IMO, by far the most versatile and powerful fractal program you might try is Ultrafractal. It costs like $39 but that's VERY cheap compared to other graphics programs and well worth the money. You can make images with many layers of different fractals and fractal textures along with a very capable set of graphic editing tools like merging and opacity/gradient editing all resident in the program. There's a learning curve involved but TONS of help and tutorials and once you figure it out the sky's the limit on what you can do. You can also make compositions with multiple Apophysis flame layers along with straight fractal layers with total control of colors and transparencies. Apophysis was originally, and sort of still is, written as a plug-in for Ultrafractal and has a feature where you can export to UF in "upr" format. You can also make the backgrounds of flames transparent in UF simply by pulling a slider to transparent in the "Outside" coloring tab. UF also allows you to render your final images with anti-aliasing for a nice, smooth and polished look. Sheesh, I sound like a salesman! lol As Viv said - welcome to the "grand obsession" lol Rick