JHenius with Josiah Hester

Perlin Visualizer and Random Planet Maker

See the actual applet in action here!  Note that it may be a bit laggy with animation on.  Especially over the net.

When I started my raytracer I began to look at perlin noise, a wonderful algorithm used by thousands of production companies and special effects crews.  Perlin noise is basically a smooth pseudo-random function.  Which basically means it gives you  hills instead of skyscrapers.  Most people really are not interested in me describing noise to them, so I instead wrote an application to visualize it.  Voila!  The perlin noise visualizer and planet maker!

So heres the features of my fun little project.  I  only had a few days to write it, so dont judge:

Features:

1. Visualize Perlin noise in 2D and 3D. 
2. Can edit three different values to get endless varieties of noise. (Peturbation, Zoom, and Octaves)
3. Six different variations of the noise function toplay with.
4. Can rotate the noise in 2D and 3D by using a sphere.
5. Animate the noise in real time.
6. Make a bump map on the surface of thesphere to give it a planet like look.
7. Can change the surface color.
8. Supports two lights whose colors can be changed.
9. Can save the image(s) as a .png .jpg or an animated .gif file.
10. Can impress your friends with your awesome artistic ability.

Download the Executable JAR here for Windows and Linux

Download the Mac OS X APP here (zipped)

Screenshots:

Different types of noise:

Different color lights and a Bump Map.

The 2D plane view of noise.

Marble settings and other tweaks for a fire texture.

An image created by the Perlin Noise Visualizer:

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