Thanks y'all for the comments. I really appreciate the feedback. (Andini,) I know the top layers are not as distinct in their separation; I was having difficulty transitioning from the petals to the center so I blurred it. The colors were probably more of an effort to add some distinction so they wouldn't get lost in the lower layers...case in point, the image actually has 7 layers of petals (one each) to form a ring, and 8 layers of petal rings. You can't see them all but they did help add depth to the image. I can see what you guys mean about the frame, so I'll lose it. I wasn't going for photorealism Cam, but I did want it to look somewhat realistic. Basically I made it to see if I could make a flower that looks well, like a flower (the working copy is named petal practice)...thanks for the ideas on a setting though, I'm certain I can put them to use :) Steph

I'm not one of the best (by far), but the appreciation is...appreciated!

Another good freebie is Fractal Explorer. It has lots of controls to "tweak" to come out with a very unique fractal. It also has many "spot" files that can be loaded (fractal images that have been created by someone else); these can be changed until you have an image soley your own. I think its novice-friendly...from experience! you can find the program here: http://www.eclectasy.com/Fractal-Explorer/index.html