Fractastic! A Creative User Guide for the Redfield Fractalius Filter

Fractastic is the latest in a long line of eGuides published by BAA Books. Kudos to Andrew and denise.

Fractastic

A Creative User Guide for the Redfield Fractalius Filter

BAA is proud to announce–at long last–the publication of Fractastic, a creative user guide for the Redfield Fractalius filter. Fractalius is a Windows Photoshop plug-in. Mac folks will need to run Bootcamp, Parallels, or VM Ware to use Fractalius; they can learn more here. It is hard to describe what Fractalius actually does to an image but this is how the Redfield Company explains it: the Fractalius plug-in creates unusual, eccentric artworks in a single step. The effects are based on the extraction of the so-called hidden fractal texture of an image. You can also simulate various types of exotic lighting and high-realistic pencil sketches. Each individual image will react differently to the filter, so exact results are not guaranteed.

Denise Ippolito gave Fracting a huge boost in popularity about three years ago as moderator of the Out-of-the-Box Forum at BirdPhotographers.Net. One of those whom she introduced to Fractalius was Andrew Mclachlan who since wrote the popular “Ontario Landscapes – A Photographers Guide” for BAA Books. Denise came up with the idea of teaming up with Andrew to write and illustrate a Fract eGuide more than a year ago. The spectacular result: Fractastic.

In this fantastic eGuide the authors begin by explaining the usually mystifying Fractalius interface in clear, easy-to-understand terms. They even managed to make sense of the Colorize Mode button and the two large Asterisks at the top of the interface. The main body of the guide consists of more than two dozen intriguingly beautiful Fracted images with explanatory notes and screen captures of the settings that Andrew and Denise used to create their artistic works. You can use these settings to replicate the various effects that they have developed. Many of their creations are based on Fractalius pre-sets. The guide will teach you how to effectively apply many of the Fractalius pre-sets and how to create and save your own. The final section is an inspirational gallery of more than 35 superb Fracted images by Andrew, Denise, yours truly, and Cheryl Slechta who helped with the final proofreading.

You can purchase your copy of Fractastic for only $27 by clicking here, sending a Paypal for @$27 to us via e-mail being sure to note that you are paying for “Fractastic,”or by calling Jim at BIRDS AS ART at 863-692-0906 during regular business hours. A download link to Your eGuide will be sent via YouSendIt. Weekend and holiday orders will be fulfilled the next working day.

To purchase Fractalius, the plug-in program, please click here.

Elements?

Fractalius works just fine in Elements. And Elements 9, 10 & 11 offer Layers and Layer Masks so that you can fine-tune your Fracts.

Early Kudos

By e-mail from Lori Gagliano:

Hi Denise, I just purchased you new e-book and it is wonderful. Thanks for sharing you knowledge of this great filter. Lori

By e-mail from Bud Liley:

Hi Denise, Thanks so much for bringing your Fractalius e-book to fruition. It’s great, all 146 pages!!! Thanks so much, Bud

American Toad Fract, Image courtesy of and copyright 2013: Andrew Mclachlan. Click on the image for a larger version.

How Cool?

How cool is this image? Andrew is currently working on an eGuide to frog photography.

Dogwod Fract, Allaire State Park, NJ. Image courtesy of and copyright 2013: Denise Ippolito. Click on the image for a larger version.

What’s Not to Love?

Here I love the high key white sky look, the bright colors, and the whimsical mood introduced by Fracting.

Wash House, Dudley Farms, FL Fract, Image courtesy of and copyright 2013: Cheryl Slechta. Click on the image for a larger version.

Cheryl Slechta

Special thanks to Cheryl Slechta for her skillful proofreading of the final draft of this eGuide and for her help with the Fractalius interface. Her gallery images including the one above are a fine addition to the guide.

A Bosque Sandhill Crane flight Fract, Image copyright 2013: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Click on this one to appreciate the larger version.

Fracting Fun

After I bought a license for Fractalius for denise for Christmas several years ago she taught me everything that I know about this great plug-in. Please know that above all else Fracting is fun. This eGuide teaches you to apply the Fract on its own layer and details the addition and use of Layer Masks to reveal parts of the original image below. As I did with the Bosque image above. Note: this Fracted image is not included in the guide.

I rescued this image from the Artie to Do file. Working on Fractastic has motivated me to create lots of new Fracts. As I said, it is fun! For this one I tried various pre-sets. Clicking on the Colorize Mode buttons and the Asterisks as detailed in the eGuide got me this fabulous look.

From Denise:

Thanks to Arthur for the great job he did editing the guide. He spent many hours going over each section making sure that everything was just right. Without artie’s help this guide would not have been possible.

Your Favorite?

Please take a moment and let us know which of the images above is your favorite Fract. And please let us know why.

Sandhill Crane composite, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. Click on the image for a larger version.

Blog-folks are invited to apply a $300 discount to their balance for the Bosque IPT below

Bosque del Apache 2013 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 26-DEC 2, 2013. 7-FULL DAYS: $3399. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory Slide program: 6:30 pm on 11/25. Limit: 12.

Tens of thousand of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks including point-blank American Wigeon and Wood Duck, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet. Top-notch Photoshop instruction. This will make 19 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for me. Nobody knows the place better than I do. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home applying what you learned will prove to be invaluable. Includes all lunches and the Thanksgiving Buffet at the Crowne Plaza in Albuquerque. I hope that you can join me for what will be an unparalleled learning experience.

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance is due 4 months before the date of the IPT and is also non-refundable. If the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. If your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) You can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

Snow Goose composite, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. Click on the image for a larger version.

Typos

On all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

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