I'm new at fractal art and need some feedback on the pieces I have up and constructive criticism on how to make my work better. I thank you for looking, and I thank you in advance for the help.

tell you what ..

tell us your "process" .. your "workflow" ... so that we have an idea how deeply you've grasped the nuances of the program

do you understand the use of scripts?

the editor?

manipulating triangles?

manipulating gradients?



browse some of the galleries of the established fractalists ... so that you have an idea of what your competition is, what your goal is .. for an eye-catching, full-bodied abstract ... (not to imply you have to match those pieces .. be yourself)

tell us what you think of your works

the key to apophysis is knowing what to post .. it will throw a lot of pixels at you and it's easy to say: "whoa, that's cool" ... but is it? .. will it be to others? .. others that have seen hundreds, thousands before .. that is what influences the reception your works will receive


posting your art on the internet takes some backbone ... for both the successes and the failures .. so, take your coat off, and stay a while ... somebody that knows abut this stuff will be along shortly

;)

I thank you for the advice Keifer, that is very helpful. To my knowledge I have a lot to learn and I am trying to quickly become fluent with the program and am learning more and more possibilities each day. This post has already begun to sink in and help me to more critically observe my fractal works.

From what I see I have much to learn about softening the imagery to create a more angelic form of fractal. My art is crude and dark, whilst most people can create a bright and intricate work at whim. I will review my steps at forming art and improve.

Again, thank you for the advice.

please .. tell us your process, so that we can address the issues .. my post was not intended to drive you into the shadows of lurkerdom ... answer the above questions, and those below

do you? ..

accept what the program gives you? .. ie: find a 'random' that looks presentable .. and render it .. a lot of "us" started there, nothing to be ashamed about

have you learned to "see" the low-rez preview as a high-rez finished piece .. position and snug the fractal so that you are rendering exactly what you want?

do you render small (640x480 @ 200 quality) tests .. so that you have an idea whether the 'flame' is worthy of a longer render .. these small tests also serve the purpose of comparing different gradients ... the gradient can totally make (or break) a fractal

I render at 3200x2400 (for a 1600x1200 upload) ... this size reduction prior to completion helps to 'smooth' and de-grain (in some cases) the final result ... even if you use irfanview to resize, because you don't have photoshop or equivalent

I render at 2000 quality, usually (I have rendered as high as 10,000 quality) ... point 3 filter radius ... 1 oversample ... renders are usually 3-5 hours on average .. (110 hours is my longest)

read ... Apophysis Flame Creation .. by Guitarzar @ DevArt ... Robert had a knack for creating full-frame fractals .. full-screen color explosions ... his gallery

this tutorial will teach you a technique using the editor ... a technique that requires patience .. (as all editor work requires) .. just patience, and the willingness to experiment

this is an OLD tutorial .. and the program has come a long way since then ... but it should still work

tell us your "process" .. your "workflow" ... so that we have an idea how deeply you've grasped the nuances of the program.

- I first find a flame that I find to be a possible hit and begin with a simple triangle mutation to see if it can fit what I see it becoming in my mind. If it gets relatively close I keep what I have made in triangle manipulation and begin mutation, I scroll through the mutation tool and see if anything fits something that either fits the original idea, or a possible new idea. If nothing is discovered or attractive I run the script to see what comes up. I let the cycle run about 3 times before stopping the script at a point I find attractive. Once that is done I repeat steps 3 and 4 (mutation and script) depending on how things work out. Once I am set on the flame I render (only takes at the most 10 minutes because of the size) the image and bring it to CS2 where I either redo layers, sharpen edges, change color balance/highlights, and alter anything extra that I might find interesting before saving it as a .jpg at about 848 x 600 as my most common resolution. My highest resolution is my Black Widow image which is 1210 x 730.

do you understand the use of scripts?

- I have used the script once or twice, but cannot fully understand its uses or how to properly execute it.

the editor?

