Hi, Paul! I use Ultrafractal, almost exclusively. Usually, the only post-processing is in PaintShopPro, and that is only to add the signature. If you want to give fractaling a try, you could start with one of the free programs. (UF costs $59 US, I think) There are some great free generators. You can follow the link to find them, starting at http://www.fractalarts.com/ASF/Tutor1.html There are also some tutorials at that site. Or, check out http://www.fractalus.com/gumbycat/ForTheBeginner.html for some more info. Happy fractaling! Linda