Yes, you've got the right idea about what fractals are. You could zoom into any of my images, to a very great depth, and not lose any detail (unlike a photograph, say, which has a limited resolution), they go on forever! Curiously, the shapes and spiral formations do change slightly as you zoom in deeper and deeper, which is what makes them so very fascinating.

Basically I use a fractal art program to make my images. Although mathematical algorithms are the basis of the images there is a great deal creative/artistic skill involved in producing something attractive. The creative process, for me, is largely a visual one, onscreen, rather than a mathematical one. Just as in programs like Photoshop (or similar) I don't concern myself about what the computer is crunching on under the hood, I'm mostly interested in finding visual shapes and applying suitable colour and texture. I also use a great many different layers and masks to build up the whole picture. Most of my images take many hours to make, with a bazillion creative decisions to be made along the way and with all the usual principles of good art such as composition, lighting etc. to be considered. It may not be a manual skill in the traditional sense but it is certainly a highly creative computer skill that has to be studied and mastered, in just the same way that other digital artists and photographers have to learn how to use the tools in Photoshop effectively, for example, or how to make a realistic model in a 3D rendering program. Hard work and dedication is needed for all such digital artists, none of this happens overnight... it's not so different from a traditional painter who has to learn his craft and develop his style over many years... except that I don't have brushes and paint spills to clean up when I'm done for the day!

A bit of a long winded answer but maybe it will give you a flavour of what's involved.

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Chris

_{I support NNTR - no need to reply or thank me for every comment, reply or fave... use the time to create more beautiful art instead!}