@KutuluMike She is by default, because Robert declared her a threat and in truth we know she works to become one, as she sacks cities, begins to build an army, and becomes the Queen of Mereeene. One can argue that Robert knew that Viserys also was trying to gain an army via the marriage arrangement to Khal Drogo-and although Ned dismisses it, Robert was extremely concerned and I think it became a shared perspective across Westoros, especially after Robert dies. I would like to offer a counter-argument to the existing answers. The war of 5 kings.

This is the first ever tutorial I have ever written so forgive me if’s not great, and I may edit it from time to time as I play with it a bit more or if anyone needs any extra information. The main reason for doing this is due to the comments I received on DeviantART. A lot of people liked the images and wanted to know how it was done. I also had a few not-so-nice comments from people on there, as they thought of this as a cheat to creating art as it was a ‘one button push’ job, which if you used the plug-in properly you’ll find it isn’t. I guess the same can be said for certain functions in Photoshop or Photomatix (HDR) as what we are essentially doing is using a tool to edit an image to your liking. When you use the plug-in you will quickly find that you have to play around with the different settings to achieve the look you want as the default settings are not what I wanted and didn’t look that good.
I originally wanted to play with this as I wanted a decent desktop wallpaper and that others could download and use for free. My SmugMug account can be found here where you can download any of the images if you wish and do with them as you wish.

Jan 30, 2011  This tutorial assumes that you have both a 32bit version of Photoshop (CS3, CS4 or CS5) and the Fractalius plug-in. OK, so the first thing you will need is the Redfield Fractalius filter plug-in for Photoshop written by the very talented John Bow which you can find here. It’s a 32bit plug-in so it will not work with any 64bit version of Photoshop and costs $39.90/ £25.20.

Here is the image that I achieved (Looks great on a large 32″ x 28″ canvas by the way). You may want to try something different though as it’s not to everyone’s taste:

This tutorial assumes that you have both a 32bit version of Photoshop (CS3, CS4 or CS5) and the Fractalius plug-in.

OK, so the first thing you will need is the Redfield Fractalius filter plug-in for Photoshop written by the very talented John Bow which you can find here. It’s a 32bit plug-in so it will not work with any 64bit version of Photoshop and costs $39.90/ £25.20. I was unable to get it to work on Photoshop CS5 32bit, (this now works, read the update at the bottom of the article) but was able to find a work around. I use Windows 7 Ultimate x64 and was therefore able to install Photoshop CS3 (32bit version) in XP Mode which is a fee download from Microsoft here. This meant that I didn’t have to un-install my CS5 version to use this plug-in, but instead could just open up XP Mode and install CS3 in there. This is very useful as you will now have 2 OS (XP being a virtual one) where you can use 2 versions of Photoshop running at the same time without having to boot into XP just to use it.

Fractalius also works with:

• ATX all versions
• Fractalius version 1.75 or higher
• iEmboss version 1.50 or higher
• Sketch Master version 3.33 or higher
• Perfectum version 2.01 or higher
• Umatrix version 1.80 or higher
• PhotoPlus X5

Right, onto the main bit….

The best results that I have achieved are from decent sized images (plenty of data to play around with) and with a decent sized resolution. With some of the images that I chose I had to increase the brightness of the subject and also try to remove any parts of the image that would interfere with the plug-in, like branches, fence posts etc. If you are going to try to bring back details in the eyes, you may also want to make sure that these are also nice and clear before starting. This is important as if you wish to use it as a desktop without stretching it you will be able to do so. Also, they make fantastic prints for your walls at home. I much prefer images of cats, be them wild or domestic and the sharper the better. Try to avoid images with any background interference or overly cluttered subject matter. I have seen a lot of amazing images of other animals and plants done, but for me personally I just prefer cats as the fur really works with this.

I found most of my images on-line via Flicker, DeviantART or high quality wall paper sites. Where possible I have asked the original publisher of the images for permission to use their pictures, but you will find that if you use images from a wallpaper site, then this is next to impossible. Flickr is a great source of images as these are freely available to download (most of the time) and the photographer can be contacted. You can also find some nice images via Google images, but refine your search parameter to look for images that are over 2MB (1600 x 1200) using the ‘Larger than’ button.

