp.org/en/plug-in-flame.html), the documents dimensions create problems if they are equal/bigger than 1600×1200.
Bye
There seem to be problems with this tutorial. I’ve followed the instructions for the flame. I click ok and it starts to render. Then nothing. I am left looking at a black canvas and nothing happens.
Care to explain?
hey can i make one of these wallpapers and put it on my sit as a wallpaper?
thanks regards,
kez
@Kyle MacDonald: hi, read the information in the post or go to this link:
http://docs.gimp.org/en/plug-in-flame.html
There’s a problem with the document dimensions (I’ve explained it also in 4th comment)
@kez: yes you can