Ok People! Here they are, the parameters for the May Challenge, brought to you by *globalpuffer. This is a "starter" layer, and he is really curious about what the rest of us can do with these params.

I made one try which came out a mess, so I will be trying again.

ChallengeParams {
::z55WVjn29dVTPutNQ07Lw+fQwXDsXRqvsaAP0utBIAFFFJN9qBXJKb2ViShieXZj8jvzwPkk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}

Here is the image with which he used these parameters.



The deadline for your images is Wednesday, May 28.

Rules

The starter layer must "show", but you can use any OCA or gradient that you choose after that. And yes you can change the gradient on the starter layer.

Have Fun!

=ArtistInWaiting


^{Banner header by *Velvet--Glove}

As you know, Anna was our Winner for the last contest The Lost City of Atlantis We have just started Featuring our contests winners with the 1st Place Winners being feature here at the Group, later there will be features by other administrators or member volunteers for 2nd and 3rd places. As usual the details are a little fuzzy at this point.

As many of you know Anna is from England and is a multi-talented artist. So after you look at her interesting fractal art done with Ultra-Fractal, be sure to check out her other artwork. (I'm partial to her kitties...)

Here are some of her fractal images for your enjoyment:




Please stop by =AnnaKirsten's gallery, it is an experience to remember.

=ArtistInWaiting

Some new members




^{Banner header by *Velvet--Glove}

We have chosen our Winner of The Lost City of Atlantis contest. It was a really hard choice to make...we all liked both of them for various reasons.

The Winner is =AnnaKirsten! Please stop by her page to give her your congratulations.



As I said earlier the winner of our contests will be the one to choose the theme for the next contest. She has chosen “A Bride’s Day” for the theme. This might be a little difficult for the men in our group, but I have faith in you, and I know you will come up with a very nice image.

I will be updating this journal with the dates and "rules" soon.

*globalpuffer and her collab partner are sure to come up with some interesting formula to work with. I will be in contact with them soon, to get their ideas.

Chatroom

We had a very interesting Chat on Gnarl Formulas. We didn’t have a lot of people there, but it was a comfortable size group. Many of us had worked with gnarls in the past, so there was a lot of image sharing. Several of us had parameters to upload for people to use or just plain explore. I will be uploading the Chat into our Gallery and adding a link to the Tutorial and Resource page. But be patient with me please, I’ve only uploaded images so I will be trying to find out how to upload words. Oh boy…something new to learn.



The Chat Log Introduction to Gnarls is up in our Tutorials Listing. [link]


Right now that is all I have to report, so have a nice week,
=ArtistInWaiting


^{Banner header by *Velvet--Glove}

This is just a quick reminder that there is going to be an informal Chat on Sunday May 4th. The topic of discussion will be Gnarls, Formulas and OCAs. It will start at 1:00pm Eastern Time and go until we run out of things to say.

I, personally find this to be a very intriguing set of formulas, with a totally different “look” than things produced using the Mandlebrot and Julia formulas and their derivatives. I know there are others who have worked with Gnarls and I’m hoping that they will come and share their knowledge with us.

If you have never heard of Gnarls I suggest that you go to our Gallery and search under Gnarly Dude to see some earlier works, by some of our members.

***Update

I've been very busy this week getting Gnarls together. I will have a couple of sets of "Starter" layers for you. And I will be giving the parameters to these two images for you to play with.

and

I have to admit that my images run more to the complex than minimalist. I'm hoping that the minimalists among you will stop by and show us how you work with these formulas. A lot of nice effects can be created using masks especially if you like adding texture to your images.

Remember Folks, this is an Introduction to these formulas...so if you have any images that you would like to share, please stop in with them.

See you in our Chatroom tomorrow [link]
=ArtistInWaiting


^{Banner header by *Velvet--Glove}

Due to the fact that there were only 2 submissions to the contest, we are not holding a Group Vote this month. The Winner will be chosen by the Group Administrators.

The Winner will get a Feature here at Ultra-Fractal and will choose the theme for the next contest.

The Runner-up will get to come up with a Challenge for the non-competitive members.

