How can I create an infinite picture-in-picture (Droste) effect?

Question

I want to photograph a frame on a wall and then edit that same image inside itself repeatedly so it appears to continue infinitely. I can build it manually, but I’d like a faster method or workflow if possible. Is there a way to do this in GIMP, or in another editor if needed?

user27440 · Accepted Answer

What you're looking for is what's called the Droste effect. So-called because Droste cocoa uses that kind of repeating image on its packaging.

Mathematically this has been figured out, and there's a lot of pre-existing software out there that can do this, most notably using Gimp with the Mathmap plugin and using the Droste script (part of the default installation of Mathmap), which was coded by breic and modified by Josh Sommers. (See also: Sommers' second tutorial on using the Droste script.)

However, Mathmap development halted back around Gimp 2.6 and now requires manual tweaking to install and run on versions of the Gimp after 2.8. Many fear it will stop working in future releases. And the Gimp plugin for Mathmap never worked on OSX.

Which is why Souphead did a port of the Mathmap Droste script to G'MIC. Here's how to install the G'MIC Gimp plugin on Windows.

The steps are:

Open the image in the Gimp.
Right-click on the layer and select Add Alpha Channel.
Use the rectangular selection tool to select the area where you want to "cut a hole" for the pattern to repeat.
Cut the area (Ctrl-X/⌘X), or right click → Edit → Cut).
Select the entire image.
If using Mathmap:

a. Select Filter → Generic... → Mathmap → Map → Droste

b. Select the User Values tab.
If using G'MIC:

a. Select Filter → G'MIC-qt...

b. Under Available filters, select Deformations > Continuous droste.
Tweak the settings to get what you want. To eliminate the Droste spiral, set Strands to 0.
When the Preview looks like what you want, click OK.

How can I create an infinite picture-in-picture (Droste) effect?

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