Complex figures can be overwhelming to an audience. The issue: where should one begin? A similar problem is describing processes that have multiple steps. A numbered list of the stages could be made, but lists tend to be boring.
A solution is to use basic "appear" animations to make the steps of the process appear in a sequence. This helps the audience to digest the complexity. The presentation of stages one-by-one feels more intuitive.
The following link has an example that shows both a complex image and a step relationship. This is the Wernicke-Geschwind Model of language processing. The graphic is an open-license illustration of the brain with key brain areas highlighted. The animation steps the audience through the key stages of processing language.
WernickeGeschwindLanguageModel.pptx
License: Creative Commons 4.0 attribution
