Shapes

Variations that ignore the input and generate specific shapes. Often called “blurs” because they create a blur effect when used on the same transform with other variations.


blur

Circle with a bright center.

Type: 2D blur

Shapes Group Variation blur

blur_circle

Circle with even coloring.

Type: 2D blur
Author: Joel and Michael Faber
Date: 15 Mar 2009

Square blur followed by circlize. Same result as circleblur. An older version had a “hole” parameter which didn’t work correctly and was later removed.

http://sourceforge.net/p/apo-plugins/code/HEAD/tree/

https://sourceforge.net/projects/apo-plugins/files/apo-plugins/80810/

https://www.jwfsanctuary.club/variation-information/blur/

blur_heart

Creates a heart from two ellipses.

Type: 2D blur
Author: Luca G (dark-beam)
Date: 14 Nov 2011

Shapes Group Variation blur heart
ParameterDescription
pPower: 1 will make a heart from two ellipses; smaller values make it more “curvey” and heart-like (to a point)
aShapes the ellipses; make it negative for the heart to be right-side-up
bShapes the ellipses; make it negative for a hollow heart

Keep |a|≤|b| to keep the dimple below the zero point; if it goes below, the dimple will have some fill in it.

https://www.deviantart.com/dark-beam/art/Blur-heart-hearty-apoplugins-269015914

http://www.mathematische-basteleien.de/heart.htm

http://www.deviantart.com/art/BCs-BDs-Gnarly-Blur-Heart-Script-284934920


blur3D / pre_blur3D

Three dimensional Gaussian blur.

Type: 3D blur

Shapes Group Variation blurD

chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum flower shaped curve.

Type: 2D blur
Author: Jesus Sosa
Date: 1 Feb 2018

Shapes Group Variation chrysanthemum

http://paulbourke.net/geometry/chrysanthemum/


circleblur

Circle with even coloring.

Type: 2D blur
Author: Anton Liasotskiy (zy0rg)
Date: 9 Jan 2013

Shapes Group Variation circleblur

http://sourceforge.net/p/apo-plugins/code/HEAD/tree/

https://sourceforge.net/projects/apo-plugins/files/apo-plugins/80810/

https://www.jwfsanctuary.club/variation-information/blur/

gaussian_blur

Fuzzy circle with a bright center, made from a Gaussian distribution.

Type: 2D blur

Shapes Group Variation gaussian blur

https://www.jwfsanctuary.club/variation-information/gaussian_blur/

nBlur

Polygon shaped blur

Type: 2D blur
Author: FractalDesire
Date: 21 Dec 2010

Shapes Group Variation nblur
Shapes Group Variation nblur2
ParameterDescription
numEdgesSpecifies number of edges of the polygon. Must be an integer 3 or greater.
numStripesNumber of stripes from the center to each side. Must be an integer. Negative values reverse the solid areas and spaces.
ratioStripesThe stripe thickness, given as a ratio of solid to space. Valid values are between 0.0 (stripes are lines) and 2.0 (stripes touch each other). Default 1.0 makes the stripes and spaces the same width.
ratioHoleSize of the hole in the center of the polygon. Ranges from 0.0 (no hole) to 1.0 (hole is the size of the polygon, so only the edge is visible.
circumCircleSet to 1 to put a circle around the shape. If ratioHole is 0.0, this just shows a circle; increase that to make a polygon hole in the circle.
adjustToLinearIf 0, the variation value is the distance from center to corner.
If 1, it is the distance from the center to the rightmost (and leftmost) corner. This facilitates horizontal tiling using a separate linear transform. Move the triangle for that transform twice the variation amount of the nBlur transform, and set this parameter to 1 to make the tiled nBlurs just touch.
equalBlurIf 0, the center will be denser, possibly making it brighter (depending on the color).
If 1, the brightness will be equalized, giving a flat appearance.
exactCalcIf 0, the calculation will be interpolated to make the variation run faster. This will sometimes result in faint lines between the center and corners of the polygon, depending on the other settings and the color.
If 1, calculation will be exact, but may take longer.
highlightEdgesThis parameter provides an alternative to exactCalc to reduce the faint lines that sometimes appear between the center and corners of the polygon. The default value is 1; reduce it to darken and increase it to lighten these lines. It can also be used to highlight these edges if desired for special effect. The exactCalc and circumCircle values must both be 0 for this to have any effect. Any value is allowed, but the lowest effective value is 0.1.

http://zweezwyy.deviantart.com/art/nBlur-a-useful-tool-207495126

https://www.deviantart.com/fractaldesire/art/nBlur-plugin-190401515


pie

A circle with wedges missing, like pieces of pie.

Type: 2D blur
Author: Joel Faber
Date: 16 Sep 2007

Shapes Group Variation pie
ParameterDescription
slicesThe number of slices. Two slices will overlap if not an integer (some versions require this to be an integer).
rotationAmount to rotate the shape, in radians.
thicknessThe proportion of wedge to space, from 0 (wedges are lines) to 1 (no space).

http://sourceforge.net/projects/apo-plugins/files/apo-plugins/80810/

http://joelfaber.deviantart.com/art/A-Recipe-for-Plastic-Pie-35295850


pie_fl

Fluid version of pie, allows fractional value for slices.

Type: 2D blur
Author: Fred E (morphapoph)
Date: 8 Sep 2010

Same as pie, but relaxes the restriction that slices is an integer.

https://www.deviantart.com/morphapoph/art/Apo-Anim-friendly-Plugins-178559281


pie3D

Three dimensional version of pie.

