Fractal Generators and Fractal Software
Freeware Fractal Software
There are many free fractal generators out there and we will be showcasing the top rated programs available. The free fractal generators we have found range from DOS based applications to Unix based programs. Many free fractal software programs are usually good for one aspect or another of generating fractals and some can be used in conjunction with others. Fractint for example can generate fractals and formulas that can then be used in other fractal applications. Make sure to check out all of the great free fractal software we have found around the internet. You can easliy search for them on Google and find the dowload.
| Software Title | OS Compatiblity | Description |
| FractInt | DOS,Win9x/ME/NT/2K/XP | FractInt is the most popular and probably most respected out of all of the IBM Compatible based fractal generators and fractal software programs available. It is also used in many high schools, colleges, and universities to teach the fundamentals of fractals. It is speculated that FractInt is one of the oldest active and supported software projects to date. |
| Fractal Explorer | Win9x/ME/NT/2K/XP | Fractal Explorer is one of the few freeware programs that allows AVI fractal zoom movies to be created. It also has many formulas and variations of the most well known fractal sets. As a bonus, it includes variations of Iterated Function Systems (IFS) and 3D Strange Attractors. |
| Chaoscope | Win9x/ME/NT/2K/XP | A 3D strange attractors program capable of rendering FractInt MAP files. Chaoscope now has 11 different attractors along with 5 different rendering methods available. |
| Fractalus | Win9x/ME/NT/2K/XP | Fractalus also allows for fractal zoom movie creation and also has a slideshow feature. It is another one of the high resolution fractal generators available. |
| Tiera-Zon | Win9x/ME/NT/2K/XP | Another one of the more popular fractal software generators available, Tiera-Zon was created to bring fractals to life in 24-bit true color. This software was written by Stephen C. Ferguson in C++ and is therefore only available for the Windows OS. |
| ChaosPro | Win9x/ME/NT/2K/XP | ChaosPro is another 24-bit masterpiece. This program allows you to create 3D renderings of fractals and allows files from both FractInt and Ultrafractal. It is a great tool to have when you combine them all together. |
| GIMP | Windows, UNIX/Linux | The GNU Image Manipulation Program not only is a great image editing tool, but it doubles as a fractal generator with certain plugins that are available. You can create many of the most popular sets along with some strange attractors. |
Check out some of the other great fractal software and 3D attractor software that Paul Lee has put together on his website. It is a great list of the best programs for designing fractals and other geometric equations.
Commercial Fractal Software
There are also several great fractal generators that cost money. Usually these programs allow much more functionality and may include updated formulas and features. Many of the commercial fractal generators have cool features like the ability to create zoom movies or add effects and filters to your fractal design. Others allow you to export PSD files for use in Photoshop and other image editing programs like GIMP. This opens up the design for more customization but diverts from the beauty of the original fractal usually. By far the most impressive feature of the commercial generators is the ability to create zoom movies. These movies are an intense look into the heart of a fractal by zooming in and capturing the frames as you go. Fair warning that these files can become very large as you zoom further. I saw a zoom movie once that was over 1 hour long which must have taken up a considerable ammount of hard drive space at the time it was produced. Check out some of the great commerical fractal software that is available today.