- For the most part, I understand the aspects of the editor; I understand triangle manipulation, mutation, gradient (for the most part), and somewhat script (but do not quite fully grasp its concept).

manipulating triangles?

- I can manipulate triangles to form what I see as a possibly interesting piece, both moving the triangles about and altering the angles of the triangles.

manipulating gradients?

- I understand only the basics of manipulating gradients in order to provide a useful color that agrees with my tastes, I see now that I need to think of the other party when I am testing out gradients.

do you? ..

accept what the program gives you? .. ie: find a 'random' that looks presentable .. and render it .. a lot of "us" started there, nothing to be ashamed about

- Haha, I do in a way, I find a random that looks like it could be presentable with work and follow the steps I have mentioned above. I do not like to just render a flame and immediately present it as my own, I find that to be a lie of my work and I do not want that reputation.

have you learned to "see" the low-rez preview as a high-rez finished piece .. position and snug the fractal so that you are rendering exactly what you want?

- I have not, but I will begin looking to see if I can find that in an image.

do you render small (640x480 @ 200 quality) tests .. so that you have an idea whether the 'flame' is worthy of a longer render .. these small tests also serve the purpose of comparing different gradients ... the gradient can totally make (or break) a fractal.

- I have not done that, but it certainly gives me something to think about.

Whoa! .. I didn't expect you to respond .. I'm in over my head

hahaha .. just kidding


RE: scripts ...

did you start with, or are you using now, version 2.02 .. from apophysis.org ?? .. apo has moved to different developers .. and can be found ---> HERE version 2.07 .. AND .. a 3D hack version

what you are describing is the "default" script .. it animates your flame and you are expected to\required to stop it when you see something you "like"

oh baby! .. scripts are SO MUCH past that, it ain't funny .. scripts will make coffee AND wash your car

we'll link you to some later

RE: Mutation window .. most of us probably started with the 'mute' window open ... but once you start using the 'editor' the mute window becomes obsolete .. but stick with your comfort zone for now

RE: gradients ... apo now comes with a multitude of available colors .. and there are, of course a million more available for download ... but there is a "hidden" button, that is easily missed, that will change hue, brightness, frequency, etc ... on the "gradient" window, it defaults to the word "rotate" (for moving the color band) .. that is a button\menu .. some folk miss that


also, before I forget .. it is recommended that you save your own interesting gradients ... and, of course, your interesting flame files .. ask how to do that if you aren't already doing it

also .. there are a couple tutorials in our own tutorial gallery ... scrounge them up for a gander, as well

ok .. some key points

on your "options" screen (Ctrl + P)

Random Tab: ...

you can set the number of triangles you get .. I use min\max of 3 .. but I'm not telling you you need to change it, just that it's there ... some scripts and types of flames will ignore this to accomplish their goals

Forced symmetry .. this will enable various styles .. rotational (flowerlike) and bilateral (mirrored side-to-side) .. "order" for the rotational is number of 'blades' or petals for your 'flower'


also (pet-peeve of mine) .. you can edit the word "apophysis" from your random list .. with the "title prefix" ... I shortened it to "A"

`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·

Variations Tab:

this will allow you to limit the variations used in your random batches .. ie: "clear all" and then check "heart" .. and you will have a bunch-a-hearts (helps to have bilateral symmetry turned on)

or .. set only "spherical" .. min\max 3 triangles .. and render a bunch of cloudy\foggy fractals .. as opposed to the sharp line style you have been posting


these same "variations" are found on the "variations" tab of the editor window .. where you can change the weights and values .. add variations to existing variations on a given triangle

the "new" versions of apo are just a single "executable" .exe file ... they no longer "install" .. or create a folder tree

just create a folder inside of your current apo folder with a version number for a name "apophysis207" and plop it in there, and then create shortcuts to it

they "expire" after a while ... (grrrrrrrrrr)

All of what Keith says is right .... I hope you have Apo 2.02 & are running it right now because A. it sets up your files pretty much & B, it really is easier to learn the basics this way. The ol' walk before you run therory.

