It has long been my suspicion that fractals are the way to go, but like you I have only a vague idea how to go about it. On the tape (which you should receive by Thursday) I rambled briefly about adding a 3rd dimension to our current algorithm by allowing sparks (seeds?) to grow slighly up and down as well as within a plane.
In the meantime, I'll keep an eye out for good fractal books. Happy packing!