For me to say that I am very disappointed in the Group's participation in the Contest is putting it very mildly. The theme had all the facets of life and death. It runs the gauntlet from mysticism to shopping at the local open market to a huge natural disaster. Emotionally it could have included the laughter of children to tears over a broken pot, to mass terror and chaos. There was even the spiral made by the ocean as the city fell beneath the waves. And at the end you have broken stone lying on the floor of the ocean with sea plants and fishes swimming through the remnants. Atlantis was a city vibrant with life that ended as a quiet grave. Hardly a "limited" theme!

Chatroom News



Next weekend I will be holding an Introduction to Gnarls Chat.


=ArtistInWaiting
Sunday May 4th at 1:00 EST to ??


^{Banner header by *Velvet--Glove}

Our Contest The Lost City of Atlantis is still running, and you have only 1 more week to get your submission notes to us. Please remember to have the words "Contest" or "Contest Submission" in the subject line of your note.


Rules:

The image must be created specificlly for this contest. It cannot be an old image or a reworked image. The image must be created entirely in Ulta-Fractal, the exception being your signature if you choose to add it.

You can submit only one entry. Once an entry is submitted you cannot change your mind and submit another image. the second image will be rejected.

Post your image in your Gallery, then send us a note with the words Contest or Contest submission in the subject. Please provide a link to the image in your gallery.

Your entry may be submitted starting today Sunday,April 6th. The Deadline will be Friday, April 25th, with Voting starting on Sunday April 27th. Winners will be announced Sunday, May 4th.


Now for our new members...



Please stop by and welcome them to the group.

Chatroom News

We had thumbs for a short time...but we seem to have lost them again. So we are still using links to show our art or our favorites.

I am still looking for a volunteer for a Tutorial in Reverse. For those of you who have never been to one, they go like this:

A person has a formula or image that they are "stuck" on. And they would like some help from others who know the program well. A note is sent to either myself or the group and we proceed to set up a date for the TIR. If our volunteer has a formula that seems to baffle them, we will let you know what that formula is, so you can prepare some interesting layers for the person to study. A lot of ideas get bounced around, and the tips and tricks that we have learned are shared among everyone.

It is also a good learning experience if you just "sit and watch". Maybe adding a little something to the conversation in the form of a question or minor tweak that you think might help out.

That's the news for this Sunday...
Happy Fractaling,
=ArtistInWaiting


^{Banner header by *Velvet--Glove}

First let me apologize for going into to 'Lurk Mode". There have been changes in my "real world" existence...one of which has been a major change in scheduling. I'm in the process of reorganizing the what I can do when, since now all my extra time is taken up,

Anyhow enough of that! I'm introducing a new Feature, which is not going to be scheduled, but will simply pop up in your Journals Listing, as time is found to do it.





While some might find the learning curve for UF to be a little steep, that has not been a problem for *mdichow. Within just a couple of months the progression he has made is really nice. From initial "doodlings", as he calls them, to his recent work using interated coloring, it is obvious that the sky is the limit for this artist.

Bold colored fractal images....be sure to check out his gallery for more of his work.






^{Banner header by *Velvet--Glove}

As promised, this is the Feature for our Winner’s works. In wandering through her gallery I have found that she is a highly creative soul. But I do recommend taking a bit of time to look through her gallery at her photomanipulations , stamps, as well as her images made in That Other Fractal Program.

I also found that over the years I have myself d a number of her works. So you will have to forgive me if I’ve added a few of my favorites to this feature.


I have decided that we are going to go back in time to when the winner of the month’s contest chose the Theme for the next month’s contest. When I proposed this to *Golubaja she instantly came up with a theme. (Apparently it is a favorite of her’s) Thus, we are going to try to create a fractal image based on:



**
Rules

The image must be created specificlly for this contest. It cannot be an old image or a reworked image. The image must be created entirely in Ulta-Fractal, the exception being your signature if you choose to add it.

You can submit only one entry. Once an entry is submitted you cannot change your mind and submit another image. the second image will be rejected.

Post your image in your Gallery, then send us a note with the words Contest or Contest submission in the subject. Please provide a link to the image in your gallery.

Your entry may be submitted starting today Sunday,April 6th. The Deadline will be Friday, April 25th, with Voting starting on Sunday April 27th. Winners will be announced Sunday, May 4th.

Happy Fractaling,
=ArtistInWaiting


^{Banner header by *Velvet--Glove}

As of to day we have a New ID image. To say the vote was close, is like saying the sky is blue! Would you believe it is I told you it was a 3 way tie? I expected a tie somewhere, but not 3 images vying for first place.