When you first open up your image in Photoshop, make sure you duplicate the layer so that if you want to bring back some of the detail (like the eyes, nose etc) you can. Then go Filter>Redfield>Fractalius where you will see the following window with your chosen image:

I have unchecked the preview button to show you the original image untouched in the filter. By the way, I found the original image here, and was uploaded by the user Wolver

When you have the button checked, this is what it may look like:

As you can see, the image looks nothing like the finished version, so you will need to play around with the settings. I must admit that I am unsure as to what each one effectively does, but by adjusting the sliders you will see the effects applied. The Scale adjuster makes quite a bit of difference to the amount of glow here, but can be undone by reducing the Depth slider or any of the others, so you will soon see that there is quite a bit of playing around, to achieve your desired effect. There are also 15 other filters in there that you can try by choosing one from the drop down menu at the bottom of the window. I am using the ‘Glow100’ setting. There is also a ‘Random Settings Generator’ that you can play with to give you a feel for the program and the way that the different settings have on the image. Once you have the image the way you like, hit the ‘Apply Filter’ button at the bottom (Green tick) This will then take anywhere between 10-60 seconds to apply depending on your computer specs (more RAM the better) When this is complete, the applied image will then be open in Photoshop on the duplicated layer that you originally created, but having the original untouched image on the layer below:

Now if you wish to bring back any details/ features of the original shot like the eyes, you can do so. To do this make sure that the top layer (the one with your applied Fractalius settings on) is elected and then choose the eraser tool and make the eraser the size that you want it (Use the [ or ] keys to do this quicker on your keyboard) Now lower the opacity on the selected layer so that your original untouched image on the layer below will start to show through. This will allow you to erase over the parts of the image that Fractalius created and show the parts of the original image instead. I also adjust the opacity and fill values of the eraser tool, so that the details that I wish to bring back don’t look so sharp and unnatural when mixed with the image.

Once you have the image the way you want it (don’t forget to bring back the opacity to 100% or what ever you feel looks right on the later that you are working on) and save the file as a .psd so that you can go back at a point in the future and make changes. Then (with the layer you have been working on selected) save it as a .jpg. That’s it, you are done.

Here are a few of the other images that I have done. I have also created a Nexus 4 wallpaper gallery (full size versions can still be found here) over at SmugMug for the images in this article that you can download for free. The images have been re-sized to 1536 x 1280 for the Nexus 4. The full size versions can be used on an device.

I hope this tutorial was OK as I do tend to waffle and that it was easy enough to follow. Should you have any suggestions or questions, please leave them in the comments below. There are a few other tutorials regarding Fractalius around, but this is the one that made me interested in trying it out in the first place. It’s by @photoframdand can be found here http://blog.photoframd.com/2009/04/27/fractalius-unique-photoshop-plugin/ You will also find a lot of great articles on his site.

[Edit] According to Twitter user Litus Marshall you can run Fractalius on a 32bit version of Photoshop CS5, but you have to ‘Right-click’ on it and ‘Run as administrator’. Many thanks for the tip! I can confirm this works and am now using Fractalius with CS5. Thank Litus.

Take Our Poll

Fractastic is the latest in a long line of eGuides published by BAA Books. Kudos to Andrew and denise.Fractastic A Creative User Guide for the Redfield Fractalius FilterBAA is proud to announce–at long last–the publication of Fractastic, a creative user guide for the Redfield Fractalius filter. Fractalius is a Windows Photoshop plug-in.

Mac folks will need to run Bootcamp, Parallels, or VM Ware to use Fractalius; they can learn more. It is hard to describe what Fractalius actually does to an image but this is how the Redfield Company explains it: the Fractalius plug-in creates unusual, eccentric artworks in a single step. The effects are based on the extraction of the so-called hidden fractal texture of an image. You can also simulate various types of exotic lighting and high-realistic pencil sketches.