Keith has been telling me to do a small test render for a couple years now & I've done a couple but I don't like 'em personally. Everyone has to find what works for them & what they feel comfortable with. If you do them & find them a handy tool then that's great. A lot of people do.

The mutation window ....you click the center image & it rotates everything to new images... if you go to where it says "Trend on the bottom left of the mutation window & click that you get a drop down menu with a certain number of variations.

Clicking on one of these changes the images you're looking at in the mutation editor. You'll also find the Variations tab above your main image.

Still using the mutation editor, where you see "Speed" ..... move the tab to the left. The speed tab changes the differences you see in your image... so if it's set at 25 or higher you see a lot of differences faster. But if you slow it down, set it at a lower number, then you see less changes per window. In other words, the changes to your fractal are slighter & so easier to see & easier to control. I used to use it alot.

Try using one variation in the main Apo & a different one in the mutation editor. ;o)

As for gradients.... gradients make or break an image, take it from me. The newer versions of Apo come with a lot more gradients than 2.02

Most of the time though I pull gradients from outside sources. Images in the public domain for instance. Or if you see a really pretty gradient an image you can ask the artist where they got it from.... but don't just download it & use it as a lot of people map out their own gradients anymore.

You go to File > Smooth Palette & click on the image & Apophysis will load it on the image. The newer versions of Apo will let you play with contrast, saturation etc right there but not 2.02.... you have to do that in PS or say Photofiltre.

And while I'm here, I'd suggest you download photofilre right here & now .... it's a great tool.

It has auto contrast & auto levels in the Adjust & my faves are add more highlights & add more shadows. They really make an image pop. I think you'll really like it once you get used to it.

Be careful about over sharpening an image, you can actually soften it up. aND it's a good idea to make copies of your images before you pop 'em in PS or whatever.... I managed to delete a couple before I caught a clue about that.

To save an image .... click on the little blue diskette looking dealie & it'll say save parameters ....& you click on it & it goes hopefully to a file you've already set up.

As an example mine all go to c:\renders\My Flames\lauren 3.flame ... or lauren 3..flame or lauren crap.flame or, & my personal favorite file ....c:\renders\My Flames\jesus god what the hell was I thinking.flame. Incidentially,... my biggest file. ;oP

All the above is spot on...

and ALWAYS have the editor & the mutation windows open that way you see whats going on and might see a better flame..

EXPERIMENT is the only way to learn.. try the different scripts (if you don't like it UNDO *the UNDO button will become your best friend*)
Try different variations once again if you dont like it UNDO.. Try different combination of scripts or hit the same script a couple of times sometimes that will give you a "WOW" flame

Move the triangles around, grab a corner of the triangle and move that around, add triangles or delete some if there are a lot..

Change the values in the different variations..

Try opening a new page and start from scratch by adding triangles, experiment with different variations & scripts..
even try different colour backgrounds sometimes that can give it a whole different look.

Make sure that the quality above the flame is on 100

as Lauren said ALWAYS save your flame to a folder that way when you get more scripts you can mess around with it again.. also its handy to save it incase you accidently delete the image you rendered.. not that I'VE ever done that.. ;)

ALWAYS render the piece of work 1600 x 1200 or higher preferably higher..

Anything else your not sure of or need help feel free to give one of us a yell and someone will talk you through it..

oh a couple more things.. the most import things when your doing apop...

EXPERIMENT.. EXPERIMENT.. EXPERIMENT.. and HAVE FUN..

So much information to absorb at one time, I'm understanding the first three posts after my last post, and I have already encountered an issue with the newer versions of apop.... I DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT PLUGINS! Gah! I'll probably have to manually install each and every freakin' one of 'em... This will take a while...

Thank you, all three of you for this advice, I'm going to work on more of the spherical segments to familiarize myself with the format of a spherical fractal. Once I get the newer versions installed I'll be set for moving forward with the posts. I'll keep you updated.

