Fractal Variants Editor

Fractal Architect 5 Help Index
Fractal Architect icon

Fractal Variants Creation Page

Applies to:FA 5

Fractal Architect can create many different fractal variations off of existing fractals.

Reference: Fractal Variants Tutorial

Lua: Using Lua to create Fractals

Lua: Lua Variant Script Catalog

Opening the Variant Creator page

Variant Creator is accessible from almost all fractal thumbnails in the Fractal Architect

The thumbnail’s context menu have a View Selected Frame Variants… menu item. (Open the context menu by right mouse clicking on the thumbnail.)
Select it to open the Variants Creation page.
(Or you can use the Command-Option-V key combination to open the Variants page for the selected fractal.)

Fractal Preview window.
Gallery fractal thumbnails.
Recently opened fractal thumbnails.
Make New random fractal thumbnails.
Variant thumbnails.

Fractal Variants Creator Page

The Variants Creator shows a group of fractals that are random variants of the base fractal.
It provides an easy way to create randomized variants of a main fractal them. You can control what types of variants are created and the big the random variant changes are.

Top of the Window Button Commands

Along the top of the window are several buttons.

Choose Lua Script: Select an optional Lua Tweak Script to apply.
Set Variant Options: Sets variant options. See: Variant Change Type Parameters Pane
Roll Dice: Create a new batch of variant fractals.
Add Transform: Add a new blank transform to the original. You can then use Mix-in variants to set its variants.
Copy Animations: Copies the Keyframe Delta Animation Segment, corresponding to the delta between the original fractal and the variant fractal, to the Pasteboard. Next you can paste this into the Sequencer.
Variant Targets: Allows you to select which layers and transforms are affected by the variant creation process.
Render Mode: Allows you to play with fractal transparency and layering it over different background colors /images.
Original Fractal Thumbnail: Shows the original fractal from which the variants are created from.

Variant Targets

Some Variant types affect the output fractals’ transforms. You can select which transforms are targeted by the variant creation process.

The Variant Target popover allows you to specify which transforms are affected. By default all layers’ transforms are affected.

Using a Tweak Lua Script

Click the Optional Tweak Script button and select either a Factory or My Scripts Lua script. Important: Also make Lua Script is selected in the variant options bar.

Variant Change Types

These are the basic change classes you can apply to a base fractal to make a Variants batch:

Change colors.
Change Color Shifts
Change Background
Change fractal symmetry
Change final mastering parameters
Tweak 3D camera.
Enable/Disable Tweak Lua Script.
Modify Transform weights.
Change Variation Weights
Change Variation Parameter values
Mix-in other transform variation types.
Add Final Transform
Change Xaos values
Change Transform Colors
Change Matrix
Do Crazy Matrix changes
Randomly select a Transform to hide (opacity = 0%)
Randomly modify a Transform’s Opacity.

Note: You can apply more than one type of change type at a time by clicking on multiple change types with the mouse.

Variant Change Type Parameters Pane

This pane holds the parameters for the different Variant change types. Open it by pressing this button.

Color Gradient Variants

Color gradient variants are changed from the original fractal by creating a new color gradient with a random number of colors.
The number of colors is a random value that ranges between the specified minimum and maximum values.

Minimum: Minimum number of colors in the color map.
Maximum: Maximum number of colors in the color map.

Background Color Variants

Background color variants are changed from the original fractal by randomizing the background colors’ hue, saturation, and/or brightness.

Fixed Hue: If selected, sets the background color’s hue.
Fixed Saturation: If selected, sets the background color’s saturation.
Fixed Brightness: If selected, sets the background color’s brightness.

Color Shift Variants

Color shift variants are changed from the original fractal by randomizing the original colors’ hue, saturation, and/or brightness.

Randomize Hue: Randomize colors’ hues.
Randomize Saturation: Randomize the colors’ saturation.
Randomize Brightness: Randomize the colors’ brightness.

Transform Color Variants

Transform variants are changed from the original fractal by modifying selected transform’s weight, symmetry, color index, and/or variation weight values.

Color Speed: Sets the magnitude of the random transform color speed adjustment.
Transform Color Index: Sets the magnitude of the random transform color index adjustment.

Transform Weight Variants

Transform variants are changed from the original fractal by modifying selected transform’s weight, symmetry, color index, and/or variation weight values.

Transform weights: Sets the magnitude of the random transform weight adjustment.

Variation Weight Variants

Transform variants are changed from the original fractal by modifying selected transform’s weight, symmetry, color index, and/or variation weight values.

