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What's it all about?
Hi, I'm Tony - This is
my page, where I throw together information about myself and various
interests and hobbies that I have
I hope you find
something useful on these pages. If you do - let me know:
t.o.n.y.w.o.o.d.h.o.u.s.e.@
t.i.s.c.a.l.i...c.o...u.k |
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Diet
Start:
29/03/05: 19st 2lbs
Last Weigh-in:
19/07/05: 18st 3lbs
Loss: 13lbs
Progress Graph |
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Introduction
What are fractal graphics
then?
Well I'm no expert, but
basically the idea is that you get the computer to perform very simple
calculations over and over again, in such a way that when it draws the
results, beautiful patterns, or unerringly lifelike images are the
result.
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1. A simple example would be
a tree. Start with straight trunk pointing vertically upwards. |
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2. Now tell the computer to
draw two smaller branches, sprouting from the end of the trunk, half the
length of the original trunk. |
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3. Now simply tell the
computer to repeat this process, putting two smaller branches on the end
of every new branch that it draws |
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4. Not all that realistic,
but now tell the computer to repeat the process with just a bit of
randomness regarding the length and angles of the branches it draws. |
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5. Now tell the
computer that if the size of a branch is smaller than a certain length, stop the
process and stick a leaf on the end. |
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The result is
not exactly going fool David Bellamy, but the point is that
simple rules, applied in a repeated fashion by a computer
can "magically" create something quite "lifelike" or
"natural" looking.
Different rules give rise to oak trees, conifers,
ferns, snail shells, sponges, fingerprints and many other items found in
nature. |
Download the Word
Template and Macros used to draw these trees:
Fractal Tree.dot
This doesn't work very well inside a web-browser, so
save the file and open it up in Word. There should be a
"Fractal Tree" toolbar with a "Draw Tree" button on it. |
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Excel Terrain Map
Ever fancied being king of
your own little island or even archipelago? Well this is not
really anything like that at all!
Download
fractal
landscape.xls and
generate your own landscapes.
Click on an image to view
a larger version
This Excel worksheet is
simply a large grid of numbers, with each point on the grid representing
a height above or below sea-level on a map. The grid is filled
with numbers, starting at sea level and working across and down, either
going up or down at random each time. The grid of numbers is then
smoothed out to make the landscape less craggy. Finally it is
flooded with sea to create a flat sea level, and then drawn using
Excel's standard surface map charting tools.
To use the map, simply
load the file into Excel, and press F9 to draw a new landscape.
Sometimes they look pretty crap, other times they look quite nice.
They tend to all have a bit of a diagonal long thin island bias due to
the way the grids fill from one corner down to the other corner. I
tend to think that it draws coastline similar to the Scottish coast and
lochs. |
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3D Fractal Trees
This is exactly the same
idea as with the simple fractal trees shown above, but this time
rendered in 3 dimensions, with additional detail. The idea is to
create something that is truly realistic.
As you can see, this is
very much a work in progress, it doesn't look anything like a tree at
the minute!
Click on an image to view
a larger version
The 3D pictures are
draw using a ray-tracing program called POVRay, which is downloadable
for free at
www.povray.org.
Pictures are drawn by
describing the scene in a text file. Complex images are built up
from simple building block shapes. The tree above simple comprises
4 tapering cylinders. My intention is to write a program which
will generate the the text file to describe complex and beatiful trees,
which can then be passed to POVRay to be drawn. Watch this space! |
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