Perhaps Les (purmusic) could be prompted to keep the Apophysis Challenge rolling ...

in that, he supplies the parameters .. and you see what you can do with them, posting the results ... and looking and learning from the other posts

if it's worth anything to you .. I have not installed any plugins at this time ... although, to be honest, I do not consider myself to be a 'power-user' of the program .. I mainly use it to create components for other works

now .. not to move too quickly .. but

SCRIPTS:

cabintom @ DevArt ... I am linking to his full gallery, because he has tutorials, scripts, gradients ... (click the topics on the left)

shortgreenpigg @ DevArt ... I have the resource filter turned on here .. the scripts with 3D in their title generally require the 3D-Hack version of apo

download via the "download" link on the left of the preview (on each item's page) ..

if you get a white screen with TEXT .. (shortgreenpigg) .. just copy the text to a blank notepad page and save with an .asc extension

I, personally, save scripts with the author name in front (!-shortgreenpigg_@_swirly-script.asc) ..

you should give credit where credit is due, and declare your resources when posting ... some authors may even request they be credited ... and other apo users always appreciate some insight into how something was achieved

you select new scripts, when using apo, via the script menu (open) and then click the green arrow ... you should have a 'scripts' folder from your original install ... this is why I add the !- in front of the name, to raise it to the top .. separating the wheat from the chaff

scripts that render new "random batches" should usually have the word BATCH in the name .. if they don't, then add it to the name .. so you don't lose randoms you mght want to work

Well with the program, certain .dll files are required in order to run the program and I lack those files. Thus I cannot install the newer versions of apophysis.

ummm .. ok .. I have never encountered that

are you getting an error report telling you what those .dll's are? ... because most .dll's can be, well, DL'd

google for them .. read the instructions for install

Hey Michael,

Wondering which version of Apophysis you are using and referring to when it comes to the .dll files?

Is it the 3D Hack version?

If so ... program still runs, and the older variations made available for integration with the program via a plugin with the respective .dll files, are not very useful when it comes to the '3D' stuff.

Annnnnd ... as Keith made mention, ran an Apophysis challenge of sorts wherein I supplied the parameters ... you tweaked them according to (more or less, was pretty open this first go round) the aspect of the program that was being focussed on and then posted.

So ... check your PMs ... sent you a set or two of parameters to play around with. Pay attention to the variations used in conjunction with one another ... the relative positions of the transforms (triangles in the 'Transform Editor') and so forth.

I might suggest you keep the 'Variation Preview' on (located in the toolbar of the Transform Editor). Finding that useful in re-acquainting myself with some of the nuances of the various variations.

Uhm ... one last thing ... whatever you do ... don't press or click on the orange button.

Bad juju there, I'm tellin' ya. :o|

/\ It's a joke ... it's a joke. /\

K' ... sending you some parameters ... copy and paste them into a 'new' blank flame or a randomly selected one, in which case it does not matter which.

And SAVE ... SAVE ... SAVE. (<--- Rule number one.)

Find the 'Undo' button. (<--- Rule number two. :oP)

Michael's running 2.07b I imagine & I'd imagine the 3D hack too, & I believe/think/am not quite sure you need the .ddl files to use the plug-ins.

That's what I heard anyway.

There is some really excellent advice in this thread.

Also I have found that it's all about the quality. A lot of people seem to like to just render at average quality, which will give them an average picture. If you *really* want a great picture, render at the highest quality your computer will allow you to and still have a little breathing room for other necessary tasks. You may need to experiment.

What I like to do is render at night, just before I go to bed. That way, the pic is ready when I get up in the morning and I don't have to deal with my computer being slow due to Apophysis rendering. I usually render at 6000 or above, sometimes with an oversample of 2, sometimes I use 1.

