As a result of exploring FraxHD, I have a collection of beautiful abstract images, which I look for ways of using in my compositions. I tend to like the smooth-looking areas of the fractal, to make a fairly simple abstract design. You can often achieve this by zooming in to get a smooth, simple, yet interesting portion of the fractal. Here I used a very simple, very smooth liquid-looking, beautifully colored portion of a fractal to represent a primordial soup from which a primitive man/animal would emerge.
FraxHD is a fun program. The free version is easy to use. You can look at different fractals and "fly" over them to find an interesting pattern, which you can then save and reuse. Here is one that I will use to blend with another image. This will be the "soup."
I used Adjust/Tonelab preset 4 and Adjust/High preset 1, both at low opacity, to add depth and a bit of sharpness.
I used this photo from Pixabay, which is a source of copyright-free images, as the creature who will emerge from the soup.
I applied Tone/Match, which makes the colors in your image match those of another image. Here I used the FraxHD image for the matching tones, so the two images would blend more naturally together.
I applied Style/Flow preset 1 at low opacity, for smoothness.
Using Effect/Blend, I blended the figure onto the FraxHD image in Normal mode, using a brush mask with a large soft brush to protect the lower part of the image. Using a large soft brush to paint the mask makes for a smooth transition between the two sections of the blended image.
I will use this image from Pixabay to add an other-worldly sky.
In Tone/Match, I matched the colors of the Pixabay sky image to the image I just blended, above.
Now I blended the sky image onto the previously blended image, trying several blend modes and slider settings.
I used Tone/Enhance preset 1 and an inverted brush mask to paint in blue eyes. I used Adjust/Exposure and an inverted brush mask to lighten the whites of his eyes. A little Adjust/Tonelab preset 4, Adjust/Levels, and Tone/Duotone and we're done!