They're not just for breakfast!

August 26, 2005 8:08 AM

Fractal Eggs and how to make them.
posted by WolfDaddy (19 comments total)

1) Mix up some dye.
2) Using the end of a candle, draw a pattern on the egg.
3) Dip the egg in the dye, and let dry.
4) Using a smaller candle, draw the same pattern, but smaller, at regular intervals on top of the initial pattern.
5) Dip in another color of dye.
6) Repeat steps 4 and 5 an infinite number of times.
posted by Plutor at 8:30 AM on August 26, 2005

I would love to have this one as a poster. It looks like an insane circus tent that's being engulfed in cotton candy.
posted by iconomy at 8:31 AM on August 26, 2005

Nice Eggs. Thanks.
posted by safetyfork at 8:36 AM on August 26, 2005

Fractal eggs and how to simulate them.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:40 AM on August 26, 2005

ico, was that the linda bucklin one? Seems the file to the larger image has (already?) been moved. I'm fond of the Golden egg by peter k (found in WolfDaddy's Eggs link) even though it wasn't a winner.
posted by safetyfork at 8:48 AM on August 26, 2005

Too many people with too much time on their hands.
posted by Psharden at 8:50 AM on August 26, 2005

Yep safetyfork - the Linda Bucklin one. You can't see it in my link? I uploaded it to image shack just in case.
posted by iconomy at 9:00 AM on August 26, 2005

That looks exactly like the cover of my 5th grade Trapper Keeper!
posted by gigawhat? at 9:24 AM on August 26, 2005

I was highly disappointed to realize these are computer-generated, not hen-generated.
posted by matildaben at 9:30 AM on August 26, 2005

Am I missing something? The instructions don't mention what software he is referring to. That's kind of a critical piece of information.
posted by Bonzai at 9:58 AM on August 26, 2005

iconomy, thanks for putting the bigger view up, the thumbnail doesn't do it justice. I'm seeing the Trapper Keeper in it, too!
posted by safetyfork at 10:13 AM on August 26, 2005

Fractal hens DO lay fractal eggs! The origin of that species goes way back to Darwina Dumpty, mother of the first fractile child, Humpty. Fractalization was initially considered a birth defect, caused by the massive amounts of Prozac ground into chicken feed ever since the sky fell down on Chicken Little. Subsequent mass hysteria and jihads have forced fractal hens to go underground. Their eggs pop up occasionally on web sites such as those already linked here. A Fractal Hen Protection League is in the embryonic stages of development. Watch metafilter.com to see if anything hatches.
posted by PlanoTX at 10:17 AM on August 26, 2005

MetaCreations Painter is one program.
posted by bjgeiger at 10:20 AM on August 26, 2005

Whoops, Bonzai. Try UltraFractal. Sorry 'bout that.

PlanoTX: that was great.
posted by WolfDaddy at 10:56 AM on August 26, 2005

These are beautiful. But way too hard to make :-(
posted by WaterSprite at 11:16 AM on August 26, 2005

Fractal eggs are one of the reasons I bought Ultra Fractal. They are a little tricky to get right but once you get the hang of it you can make all sorts of lovely eggs. I use a similar technique to make 3d-looking spheres.

By the way, make sure to check out the rest of the websites in WolfDaddy's links. The second belongs to Janet Parke, who makes some of the most gorgeous fractal art, and the first is home to several Ultra Fractal artists, including two of my favorites, Dan Kuzmenka and Paul DeCelle.
posted by LeeJay at 12:05 PM on August 26, 2005

You have to assume they come from Fractal Chickens, yeah?
posted by Wolfdog at 12:44 PM on August 26, 2005

6) Repeat steps 4 and 5 an infinite number of times.

Erm. I do Pysanky and an important part of the process is determining colours and dipping in order, or all you end up with is one or two bright colours and a lot of black. Now waxing the whole egg, then etching off colours, that I could see. But adding wax layers? That egg is getting darker and darker with every coat, and colours mix if unwaxed...
posted by dreamsign at 2:26 PM on August 26, 2005

I'm a fan of Linda Allison, the winner of the egg contest mentioned by safetyfork. Her web site has gallery after gallery of large (and beautiful) images.
posted by tgyg at 6:59 PM on August 26, 2005