SiennaBlue

I'm horrible at posting, replying, answering, etc. I don't mean to be, but I really struggle with communicating. I have ADHD and ASD as well as a handful of other related problems, including difficulties with Expressive and Receptive Language Processing. I have more trouble with expressive language including, "sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings orally or in writing..."*. This is really hard for me to share (no pun intended) because I am embarrassed by it. I actually have a college degree, but classes were structured in such a way that I was able to manage. I'm smart, I just struggle to get it out of my head. I masked as best as I could for most of my life, but I'm tired now and I don't want people thinking I simply don't care. I do care, but it is just about impossible for me to keep up. So I want to apologize to everyone for not responding to all the favorites and watches and kind words. I appreciate it and all of you, literally, more than I can say. Thank you.

*https://sphsc.washington.edu/receptive-and-expressive-language-disorders

I want to share a little bit more about my methods and preferences when creating my fractals. Some things are obvious, like my love for black and white renders. I'm addicted to seeing as many details as possible in raw fractals and black and white exposes more of them. Having said that however, I admit that I really enjoy using color more and more. The way I use color may drive some people a little nuts, though. I often enter into a state of flow when I create, and I make many fractals in a row by quickly changing paramaters. I can't select individual gradients for each one, though so I tend to create series using the same gradient for several fractals. Those series can end up pretty long. I also have some favorite gradients, or at least gradients containing similar colors. I love "earthy" colors and so I end up with an insane amount that are some combination of blues, browns, greens, etc. These colors calm and soothe me and so I probably overuse them. lol I've also developed a fondness for red (or yellow or orange), black, and white.

When I started creating fractals I didn't want to make anything except Julia spirals which I still love. I've since found some other favorites, especially Mandala Epsilon Julia, Mandlebrot, Barnsley, Interval Julia, Gnarl, and DUCKIES!!! For coloring algorithms, some of my favorites include Basic, Lyapunov, Markus-Lyapunov, Smoothed Iterations, Twin and Orbit Traps, Triangles (I REALLY love Triangles), Soft Gnarly, and a few others. (I'm probably missing one of my favorites.)

I have been sharing WAY more than my normal, which, thanks to my Neurodivergent brain, is really difficult for me. I'm hoping, in my very small way, to encourage new people to take up creating fractals. It's selfish, really. I want to SEE MORE FRACTALS! lol There are several different programs: Ultrafractal, Apophysis (I'm confused about which version of Apo is the most current), Fractal Explorer, Chaotica, JWildfire, Fractorium and a few other listed here: Fractal Explorers Apps and Alternatives on Softpedia. I have only tried the first three. Some are free while others you have to pay for.

I confess, I am a FRACTAL FANATIC. I love looking at fractals, and I love creating them even more. Although there are several amazing fractal software programs, I use Ultrafractal. I get lost in the program for hours at a time. Genius creator, Frederik Slijkerman and the brilliant formula authors, have my undying gratitude for making this program available. DISCLAIMER: I am not receiving any kind of reward for saying all these positive things about Ultrafractal, it's simply just that incredible. Creating fractals is really a journey for me. I imagine myself exploring other worlds, dimensions, universes, etc. as I lose myself in the process. There are so many formulas that can create fractals that look, to me, like strange and alien architecture, landscapes, and life forms. I especially love the ones that look like I could, actually, walk into and wander around in. One of my favorites of this type by one of my favorite fractal artists, jimpan1973, is Magic Forest.

I'm constantly amazed and this brings me joy. Looking at fractals created by other kindred Spirits, regardless of what program they use, is also one of my favorite things to do. There are so many inspirational creators here on DA, and I have several of my favorites listed with their own folders in my Favourites section. I need to add many more, though. Now I gotta go make some more fractals.

Before, Mandlebrot Christmas I hadn't uploaded any of my fractals since Jan 3, 2019. I've still been creating them, though. I've started uploading some, and I'm going to put up some more. The first ones are going to be oldest, and I'm going to kind of jump around and upload whatever strikes me. I literally have hundreds of them, and I hope to get around to putting up some of the newer ones before my mind runs off after the next shiny object that it catches a glimpse of. Thanks for checking them out if you do.