I made a beginning tutorial and I'm going to post it when my posting cooldown is up. (Can you tell I play too much WoW? Heh.) You're probably way beyond the beginning stuff by now, but I hope it'll help get someone started at least. I may do a slightly more advanced "let's play with the triangles" tutorial later.

Also: Zooming in on a particular part of a fractal often captures something that the original does not. I use the zoom feature a lot to get the full-screen look. It does take up more rendering time, but again, it's worth it in the end.

Chilled

For example, the above image I made is a zoomed-in spiral, using a custom gradient and a much-manipulated run of the textured plastic script that is so popular.

the higher the quality is good, but sometimes it can take up to 2 days to render depending on how slow your computer is and how much zoom you've done.. i find 2000 or 3000 is just as good for quality, but like i said before ALWAYS render big size 1600 x 1200 or bigger then downsize it to what you want that makes a difference..

Emily... "Chilled" is lovely, very delicate looking, love the colours.. great work

notes:

oversample essentially doubles the size of your render with each number increase (internally) then it is shrunk prior to spitting it out ... (increasing oversample adds significant time to a render)

filter radius is some kind of sharpening juju .. but a wiser man than me will need to be enlisted to explain it

zoom is the mind-killer .. it adds major time to a render .. and is single-handedly responsible for my 110 hour render .. I mean, that's like 4-5 days, or somethin'

O_o

tip: .. use scale on the 'render' tab of the 'adjust' window as a poor man's zoom ... and send me cold hard cash for saving your sanity (every render)

(if you have the time you can experiment with time & quality)



I no longer have, or wish to spend, the time to do experimental renders to see if doubling the size of the render (ie 3200x2400) is the same as rendering at 1600x1200 and oversample 2 (essentially the same end-result .. on paper) ... but I can see and manipulate the results that photoshop's bicubic algorithm give me via sharpening or softening prior to reduction

J_272004 has a good point. Always check the rendering time before you render, and make adjustments accordingly. Unless you're willing to sacrifice the time spent on your computer processors, that is.

You can always post-process in Photoshop or your preferred general graphics program too. Some of the best fractals on this site had post-processing work done to them, such as reflection effects.

Keifer, I thought oversample did something to the color, like make it a tad brighter, as one of the side effects? But maybe that's just me.

And yes, use zoom sparingly. 0.5 to 1 is the highest I use, because any more than that would choke up my computer for life. You can always crop in another paint program after the image is rendered too.

thats another good point to bring up.. if you render say 3000 x ?? whatever (cant think i'm too tired) you can crop it to fit 1600 x 1200 so you get more of the pic

I render at 3200 x 2400 on advice from *coughkeithcough* & then size down & it really gets rid of any jagged lines etc & works like a charm to smooth out colors too.

Personally I render my quality at 3500 & it's been more than enough for me. There's some guys over on dA who will tell you that you're just not doing it right unless you use a 10,000 quality but I think they're all in peeing matches anyway.

And because I'm basically lazy & easily distracted I rarely check my render time. I render at night mostly though.

my understanding of Oversample is that it is only a size thing .. but I am also not going out of my way to read everything being said about the technical nuances ...

―\(Ί_o)/―

I'm always willing to try and help you out. Just send me a pm and I'll do my best to give you some pointers.

also ..

the older scripts in your folder .. are from a time when Apophysis only did 12 triangles ... so .. they have a tendency to say "use MAX transforms" ..

Apophysis NOW uses 100 triangles (with a brief stint at 250) ... so older scripts that say "use max" are "useless" .. as they have a habit of rendering your fractal into the consistency of 'creamed corn'

the "Make Bilateral" is handy, it will just mirror your flame side-to-side by adding ONE triangle .. mess with them if you want .. but other than that I would zip the original scripts ..

here are some more scripts .. these are from Utak3r (Piotr Borys) .. one of the current Devs for the program

I think you peeps are going to have to pull all this together into an up-to-date advanced tutorial with pepperings of hot tips in tip boxes (like in the Mac Bible)! Otherwise it's a waste...

