Gradients

Gradients contain coloring information for fractals. Each layer in a fractal has its own gradient. When the gradient is edited, the fractal window immediately redraws itself to show the new colors.

 

To open the gradient editor tool window, click Gradient on the Fractal menu or click on the Gradient tool button.

The gradient editor provides various views on the gradient. Each view can be collapsed and expanded by clicking the button on the left of it. There are five views:

Red/Green/Blue Edits the gradient in the RGB color model
Hue/Saturation/Luminance Edits the gradient in the HSL color model
Opacity Edits the transparency of the gradient
Controls Allows you to fine-tune the selected control point by entering values manually

The rotation slider is placed outside the collapsible views, so it is always visible. It rotates the gradient to change the way the colors are mapped onto the fractal.

Just above the rotation slider is the animation bar, which is normally empty. It shows the animation keys for animated control points in the gradient. See Animating gradients. (Ultra Fractal Extended Edition only.)

Next: How gradients work

See Also
Tutorial: Learning basic skills
Transparent gradients
Fractal windows