Ultra Fractal Tutorial -- Working with Layers


One of the coolest things you can do with Ultra Fractal is layer one or more images on top of another so that the colors blend or react and a whole new picture is created. I took an image created with the Jump Start Tutorial and added a layer so you can see how this works. Click here and save this par as wizard.upr in your Ultra Fractals/Parameters directory and then read on for more information.

Open the image by choosing File|Browse|Parameters (Ctrl-B) and finding the "Wizard" entry.

Make sure you can see both Properties windows -- press Ctrl-P if you can't. In the smaller window, make sure the Layers tab is on top.



You can name your layers anything you want so I have replaced "Layer 1" in the Name field with "Wizard". Add a new layer by clicking on the + (Add) button at the bottom right of the Properties|Layers window. A new, identical image is placed in the list of layers. The default merge mode and opacity for new layers is "Normal" at 50%. This setting allows you to see exactly the same image as in just the first layer. Click the blue Mandelbrot button on the bottom layer to make it temporarily invisible -- so you can more easily see what is happening in the new layer. Make sure the new layer is still highlighted.

Now go to the larger Properties window and the Outside tab. Click on the "..." button in the upper right corner and choose the Orbit Traps coloring formula in the dmj folder. I changed the Transfer Function to "Linear" and the Trap Shape to "Pinch".



Now it's time to see what the two layers look like when merged. Click the blue Mandelbrot button on the bottom layer to toggle the visibility back on.

Hmm . . . . Well, that's different, but not very pretty yet! But don't despair, there are more options to play with. The layers interact using what's called a Merge Mode. Ultra Fractal gives you 19 different Merge Modes which cause the colors in the two layers to interact in different ways. For now, choose the "Difference" mode. Now go to the Opacity slider at the top right of the small Properties window. This slider affects how much the Merge Mode is allowed to change the image. Click and drag it and watch how the image changes. If you pull it all the way to the left, you will see only your original image, because it is not allowing the Merge Mode to work at all. At 100%, the Merge Mode is in full force.



Ok, this is looking better. Now open up the Gradient editor (Ctrl-G) for the "Pinch" layer and move it around to see if you can improve the coloring. If you want to rotate the gradient of the original layer, just click on its name in the list of layers so that it is highlighted. Whichever layer is highlighted is the one in which you are making changes. Warning: it is possible to see one layer but have the other one highlighted so that any changes you try to make will only affect the layer you can't see at the moment. Make sure that the active (highlighted) layer is the one you want to be changing!



Click on the image to see it at 640 x 480. The parameter file for this image is here. As always, make sure you save it with a .upr extension in your Ultra Fractal/Parameters folder.

That's really all there is to it. You can add as many layers as you want. (I think the record, so far, is 72!) With each layer added, you can choose a new Merge Mode and Opacity. By toggling the visibility of each layer on and off, or in combination, you can better see what you're doing. With all the options available, you may find yourself spending hours, literally, playing around with the coloring parameters, trying different Merge Modes, adjusting the Opacity and tweaking the Gradients.

Miscellaneous thoughts about using layers:

  • One of the best ways to learn how to use layers is to examine the pars that are posted to the Ultra Fractal Mailing List. Here's what I do: When I open a multi-layer image, I first toggle the visibility of all the layers off and then on again, one at a time, so that I can see what each layer looks like separately. I compare the layers with regard to their formula, location, coloring, transformations and gradients. Often, I tweak little things here and there to see what happens: changing the Merge Mode or Opacity, cycling the Gradient, etc.
  • If you choose to zoom in on a multi-layer image, you need to know a couple of things. The default is that all the layers will be zoomed, regardless of whether you can see them or not. To zoom on only one layer (or selected layers), click the little magnifying glass button off for each layer that you don't want to zoom. Any layers in which the magnifying button is on will be zoomed, regardless of whether you can see them or not. Again, make sure the layer you wish to alter is highlighted in the list.
  • Sometimes it is really effective to change the Outside or Inside coloring method of each layer while keeping the location the same. Each layer can also have a completely different location or formula.
  • You can re-arrange layers by clicking on the name in the list and dragging it up or down.
  • You can read more about Layers in the UF Help file under Advanced Features|Multiple Layers, including a list of all the Merge Modes and explanations of how each works.

If you have questions, comments or corrections, please send me an email.



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