To avoid having a second round of voting, the available administrators each cast one vote to select a winner/winners. We were all in the chatroom...very formal ... last night, so it was more of a show of hands. So with out further ado, here are the results.






For while we had one of those rotating doors, then we had the costume changes, but now we seem to really have a group that can work together. We have a lot of talent in our little group, they maybe a little low on skills, but they've got enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. But we need your help, input and greater understanding of the program. For those who utilize the Forum for discussion of all things Ultra-Fractal, I thank you. There is a lot of information in there.

Now to introduce you to our New Administrators and Moderators:

Administrative Assistant: =LonesomeFaery
She will be in charge of Interviewing and promoting Affiliates contests.

Message coordinator: ~erthbndangl
She is in charge of informing visitors that they must add the Artist's original image to their Favorites. She provides the links needed to get this corrected.

Moderators:
=TwilightAmbiance
~ThePieProphet

BTW I made up a stampie for the Chatroom for those who might be interested. I'm taking offers of better ones, I'm no Stamp Maker. We could use a stampie for contests also. If you make up a simple background that the text could be added to, it would save time for you.



More Later...

There will be a new contest next month, to be announced later in the week. I will also be putting up a small feature of this month's winner in that journal.


Keep on making beautiful images in Ultra-Fractal and have fun.
=ArtistInWaiting


^{Banner header by *Velvet--Glove}

Welcome to the First Weekend In Spring, Fellow Members

Around here the weather is usually more cooperative and the temperature is 10 degrees warmer. We shouldn’t complain in my area though, south of us just were drowned in 10 inches of rain, and it is going to snow north of us. We are in a sloppy middle of the two. In rural US, there is an extra season…Mud Season. There was a time when children living on farms had a 1 to 10 day vacation at this time of year. This was so they could stay home and help to “get the crops in”. It was separate from Spring Vacation, which allowed the School administrators to close up and take a well-deserved break.

And what does that have to do with fractals, you ask? Spring, is the time of year when either flower colors or raw earth tones dominate our artwork, which is as it should be. Fractals are based on nature, and the cosmos, we either revel in their repetitiveness or confine and “tame” them with masks.




Contest: New Face 2008
Start Date: Saturday, March 8
End Date: Saturday, March 22
Voting Starts: Sunday, March 23
Winners declared: Sunday, March 30

Challenge: Easter Egg Hunt
Start Date: Sunday, March 9
End Date: Saturday, March 29
Journal Viewing: Sunday, March 30

Chatroom: Looking for Volunteers for the next Tutorial in reverse. If you would like to have help with a formula, masking, texturing, Please send a note to *Ultra-Fractal or myself, =ArtistInWaiting and we will set up a weekend date.



I have been looking about at various other Clubs and find that they have a lot more staff positions that we do. I would like to change this, and add some new positions. If you are interested please Note *Ultra-Fractal or myself =ArtistInWaiting

Open Positions:
News Writer and Interviewer.
Chatroom Moderators

New Positions
Admin Assistant (FILLED)
Chatroom Administrator
Gallery Assistant
Message Handler (will explain what this entails to volunteer)

As of now I will be interviewing in the Staff Chatroom. Be prepared to let me know a little about your offline life, nothing personal, just what you do. (Work, Stay at home Mom, School involvements, things like that). I will also explain what your job is, and give suggestions on ways to get the work done in a timely manner, so you can get back to Ufing.



Without further ado, here are the entrants:



Good Luck to all the Entrants!!




You must cast 3(three) votes. One for each; First, Second, and Third place in that order so the point system works properly.

Send us a note using the word VOTE in the subject line. Send only the numbers of the entries, in the order that you wish them to place. For example #3, #7, #1, would be--3 = first place, 7 = second place, 1= third place.

Only members may vote. Once you have voted you cannot change your vote, if you send a second note it will be disregarded

Votes will be accepted starting March 23, Sunday and ending March 28, the following Friday.

Please, send you votes in a note with Vote as the subject.

The Winners will be announced March 30, Sunday.



I have only 1 egg in my basket



I need more to find.
=ArtistInWaiting


^{Banner header by *Velvet--Glove}