Type: 3D blur
Author: Andreas Maschke (thargor6)
Date: 21 Nov 2011

Shapes Group Variation pieD
ParameterDescription
slicesThe number of slices. Two slices will overlap if not an integer.
rotationAmount to rotate the shape, in radians.
thicknessThe proportion of wedge to space, from 0 (wedges are lines) to 1 (no space).

pre_blur

Pre version of gaussian_blur.

Type: 2D blur


primitives_wf

Blur with selectable two or three dimensional shape.

Type: 2D or 3D blur (depends on shape parameter)
Author: Andreas Maschke (thargor6)
Date: 12 Oct 2013

Shapes Group Variation primitives wf
ParameterDescription
shapeShape of primitive:
0 – Circle or Disk
1 – Sphere
2 – Cube
3 – Square
4 – Triangle
5 – Pyramid
6 – Torus
aFor Torus, the radius of the tube
bFor Torus, the radius of the hole
cNot used at this time
filled0 for hollow, 1 for filled (triangles and pyramids are always filled)

sineblur

A circle with a shading effect.

Type: 2D blur
Author: Anton Liasotskiy (zy0rg)
Date: 9 Jan 2013

Shapes Group Variation sineblur
ParameterDescription
powerControls the shading effect.

The appearance is greatly influnced by the background; the default of 1 works well for dark backgrounds, but a somewhat higher value (like 20) is better for light backgrounds. Very high values will have low density in the center. Values less than 1 will produce a smaller circle with a fuzzy edge.

https://www.deviantart.com/zy0rg/art/Blur-Package-347648919

https://www.jwfsanctuary.club/variation-information/blur/

sphereblur

3D version of sineblur

Type: 3D blur
Author: Anton Liasotskiy (zy0rg)
Date: 9 Jan 2013

ParameterDescription
powerControls the shading effect.

http://zy0rg.deviantart.com/art/Sphereblur-687844594


square

Square shaped blur

Type: 2D blur
Author: Antonio Intieri (gygrazok)

Shapes Group Variation square

http://lu-kout.deviantart.com/art/Apophysis-Plugin-Pack-1-v0-4-59907275


square3D

Cube shaped blur

Type: 3D blur

Shapes Group Variation squareD

starblur

Star shaped blur

Type: 2D blur
Author: Anton Liasotskiy (zy0rg)
Date: 9 Jan 2013

Shapes Group Variation starblur2
Shapes Group Variation starblur
ParameterDescription
powerNumber of points
rangeProportional distance of the inner angles

Negative values are allowed for both parameters, and can generate interesting shapes.

https://www.deviantart.com/zy0rg/art/Blur-Package-347648919


superShape3d

General 3D shape generator using two superformula instances.

Type: 3D blur
Name: David Young (Sc0t0ma)
Date: 19 Oct 2008

Shapes Group Variation superShaped
Shapes Group Variation superShaped
ParameterDescription
rhoUpper bound for XY drawing; when m1 is an integer, the optimal value is 𝜋2 ≈ 9.8696; increase when m1 is fractional or spiral is non-zero
phiUpper bound for YZ drawing; a typical value is 𝜋2/4 ≈ 2.4674, which fills a quarter of the shape; adjust as needed
m1Number of corners for the XY plane
m2Number of corners for the YZ plane
a1, b1Stretch or contract the XY plane shape
a2, b2Stretch or contract the YZ plane shape
n1_1, n2_1, n3_1Shaping variables for the XY plane
n1_2, n2_2, n3_2Shaping variables for the YZ plane
spiralSet to a non-zero value to make 3D Archimedean spirals
toroidmap0: Map points to spherical coordinates (normal)
1: Map points to toroidal coordinates

https://www.deviantart.com/sc0t0ma/art/SuperShape3d-101195889

http://paulbourke.net/geometry/supershape/


triangle

Triangular blur (3D)

Type: 3D blur
Author: Jesus Sosa
Date: 7 May 2020

Shapes Group Variation triangle
ParameterDescription
x1, y1, z1Coordinates of the first vertex
x2, y2, z2Coordinates of the second vertex
x3, y3, z3Coordinates of the third vertex

waveblur_wf

Creates waves, like ripples in a pond.

Type: 3D blur
Author: Andreas Maschke
Date: 30 Jan 2015

Shapes Group Variation waveblur
ParameterDescription
countNumber of waves
phaseWave phase; negative values leave hole in center, positive values make waves overlap in center
amplitude_zZ amplitude
damping_zDamping factor for successive waves; positive values make waves further from center smaller
direct_color0 for normal color, 1 for direct color
color_scaleScale for color if using direct color
color_offsetColor offset if using direct color

xheart_blur_wf

Heart shaped blur

Type: 2D blur
Author: Andreas Maschke
Date: 30 Aug 2014

Shapes Group Variation xheart blur

Based on xheart (which is not a blur).

ParameterDescription
angleAngle of the lobes in radians (offset from π/4)
ratioStretch factor for the lobes

zblur

Gaussian blur for the z axis only (no effect on x or y).

Type: 3D blur



This information has all been created by Rick Sidwell as a guide to the more popular variations used in fractal flames, and very generously allowed me to reproduce it here. Not all of the variations are included with JWildfire, but a great many are, so it is worthwhile learning about them.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


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