Real-time Rendering of User-defined 3D Fractals in a Navigable Environment

Abstract

This thesis details the steps taken in order to create an interactive application for rendering user specified hypercomplex fractals in a navigable real-time environment. A formula describing the fractal is taken as input and parsed into shader code that is rendered on the GPU using ray marching. Properties of the fractal can be adjusted through a graphical user interface during run time. Running in real-time gives high control and easy access in exploring the fractal, however, it limits the amount of details that can be shown compared to an offline renderer.