Ken Musgrave
Encyclopedia
Dr. Forest Kenton "Ken" Musgrave (aka Doc Mojo), formerly a professor at The George Washington University and currently CEO/CTO of Pandromeda, Inc, is a computer artist, working with fractal
images.
in Computer science
from Yale University
in 1993 where his seminal dissertation, Methods for Realistic Landscape Imaging was written. He was referred to by Benoît Mandelbrot
as being "the first true fractal-based artist".
was based. His work was featured in an article in the January 1996 Scientific American
(Playing Slartibartfast with Fractals; January 1996; by Gibbs), about fractal curves. The article described software that he had designed which would generate entire planets at random and allow a user to walk about that world, exploring mountains or forests, etc. The article mentioned that the software would find itself used in a computer game and that the randomly generated landscape would have to be populated with hostile aliens. In fact, the software eventually became a commercial title called MojoWorld
http://www.pandromeda.com.
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
images.
Education
Born on September 16, 1955, he obtained his Ph.DDoctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in Computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1993 where his seminal dissertation, Methods for Realistic Landscape Imaging was written. He was referred to by Benoît Mandelbrot
Benoît Mandelbrot
Benoît B. Mandelbrot was a French American mathematician. Born in Poland, he moved to France with his family when he was a child...
as being "the first true fractal-based artist".
Work
Musgrave designed the initial fractal-based programs on which BryceBryce (software)
Bryce is a 3D modeling, rendering and animation program specializing in fractal landscapes. The name is taken from Bryce Canyon—a rugged region with many of the same landscapes that were first simulated with the software.- History :...
was based. His work was featured in an article in the January 1996 Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
(Playing Slartibartfast with Fractals; January 1996; by Gibbs), about fractal curves. The article described software that he had designed which would generate entire planets at random and allow a user to walk about that world, exploring mountains or forests, etc. The article mentioned that the software would find itself used in a computer game and that the randomly generated landscape would have to be populated with hostile aliens. In fact, the software eventually became a commercial title called MojoWorld
Mojoworld
Mojoworld can have at least two meanings:* MojoWorld Generator is a fractal landscape generator created by Pandromeda, Inc.;* Mojoworld, or Mojo World, is the home planet of Mojo, a Marvel Comics supervillain....
http://www.pandromeda.com.
Publications
- Texturing and Modeling: A Procedural Approach - F. Kenton Musgrave et al., 1998 - ISBN 0-12-228730-4
External links
- Ken Musgrave's website
- Pandromeda's website
- Methods for Realistic Landscape Imaging - doctoral dissertation
See also
- Fractal landscapeFractal landscapeA fractal landscape is a surface generated using a stochastic algorithm designed to produce fractal behaviour that mimics the appearance of natural terrain...