I'm new to it too and still finding my way, but two things I've found so far... if the PC doesn't have enough memory to do the render (and it often doesn't), the only way to get round it is:
(1) wait till it's in the mood to take it on;
(2) reduce the oversample... I just don't seem to have the available memory for an oversample of 2, so it's always an oversample of 1.

The second thing: I did zoom in on something, and it took about three days.... and the result was HORRIBLE. So you have to be careful what you zoom in on. :-).

I've also learned that when you leave things to render overnight, you have to get used to cats coming and changing things... we had a stray cat staying overnight who chose a new mutation.

I think the Apophysis tips tutorial is a great idea. I just wish I played with the triangles more often enough to be useful in that area for advice. I'm still learning the scripting functions. I know how to tweak other people's scripts if I want to, that's about it.

Emily.. EXPERIMENT.. EXPERIMENT.. EXPERIMENT.. move the triangles, grab a corner and move it around.. go into the variations and change the values, add values, remove values, go into the variation tab and click on different variations.. go into scripts and click different scripts sometimes if you click the same script 2 times it will give you something different..

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫
grab your partner, spin her 'round
careful, laddie, don't drop her down
move to the right .. doe-see-doe
move to the left .. I-gotta-go
oh, everybody, back to town
♪ ♫ ♪ ♫


yee-haw

Cheat, lie ‘n’ steal!!

I’m a fractal hack myself!! Tons above are grand words!! Keep playin’ with all the elements and have fun!! I’ve found it useful to snag someone else’s parameters and then tweak on those as they already have sumpin’ cool so I take their stuff and make more cool stuff outta it. Search for Apop parameter sharing forums…take someone else’s parameters and start from there changing it around into you own.

>>K-Dawg

Look ma, it’s Shake ‘n’ Bake…and I helped!!

8~O

OK.. You can get scripts, gradients and variations as well as tutorials from here fractal resources

Bon Apetite

let's let Michael emerge from the quagmire YOU GUYS created

Tootles... if your zooms are taking a month of Sundays do them like this instead ....Go to your adjust tab & click on render. Over on the right you'll see Scale or Master Scale. Put your cursor over the word itself, left click & move your mouse to the right.

And you'll zoom in. Move it to the left & you zoom out. In real time. So when you go to render it won't take any longer than normal rendering time. My image Gordian Knot was a deep deep zoom & it took no longer to render than usual. Trust me it works.

Ah, brilliant tip! Thanks Lauren, I had no idea there was a workaround. I will have to remember that for next time.

hmmmmmpppppppfpfffftttt

I said that, in fewer words even ... and was SHUNNED, kicked to the curb, shhhh'd by a librarian ... told to skidaddle

;)

Sorry, Keifer - where? (Gets out her magnifying glass and starts trawling back over acres of text).

^^^ up there .. looks like THIS:

`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·

O_o

tip: .. use scale on the 'render' tab of the 'adjust' window as a poor man's zoom ... and send me cold hard cash for saving your sanity (every render)

`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·`·.ΈΈ.·΄΄``··._.·


was it the cold-hard-cash part? ... I wuz jus bein' funny

;)

Ohhhhhhh... (in Hammy the Squirrel tone of voice). There it is. I remember at the time, for some reason, I focused on the bit immediately below:

"I no longer have, or wish to spend, the time to do experimental renders to see if doubling the size of the render (ie 3200x2400) is the same as rendering at 1600x1200 and oversample 2 (essentially the same end-result .. on paper) ... but I can see and manipulate the results that photoshop's bicubic algorithm give me via sharpening or softening prior to reduction"

It was probably the word 'oversample' that drew me in. :-). I was wondering how visible a difference would be, but if there was a visible difference, any experiment is worth doing... but if it's not visible, it's not. (Or that's how it always feels). For me it's all academic as my PC won't let me do either (not if I want a 1600x1200 wallpaper).

