gimp/plug-ins/ifs-compose
Jehan 18c37f7084 plug-ins, libgimp: override set_i18n() for all our core plug-ins.
Hence avoiding the stderr messages. These are going to be localized with
centrally installed catalogs "gimp*-std-plugins", "gimp*-script-fu" and
"gimp*-python".

We now handle core plug-in localizations differently and in particular,
with kind of a reverse logic:

- We don't consider "gimp*-std-plugins" to be the default catalog
  anymore. It made sense in the old world where we would consider the
  core plug-ins to be the most important and numerous ones. But we want
  to push a world where people are even more encouraged to develop their
  own plug-ins. These won't use the standard catalog anymore (because
  there are nearly no reasons that the strings are the same, it's only a
  confusing logic). So let's explicitly set the standard catalogs with
  DEFINE_STD_SET_I18N macro (which maps to a different catalog for
  script-fu plug-ins).
- Doing something similar for Python plug-ins which have again their own
  catalog.
- Getting rid of the INIT_I18N macro since now all the locale domain
  binding is done automatically by libgimp when using the set_i18n()
  method infrastructure.
2022-06-05 01:57:02 +02:00
..
.gitignore Adding Microsoft Windows executables to the .gitignore files 2009-06-19 00:14:17 +02:00
Makefile.am plug-ins: port ifs-compose to GimpPlugIn and libgimp objects 2019-08-28 03:36:34 +02:00
README.ifscompose Renamed folders in plug-ins/. Unfortunately it's impossible to rename the 2008-03-24 16:36:03 +00:00
ifs-compose-storage.c plug-ins: and in ifs-compose too... 2019-07-30 18:37:05 +02:00
ifs-compose-utils.c plug-ins: don't use GtkStyle in ifs-compose, it's deprecated 2019-07-21 20:36:01 +02:00
ifs-compose.c plug-ins, libgimp: override set_i18n() for all our core plug-ins. 2022-06-05 01:57:02 +02:00
ifs-compose.h plug-ins: don't use GtkStyle in ifs-compose, it's deprecated 2019-07-21 20:36:01 +02:00
meson.build meson: Use libgimp(ui)_dep in plug-ins meson files 2020-05-11 07:01:37 +02:00

README.ifscompose

IfsCompose
----------

IfsCompose is a plug-in for GIMP that allows
the creation of Iterated Function System fractals by direct
manipulation onscreen of the component transforms.


IFS Fractals
------------

You may be familiar with IFS's from the screen
hack 'Flame'. They are also the basis of fractal image compression.

For a brief introduction to IFS's see Foley and van Dam, et
al,. _Computer Graphics, Principles and Practice_, 2nd Ed., 
(Addison Wesley, 1990).

The standard references in the field are Michael Barnsley's books (though
I haven't looked at them yet):

M. Barnsley, _Fractals Everywhere_, Academic Press Inc., 1988.
M. Barnsley and L. Hurd, _Fractal Image Compression_, Jones and
Bartlett.

Briefly, you take a point and repeatedly apply one of a set of
transformations to it, choosing randomly between them, and plot the
point at each step. An interesting result (the Collage Theorem) says
that if you can find a set of transformations that break up an image
into smaller copies of itself, then the resulting fractal exactly
reproduces the original image.  For example, here is a classic image
of a leaf and the same image with the four component transforms
colored distinctively.

But the best way to appreciate this may to install this program and
try it out. I've extended the basic concept as found in
Foley and van Dam to include transformations in color space as
well as in real space.

Installation
------------
The included Makefile should work with minor modifications on most
systems if you have installed Gimp normally. Put the resulting binary
in ~/.gimp/plug-ins or the system-wide plug-ins directory.

The included files gtkaspectframe.c/.h implement a modified frame
widget that guarantees that the aspect ratio of the child widget
remains constant when the parent is resized. It's sort of specialized,
but if you think it would be useful for other purposes, let me know
and I'll lobby for its inclusion in the standard gtk.

Use
---
The interface is somewhat complex and it may take you a little while
to get the hang of it. (There are 19 parameters for each
transformation in your fractal, after all). The best way to learn is
probably to start by making small changes, and seeing what they
do. Click on the transformations (represented by polygons) in the
design window to manipulate them interactively.

Button-1: rotate/scale
Button-2: distort
Button-3: move

If you hold down shift while clicking, you can select multiple polygons
to apply the transformation to.

Try not to click too near the center of a polygon, as this will
amplify your actions.

Note that if you render onto an image with an alpha channel, the
background will be transparent (very useful for compositing several
fractals), otherwise the background will be the current background.

There are tutorials and some example images at:

 http://www.gtk.org/~otaylor/IfsCompose/ifs_tutorial/tutorial.html
 http://tigert.gimp.org/gimp/ifs-compose/


Have fun!

Owen Taylor