Mode
The Painter operates in two modes. In Fractal Mode the Painter displays a fractal image, while in Scale Mode it displays the color scale used to displays the fractal. Scales are explained in some detail at the bottom of this page.
Fractal Mode
Set
Two sets are supported, that is, the Mandelbrot Set and the Burning Ship Set. The set to be used is selected in the uppermost list box. For more information see the presentation.
Color Scale
The color scale to be used is selected in the list box under the Set list box. The Reverse check box (if selected) reverses the scale. Scales are explained in some detail at the bottom of this page.
Complex Plane
The complex plane parameter field shows the X- and Y-position of the center of the displayed image in complex units (X is the
real part while Y is the imaginary part of the complex number). The W-field is the width of the displayed image in complex units.
The complex plane parameter fields reflect the state of the image. If the values in the fields are altered, then the displayed image
will be redrawn according to the entered values.
The center of the image can more conveniently be changed by simply clicking at a point in the displayed image.
Canvas
The canvas parameter fields show the width (W) and height (H) of the canvas in screen pixels. The size of the canvas can be changed by changing the values of these fields.
Zoom
The zoom buttons are used to zoom in or out in the image. Zooming will affect the W complex plane paramater, while the X- and Y-field will remain unchanged. The buttons' effect on the W-parameter is 0.5 (+), 0.2 (++), 2.0 (-) and 5.0 (--).
Draw-button
The Draw-button simply redraws the fractal according to the actual parameters.
Travel-buttom
The Travel-button redraws the fractal (until Stop is pressed) while gradually changing the complex width (dW%) and/or center point (dXY%). The fractal is redrawn at an interval specified by the f-parameter (milli seconds).Explore-buttom
The Explore-button redraws the fractal (until Stop is pressed) while gradually changing either the complex width (dW%) and/or center point. The function tries to find areas of the fractal which is graphically more "interesting" than the what is currently displayed. The fractal is redrawn at an interval specified by the f-parameter (milli seconds).
Scale Mode
The color scale use to paint the fractal is displayed in Scale Mode. The presentationexplains broadly how the color scale is used. Some ready-made scales can be selected from the list box under the Set list box. The selected scale is the shown in JSON-format in the text field under the Draw-, Travel-, Explore- and Stop-buttons. The JSON-format scale can be edited, or you can paste in an entirely different scale. It is easier to edit or create a scale in an external editor, and then paste it into the text field when ready.
JSON Scale Format
{"scale":
{"name":"rainbow184","colorOut":"000000","colorIn":"FFFFFF","segments":[
{"start":"FF0000","end":"FFFF00","steps":"32"},
{"start":"FFFF00","end":"BBFF00","steps":"32"},
{"start":"BBFF00","end":"00FF00","steps":"32"},
:
All colors in the scale are specified as hexadecimal RGB-values.
name is simply a name given to the scale
colorOut is the color used for points which are not in the set
colorIn is the color used for points which are in the set
segments is a list of one or more segments in the scale
a segment is sequence of colors starting with a given start-value and ending with a given end-value. steps gives the
number of colors in the sequence. The sequence is derived by gradually moving from the start-color to the end-color
The time it takes to draw a fractal image is broadly proportional to the number of pixels in the canvas (H x W) times the
total number of steps in the scale.