Resolution for Fractals

Resolution for Fractals

When a fractal image is inserted into another program for changes/resizing, etc. the resolution can change a lot thereby affecting the quality of the image.

 When you are creating the original image, make sure the file is large enough so that you can make changes within the original program and also, you can set the correct resolution and image quality. If you do these things prior to putting the image into another program, you should not have any problem.  I learned this the hard way when a printer refused to enlarge my art saying my images became too distorted at larger sizes.  I had been in the habit of creating images in Chaoscope, then transferring them to Paint Shop Pro to add color and texture and make further modifications.

Always use anti-alias to minimize distortion and save your file in a lossless format as opposed to lossy.  A few lossless extensions are png, bmp, gif, tiff or psd.  Lossy extensions mean that you lose image data (resolution) every time you upsize it and that data cannot be recovered.  JPEG is a common lossy format although it is often used for final prints as it requires less file space.  Resizing is not a problem with all fractals programs and there is software out there that promise to resize your image to any proportions without loss of resolution.  Genuine Fractal is a plug-in for Photoshop that promises to do this.

 Apophysis is another fractal program I use frequently. It has straightforward menus for sizing and rendering at a desired quality but some printers (printing companies) can be fussy about these designs also.  So it pays to just take that extra time and take a few staps to make sure your submitted image is of the highest quality possible.