Each individual image will react differently to the filter, so exact results are not guaranteed.gave Fracting a huge boost in popularity about three years ago as moderator of the at BirdPhotographers.Net. One of those whom she introduced to Fractalius was who since wrote the popular for BAA Books. Denise came up with the idea of teaming up with Andrew to write and illustrate a Fract eGuide more than a year ago. The spectacular result: Fractastic.In this fantastic eGuide the authors begin by explaining the usually mystifying Fractalius interface in clear, easy-to-understand terms. They even managed to make sense of the Colorize Mode button and the two large Asterisks at the top of the interface. The main body of the guide consists of more than two dozen intriguingly beautiful Fracted images with explanatory notes and screen captures of the settings that Andrew and Denise used to create their artistic works. You can use these settings to replicate the various effects that they have developed.

Many of their creations are based on Fractalius pre-sets. The guide will teach you how to effectively apply many of the Fractalius pre-sets and how to create and save your own. The final section is an inspirational gallery of more than 35 superb Fracted images by Andrew, Denise, yours truly, and Cheryl Slechta who helped with the final proofreading.You can purchase your copy of Fractastic for only $27 by clicking, sending a Paypal for @$27 to us via being sure to note that you are paying for “Fractastic,”or by calling Jim at BIRDS AS ART at 863-692-0906 during regular business hours. A download link to Your eGuide will be sent via YouSendIt.

Weekend and holiday orders will be fulfilled the next working day.To purchase Fractalius, the plug-in program, please click. Elements?Fractalius works just fine in Elements. And Elements 9, 10 & 11 offer Layers and Layer Masks so that you can fine-tune your Fracts. Early KudosBy e-mail from Lori Gagliano:Hi Denise, I just purchased you new e-book and it is wonderful. Thanks for sharing you knowledge of this great filter.

LoriBy e-mail from Bud Liley:Hi Denise, Thanks so much for bringing your Fractalius e-book to fruition. It’s great, all 146 pages!!! Thanks so much, Bud. A Bosque Sandhill Crane flight Fract, Image copyright 2013: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Click on this one to appreciate the larger version.Fracting FunAfter I bought a license for Fractalius for denise for Christmas several years ago she taught me everything that I know about this great plug-in. Please know that above all else Fracting is fun.

This eGuide teaches you to apply the Fract on its own layer and details the addition and use of Layer Masks to reveal parts of the original image below. As I did with the Bosque image above. Note: this Fracted image is not included in the guide.I rescued this image from the Artie to Do file. Working on Fractastic has motivated me to create lots of new Fracts. As I said, it is fun!

For this one I tried various pre-sets. Clicking on the Colorize Mode buttons and the Asterisks as detailed in the eGuide got me this fabulous look.From Denise:Thanks to Arthur for the great job he did editing the guide. He spent many hours going over each section making sure that everything was just right. Without artie’s help this guide would not have been possible.

Your Favorite?Please take a moment and let us know which of the images above is your favorite Fract. And please let us know why. Sandhill Crane composite, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. Click on the image for a larger version.Blog-folks are invited to apply a $300 discount to their balance for the Bosque IPT below Bosque del Apache 2013 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 26-DEC 2, 2013.

7-FULL DAYS: $3399. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory Slide program: 6:30 pm on 11/25. Limit: 12.Tens of thousand of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks including point-blank American Wigeon and Wood Duck, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet.

Top-notch Photoshop instruction. This will make 19 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for me. Nobody knows the place better than I do. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home applying what you learned will prove to be invaluable.

Includes all lunches and the Thanksgiving Buffet at the Crowne Plaza in Albuquerque. I hope that you can join me for what will be an unparalleled learning experience.A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance is due 4 months before the date of the IPT and is also non-refundable.

If the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. If your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) You can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via. Snow Goose composite, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM.

Click on the image for a larger version.TyposOn all blog posts, feel free to or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂Support the BAA Blog.

Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!Support the BlogAmazonEveryone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by typing in the little white box below.

No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.