Question Advice would be nice

Lately I've been developing a new art style, and I need assistance on incorporating stock photos and renders as I have no idea what I am doing. Seeing as some of the members on here seem to be really good at this, any advice on balancing colors or getting pictures to blend in would be greatly appreciated.

 

I suppose I should ask what you're trying to do exactly? And what program(s) you're using?

 

^This.

But as a general idea, you should find stocks and renders that already have a colorscheme or colors that fit well together. Also, you should get some stock images such as stars, get some brushes etc.
But to give a more accurate explanation/suggestions I'll need some more info, as DPWolf said.

 

In retrospect that's really something I should have mentioned in the first place

I'm trying tolearn more about the signature style that a lot of people on khv create; where there's a render from like a character from an anime or something and they create a background that flows well and incorporates the image as a part of it
I work extensively with fractals from assorted variations of Apophysis, and although I know how to use both GIMP and Photoshop I would really prefer to use Photoshop given the choice

 

Hmm...well, a clearer example would be nice, but you're basically asking how to make a signature blend and flow nicely? Well, it really depends on which stock you're going to use, but you need to place the render, or stock image on a canvas. And then start working with different things. It's somewhat hard to explain.

As for the color, a good way to work the colors together is through Adjustment layers. These can really help with the atmosphere of a signature. Since you're using Photoshop, it may be a good idea to get some .PSD files where you can get a clearer idea of the process.

 

For starting out, it generally is best to use neutral colored backgrounds such as blacks and greys. It's also important to appropriately size the stock to match your render too of course. For my own style, I tend to use a lot of neutral background colors and I've my fair bit of experience so it's not even like it's a beginner style to do it. You'll find that if you try and use an exciting and eye catching background, it'll actually be harmful to your signature because it competes for attention with the render. With that in mind, the stock should have a lower vibrancy of color than your render, if it has any color at all which it won't if you start out with a neutral background, and should be blurred appropriately if it has a lot going on in it. Just remember, a background needs to be a background. Your render and effects should be the focus.

If you do something like a stock background that's really just a pattern/design you may not even need to resize it unless it's so big that you can only see a very small portion of the overall pattern (as in like one or two individual 'pattern piece things').