About Natural Fractals Art and Animation Gallery

The term "fractal" was coined by Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975 to mean "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole." It is derived from the Latin word fractus, which means "broken" or "fractured."

Geometrically, fractals exhibit self similarity at all scales of magnification. Many approximate fractals can be found in nature, such as lightening bolts, snowflakes, clouds, mountain ranges, crystals, river networks, cauliflower, and blood vessels. However, true fractals are generally images generated by computers using simple, recursive equations. For more information, please see the Wikipedia article on fractals.

Fractal art is created by calculating fractal objects and representing the calculation results as still images or animations. The fractal art on this site is created with the assistance of a computer, iterating through three phases: setting parameters of appropriate fractal software, executing the lengthy calculation and evaluating the product. The Fractal art on this web site is of two main categories, Escape Time Fractals and Iterated Function Systems. For more information please see the Wikipedia article on fractal art.

"Natural Fractals" is a term we are using to describe the computer generated fractal art on this website. All of these works were created with simple equations that have not been tampered with using non-fractal algorithms or software (i.e. no Photoshopping or image distortion). They reflect the beauty of pure mathematics, and they are inspired by beauty found in nature.

In some cases, the self similarity of these fractals is not apparent due to a high degree of “zooming in” on the equation. Nonetheless, all this fractal art was created using fractal equations.

The fractal art on this site was created by Engineer/Artist/Web Developer Adam Gile (me). I became interested in Fractals and Chaos theory after reading the book Chaos by James Gleick in 2000. I don’t make a living selling Fractal Art, but this website gives me the opportunity to share the best of my creations with anyone in the world who is interested. I thank you for visiting this site and taking enough interest to read this far.

The fractal art works available in the Natural Fractals online store are printed on demand on the highest quality fine art canvas using UV-resistant archival inks (100+ years of fade resistance when displayed indoors and protected from direct sunlight) and sealed with a UV inhibitor. Each canvas is stretched over a high quality 1.5" deep pinewood frame. These works are ready to be hung in your gallery, restaurant, or home directly out of the box.

Yes. Because these works are self similar at any magnification scale, they can be generated in any size and shape with no loss of image quality. Images can be created to match the colors and wall dimensions of any room. They can be printed on most materials using UV resistant inks with no size limit. For example, I created these fractal art wine labels for San Diego based Winery Surfside Cellars:

Please contact Natural Fractals to discuss your custom fractal art project.