After that my thoughts galloped off after some coffee. (Whooooosh).

My deepest apologiez Keith.... I must've missed your explanation to Tootles since it was so short. Mea culpa.

Not being used to it & all.

(*snort*)

ok, wise guys .. I'm no longer kidding about the 'cold-hard-cash' bit

send it

why not? maybe you'll collect enough for a real internet connection :P

He shoots ! He scores !

Oh ... & no problem Keith.... anything for a friend. * smoochies* I mailed the check today... you just go on out by the mail box & wait for it.

It's coming.

Any day now.

Promise.

Wow I haven't posted in this thread for a bit. Sorry about my absence, life has been hectic with work and my grandfather's funeral and all.

I have been taking in what has been said and so far I have been able to successfully run 2.07b and the 3D Hack version and so I have been playing around with those. The concept of rendering I understand. I can easily take the time to let it render since I leave my laptop at home during the weekdays. On the weekend I'm out and about going from coffee shop to coffee shop, haha.

Quick question, I would like to re-open Death of a Planet and increase it's size via a re-render. Is that possible without pixelating the image? I wanted to make it a bigger size so the detail would show a little better.

go into open folder and find the flame click on it and it should open in the window.. then click render and increase the size to the size you want then sit back and wait for it to cook.. doing it from the apop program won't pixelate it.. i would actually make it a size bigger than what you want then resize after its rendered that way definately no pixelation

RE: pixelating the image

if you follow some of the tips regarding rendering size and Q\FR\O .. and resize down .. there should be no problem

some flames are just naturally more grainy than others ... some of the grain is, possibly, from sharpening edges

Usually the files are rendered as a .jpg, is there anyway to bring it into apop in that format? Or a way to reformat it?

Keith's right, some flames are just dogs from start to finish.

Hey Michael,

.jpg or .png are your only choices for output file formats from Apophysis as I understand it. .jpg is typically what you want to render your flame as ... .png will result in the background colour being removed once opened in a graphics editing program like Photoshop and the like.

Search for your "renders" (.flame files) ... and that should enable you to open your previous render of "Death of a Planet" ... if by chance you didn't save the original file/.flame parameters.

Choose "File" ... "Open" ... and then navigate your way around, usually they are in the Apop Program files, but ... but ... check "Your Received Files" too. For whatever reason at that time, that was the default directory for me.

(You could do an overall search and use Windows 'search' function using "renders" as the term ... that'll bring up the directory paths and locations of all your previous renders. Or should.)

You can't open a .jpg file in Apophysis, unfortunately. I am unaware at this time of another way to reformat a render.

No worries though ... make more. :o)

And I read your above words about 'scripts' ... I get the impression that you went to "Script(s)" in the toolbar, clicked and ran the default script of "Animate Flame". Which is just one way and an interesting way to see how the flame changes with auto changes made to the transforms by the 'script'.

If ... if that is in fact what you did, ran the "Animate Flame" script ... simply watch and stop it at an interesting point. It will then render in your preview window and in the Transform Editor the changes will be made to the transforms (triangles) for you. Then continue 'tweaking' as they say.

If you were to look in your "Scripts" folder (located in your Apophysis Program files and accessed, once again through "Script" in the toolbar) there are others as well. Just navigate to them and experiment with them to see what they do. Some work on the individual flame you have opened, some generate full random batches of that type of flame associated with that particular script.

RE: PNG transparency ..

there be a little doohickey on one of them twiddly option tabs

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PNG Transparency?

[x] yes please!
[ ] not until the 2nd date

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if you're asking: "are the flame parameters embedded in the jpeg .. as some other fractal programs do" ...

nope


there IS a 'renders.flame' file in whatever folder you send your renders to (jpegs) .. that keeps track of every little thing you do ... flamewise

last I loaded it, it seemed to keep 5-10 copies of the same flame, missing the fact that I had changed gradient or somesuch ... odd, that