The image here is the result of an initial excursion into fractal generation and rendering software, Mandelbulb 3D. A kind of clockwork Rubiks’ cube meets Death Star trench.

I have a reasonable grasp of the maths used to generate 2D fractals, the infinite Julia sets and the famous Mandelbrot set you get by plotting the ‘zero point’ escape fate of individual Julia set’s additive variable across matching co-ordinates on the ‘complex plane’.

And while an understanding of the fundamental principles feels like barely scratching the surface, it does provide a certain intuition when it comes to the process of generating these detailed mathematical constructs. The iterative function being implemented, along with the related useful bounding limits of its possible input, being of key significance. Something that it would seem holds true in the 3D context of generating fractal iso-surfaces too.

My current knowledge doesn’t extend too far beyond the summary in my last paragraph so the image created here is largely the result of iterative experimentation, guided by these basic principles. My strategy then being to capture desirable emergent qualities as identifiable parameter ranges, accessible to tweak in pursuit of an exploratory process of art direction.

I’m intending a repeat session when time allows, to investigate a more intentional and controlled workflow with more than the basic intuition being deployed here. If the subsequent output feels worth publishing, I’ll also try to share some further leads on the maths involved as well as the tool used here and how I came across it.

Roles: Designer, Developer, 3D Artist.