Quiet day today, taking care of household minutiae. And in the interstices, learning a new art program. I've been working with Apophysis for more than a year, creative fractal flames that are amazingly diverse, from organic, abstract, to highly geometric and organized.
I've had Mandelbulb for just as long. The problem has been one that seems to be common with freeware programs - it is not user friendly. At all. I have repeatedly tried to learn how to use it and every single time I've bounced off it, hard. But I recently got into a group on facebook, and chatting with a gentleman in there convinced me to give it a go. I'm not saying I can use it with confidence now, but I do feel like I can learn it. I've been making judicious use of tutorials and online forums to walk my way through the basics. I have hopes... the reason I've been trying so hard to make MB3D work for me is that I believe I can use it to generate space ships, stations, and other useful forms to add to my digital art. Yeah, I know I need to learn how to paint those. Right. You know how holding the shift key down is supposed to make Photoshop brushes draw a straight line? Right. That doesn't work for me. I have actually resorted to putting a ruler on the pentablet and drawing a line just like I would on paper. So until I learn how to actually draft in PS... I'm going to keep poking at MB3D.
Besides, it's really, really freaking cool.
"Champagne Bubbles" Apophysis 7X
This is a 3D structure, vaguely space-station-shaped, against a background of Apophysis-generated nebula and planet. The structure was created in Mandelbulb 3D
"Zygotes" Apophysis 7X, and elements I picked up from a stock site. Robots in incubation. Story fodder!