Variation Weights: Sets the magnitude of the random variation weight adjustment.

Matrix Variants

Matrix variants are changed from the original fractal by modifying the scale, rotation, and/or translation of each transform by a random amount.

Operation Order: sets the order the applied order of the scale, rotation, and translation operations.
Rotate Origin: sets whether the transform is rotated about the triangle or the world.
Scale Origin: sets whether the transform is scaled about the triangle or the world.
Rotate: Maximum random adjustment for the rotate operation.
Scale: Maximum random adjustment for the scale operation.
X: Maximum random adjustment for the x-translation operation.
Y: Maximum random adjustment for the y-translation operation.
**Rotation strength **: Magnitude of the random adjustment for the rotation operation.
**Scale strength **: Magnitude of the random adjustment for the scale operation.
**Rotation strength **: Magnitude of the random adjustment for the translation operations.
Matrices Affected: Determines whether pre, and/or post matrices are affected.
Transforms Affected: Determines which of the fractal transforms are modified by this variant class.

3D Matrix Variants

3D matrixes have several other parameters.

Yaw: Maximum random adjustment for the yaw angle.
Pitch: Maximum random adjustment for the pitch angle.
Z: Maximum random adjustment for the z-translation operation.
**Yaw strength **: Magnitude of the random adjustment for the yaw operation.
**Pitch strength **: Magnitude of the random adjustment for the pitch operation.

Crazy Matrix Variants

Crazy matrix variants are changed from the original fractal by modifying selected transform’s pre and post matrix coefficients by a random amount.

Pre Rotate/Scale: Magnitude of the random adjustment for the pre matrix’s a,b, d, and e coefficients.
Pre Translate: Magnitude of the random adjustment for the pre matrix’s c and f coefficients.
Post Rotate/Scale: Magnitude of the random adjustment for the post matrix’s a,b, d, and e coefficients.
Post Translate: Magnitude of the random adjustment for the post matrix’s c and f coefficients.
Transforms Affected: Determines which of the fractal transforms are modified by this variant class.

Mix-In Other Variation Types Variants

Mix-in variants are changed from the original fractal by adding random mix-in transform variations to the selected transforms.

Variation Name & Weights: Sets the magnitude of the mix-in variations’ weight adjustments.
Variation Use: Unless checked, that particular mix-in variation will not be added to the fractal.
Master Mixin Amplitude: Sets the overall magnitude multiplier that is applied to all mix-in variation weights.
Transforms Affected: Determines which of the fractal transforms can be modified by mix-in variations.

Variation Parameter Value Variants

Variation parameter value variants are changed from the original fractal by modifying selected transform’s variation parameter values.

Variation Parameter Min/Max: Sets the minimum and maximum parameter values for the specific named variation.
Variation Parameter Change Weight: Sets the magnitude of the random variation parameter value adjustment.

Add a Final Transform with a set of Variants

A final transform is added to the original fractal having random variation weights selected from the variations you choose. Each variation has a slider that represents the maximum possible variation weight. The range of each slider is 0 to 1, with 1 being on the far right end.

Variation Name & Weights: Sets the magnitude of the final transform’s variations’ random weights.
Variation Use: Unless checked, that particular variation will not be added to the final transform.

Xaos Variants

Xaos variants are changed from the original fractal by modifying selected transform’s xaos values.

Decay Rate: Sets the maximum possible magnitude of the Xaos value changes.

Symmetry Variants

Symmetry variants are changed from the original fractal by adding reflective and/or rotational symmetry to the original fractal.

Symmetry Range: Set the range of symmetries that can be randomly chosen. Negative values have both reflective and rotation symmetry, while positive values are only rotational symmetry.

Mastering Variants

Xaos variants are changed from the original fractal by modifying selected transform’s xaos values.

Gamma: Sets the magnitude of the gamma value changes.
Gamma Threshold: Sets the magnitude of the gamma threshold value changes.
Vibrancy: Sets the magnitude of the vibrancy value changes.
Brightness: Sets the magnitude of the brightness value changes.

3D Camera Variants

3D Camera variants are changed from the original fractal by modifying selected 3D Camera view parameters.

Fixed Pitch: If selected, sets the camera pitch.
Fixed Yaw: If selected, sets the camera yaw.
Fixed Roll: If selected, sets the camera yaw.
Fixed Perspective: If selected, sets the camera perspective.
Fixed DOF: If selected, sets the camera depth-of-field.
Fixed Height: If selected, sets the camera Z-position or height.