While I see where you're coming from, and often strive to create new and unusual things in between following tutorials and making spirals and duckies etc. I also feel moved to add my comments to those who disagree.

Firstly, in all fields of human expression everything is a variation on existing themes, whether art, photography, architecture. Just as there are good and bad photos of people or buildings among the billions made, so there are good and bad fractal flowers, or good and bad M3D structure 'photos'. People still like looking at new versions of things, just as I enjoy the taste of coffee everyday even though I've already drunk thousands of cups.

Occasionally someone creates something completely new, and they have a choice - keep it to themselves and their family because "THEY CREATE JUST FOR THEMSELVES"...yep - or to publish it and let the world see it... and enjoy the kudos for being awesome. If they do that, it's up to them then to polish their style and keep ahead of the pack, as people have the tendency to say Yeah, I'd like to be able to make something like that, it's a natual human urge. Keeping one's parameters to oneself can help you do this... that's how people like you, Mandelwerk etc manage to keep their work distinctive and original. However... this isn't about being a better artist, it's about skill with the programme and having the time to investigate its hidden secrets.

If you share your secrets i.e. params with the world because of genuine generosity, because you yourself learned from other people and want to give something back, because you want to see others benifiting from your breakthrough - then you can be sure that similar images will soon be everywhere...fractals are a knowledge-based art form which seems at first sight easier to do and needing less talent than drawing or painting (though if people spent as much time on practicing drawing as they do on fractalling they'd probably also get pretty good) - if you know how to do it then with time and practice you can make it. So anyone who shares their parameters can't really complain...

I think you (big993) originally came to DA from Fractal Forums (right?) which was always about breaking new ground, developing new things. DA is different, it's an art and hobby site. People like looking at and creating images in certain styles. Most people don't even have an idea of how to find something completely new that at the same time looks appealing and artistic. Sitting and experimenting for hours only to come up with an ugly mess isn't most people's idea of fun, even if it is a completely new combination of formulas never before seen.

I also find the huge mass of similar work wearing sometimes, though I'm often guilty of doing it too. But without parameter sharing and tutes a lot of people would be barred from taking part in the mass generation and enjoyment of beautiful art which allows them to have something to look forward to in life after work, to express themselves creatively, to live in a world of forms and colour... and to get credit perhaps not for being original, but for creating something special all the same...

I want to start by saying that I don't entirely disagree with the premise of this Journal.

I just wish this Journal had been done differently, to be honest.

You said you could have used other programs. The thing is, you didn't. You chose to call out a specific thing with those thumbs and only include your own chosen program as little more than a foot-note at the bottom of the text.

Now, more than a few bloom makers are questioning themselves because they don't want to feel judged or looked down upon for doing what they love to do. It's already started with some deviations. And some conversations, too. This Journal could have been made to the same effect without any thumbnails at all and would have had the bonus of not making a large subsection feel like a huge spotlight is on them alone.

Personally, it doesn't bother me that a tweak of one of my pieces is up there. I've only shared params twice. Maybe three times? I don't recall. I'm not going to go look, either.

What bothers me is that by choosing to only use one specific style of one specific program, you've made people doubt themselves about doing something that they greatly enjoy with the added side-effect that their watchers may not get to see nearly as many things that one of their favorite artists enjoy making.

I am not referring to myself, by the way. I'll do what I want, regardless. And, in any event, I haven't made a bloom in almost a month since I've been too busy and when I have had time, I've done other kinds of fractals.

Like I said, I just wish this had been done differently.

I'm sorry to disagree with you, but each of the images (minus New Beginnings and Pollen Burst) give me different feelings, and while the fractal flowers may be the same, I love each of those individually for the thoughts they evoked from me, and until they were brought together here I probably only would have vaguely recognized the similarities in the back of my mind.

I'm just going to give you some ideas of my thoughts for each one that really made me think -
Lotus Pond Dew by *Fiery-fire and autumnal magic pond by *FeliFee look extremely similar
Lotus pond makes me think of a romantic moonlit night, like something out of Cinderella and makes me calm and happy... with the lights and colors from Autumnal, I feel like I'm looking at a pirate's sunken treasure and it gives me a feeling of adventure and makes my heart pound just a little. I might even be thinking of Pirates of the Carribean (1st one) a bit XD

Delight by *Saretta1 makes me think of the song "I see the light" from Tangled (the scene where all the lanterns are lit) and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy because of the colors and lights and the way it looks like the softest breeze is carrying them

Fleur cristalline by *Apofun makes me think of the Sailor Moon movie "Promise of the Rose" when the crystal blossomed into a flower to stop Fiori. I watched that movie as a kid but even to this day I still adore it, in all its cheesy, silly glory! <w<;; the voicing was bad, but that's okay.


Anyway I wanted to say that I think even though there are similarities, each one can evoke a different emotion and memory and that is what makes them so beautiful and special to the individual viewing them. I feel that as long as people are sharing tutorials and params, the people using them are learning and eventually the majority of them will begin to test the waters of the unknown and create new, exciting fractals because of the positive feedback they received when they were playing and tweaking what had already been done. The few who are not going to explore anything else will eventually either stop making fractals or make so many of the same fractal with hardly any difference that they will hardly be viewed. For some people it may take a few months of making flower fractals for them to become interested in making their own creations out of nothing but the experience they got making flowers, how the params affect each other, color, lighting, perspective... It's all a growing and learning experience.

I guess I feel the same way about this as I do art school, the teachers are going to have the students study famous works and even paint a reproduction of at least one famous work simply to have them work within the lines, learning the diligence, emotion, and effort of each brush stroke that brings together the entire image. Anyway! :3 Just wanted to share my opinions too OuO/

i write in English so everybody can understand.I saw my image on here by chance and it's not made with someone else's params,i always give credits when using someone else's work,i'm more specific here and i say that i used Apofun's params ONLY for a series of fractal manips because she's a real innovator and a talented artist in my opinion (and i repeat not in the one you dispayed on here).I think the discussion about creativity should be more about those hundreds 3D blooms that we've seen for over an year in the fractal gallery:color it yellow,color it brown,change the values to change the petals,change the perspective or the zoom but its always more or less the same soup and i see galleries full of them :angel:,if you visit my gallery in all honesty i think you can't tell me that i lack creativity,you may not like my work but lacking creativity means posting the same stuff over and over or posting single flames that we all know are made in ten minutes and are just made of a few blurry spots here and there,though nobody dares to write that in comments i bet it's what everybody who makes fractals and know how complicate or not is to make that given image know,i for one know how simple some stuff is
Also i think that i never copied someone else's work,it's something i'm proud of because for good or bad it's my work and i know nobody else made something similar
I never had a role model to copy from for example whilst i see that some people try to copy someone else's style all the time
I really don't like the way you handled this (also,you post one of my images and didn't even comment on that or fav it,or send a note to me telling you mention my work in your journal,this is not correct and fair).