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Fyre is a tool for producing computational artwork based on histograms of
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iterated chaotic functions. At the moment, it implements the Peter de Jong map
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in a fixed-function pipeline with an interactive GTK+ frontend and a command
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line interface for easy and efficient rendering of high-resolution, high
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This program was previously known as 'de Jong Explorer', but has been renamed
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to make way for supporting other chaotic functions.
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All the images you can create with this program are based on the simple Peter
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de Jong map equations:
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x' = sin(a * y) - cos(b * x)
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y' = sin(c * x) - cos(d * y)
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For most values of a,b,c and d the point (x,y) moves chaotically. The resulting
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image is a map of the probability that the point lies within the area
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represented by each pixel. As you let Fyre render longer it collects more
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samples and this probability map and the image becomes more accurate.
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The resulting probability map is treated as a High Dynamic Range image. This
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software includes some image manipulation features that let you apply linear
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interpolation and gamma correction at the full internal precision, producing a
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much higher quality image than if you tried to create the same effects using
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standard image processing tools. Additionally, Gaussian blurs can be applied
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to the image using a stochastic process that produces much more natural-looking
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images than most programs, again without losing any of the image's original
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Contact info and the latest version of Fyre is available from:
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Fyre 1.0.0 introduces a new quality metric for determining stopping conditions
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on command-line and animation rendering. It is much more consistent across
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images than using the maximum density. A quality of 1.0 is generally "pretty
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good", and 2.0 produces a very high quality image. As usual, while this metric
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is pretty reliable, it's impossible to automatically judge aesthetics, so you
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may need to fiddle with it if you're dissatisfied with the results.
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Unless given a .exr extension, all images saved using the GTK+ frontend or the
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-o command line option are standard PNG files containing an extra 'tEXt' chunk
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with all the parameters used to create the image. This means the image can be
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loaded back in using the -i command line option or the "Parameters -> Load from
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One convenient use of this is to save small low-quality images using the GUI,
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then use the -i, -q, -s, and -o options to render very high quality and/or
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large images noninteractively.
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When using the -o (--output) option, no GUI is presented. Instead, Fyre just
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outputs status lines every so often with the current rendering process. These
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- current number of iterations
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- speed in iterations per second
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- current and target peak density values
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- elapsed and estimated remaining time
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Fyre includes an animation subsystem. From the main explorer window, use View >
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Animation window to open the animation interface. Animations are represented as
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a list of keyframes, with a transition after each. Keyframes can be manipulated
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with the buttons at the top of the window. Transitions consist of a duration,
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in seconds, and an editable curve. This curve's presets can be used to
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transition linearly or ease in and out of keyframes, but you can also edit the
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curve for more complex effects.
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Each keyframe in the list also shows you the bifurcation diagram between that
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keyframe's parameters and the next. Intense black dots or lines in the
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bifurcation diagrams are fixed points or limit cycles, which usually don't look
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You can preview the animation by dragging the two horizontal seek bars, or
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using the 'play' button. The keyframe list can be loaded from and saved to a
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custom binary format. Once you have an animation you like, you can get a higher
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quality version using File -> Render. The result will be an uncompressed .AVI
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file. You can use tools like mencoder or transcode to compress this file with
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Animations can also be rendered from the command line using the -n and -o
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As of 0.7, Fyre supports cluster rendering. On each worker node, start up fyre
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with the -r command-line switch. On the head node, select your cluster nodes
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using either the GUI or -c on the command line. If you're dealing with a large
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cluster, the cluster-utils.sh file will probably prove useful. Clusters on the
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local network can be autodetected using UDP broadcast packets. See the -C
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command line option, or the autodetection check box in the GUI. Note that
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cluster mode cannot be used for animations at this time.
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- OpenEXR, necessary for saving .exr files
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- GNet, for clustering and remote control mode
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Standard autotools procedure. configure, make, make install, you know the
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Fyre supports Windows, using the same autotools build system. You'll need
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Cygwin to compile this under Windows, but we find a cross-compiler under Linux
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easier. The tools in the 'build' directory are used to create the final binary
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David Trowbridge <trowbrds@cs.colorado.edu>
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Micah Dowty <micah@navi.cx>
added
removed
README
