If you can’t live without a high quality wallpaper on your desktop you might need to invest many hours in the search for the perfect one - that fits to your resolution and has an appealing theme. The quality of the desktop images is often not the one you’d praise over and over again looking at your desktop.
The best creative wallpapers aren’t cheap photos, but are works of art in their own right. Wallpapers can be creative, inspiring, gorgeous and hilarious. However, there is more to showcase. And these background graphics are definitely worth a look. Now it’s time for something fresh, original and creative. [Last updated Nov/13/2016]
Further Reading on SmashingMag:
- Snow, Ice And Frost ☃️ 47 Winter Wallpapers!
- 59 Valentines Day Wallpapers ? Love and Hearts
- 23 Joyful Easter Wallpapers ? Funny Bunnies And Painted Eggs
- Wallpapers for Halloween ? Monsters, Pumpkins, Zombies & more …
This is the ultimate best from Smashing Magazine’s monthly wallpaper calendar contest - running from 2008 until 2016 and still counting. Creative designers and artists from all over the world, here are their finest wallpapers. These wallpapers do not contain any calendars. In many cases there are mobile versions of our wallpapers. Enjoy!
Memories
Designed by Nikola Lazarevic from Serbia.
Focus Footprints
Maybe some abstract sort of meadows? Maybe some abstract sort of meadows? Designed by Philipp Lehmann from Switzerland.
The Midnight Moon Wallpapers
These are the pyramid and ruins at Chichen Itza in Mexico. Designed by Dan King from USA.
Starleaves
Designed by Fabio Toscani from Italy.
- 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
Fairytale Land
Designed by Monica Corduneanu from Romania.
- 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600
Belka and Strelka Wallpaper
Belka and Strelka spent a day in space on August 19, 1960 before safely returning to Earth. They were the first Earth-born creatures to go into orbit and return alive. Strelka went on to have six puppies. One of the pups was presented to President John F. Kennedy’s daughter Caroline by Nikita Khrushchev in 1961. Wallpaper Designed by Rumake Web Agency from Russia.
Magic Forest
Inspired by many animated movies taking the viewer to the small world we often don’t see because it’s under our feet. I hope lot’s of green will help you relax :). Designed by Lukasz Bien from Poland.
An Extraordenary Mountain View
I wanted to express an extraordenary winter landscape. Designed by Stijn Serruys from Belgium.
Caring for planet
In October 15 is celebrated the Environmental Education Day in Brazil so i made this illustration to remember the date. Designed by Marcelo Henrique from Brazil.
- 320×480, 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
Starbucks Coffee
Everybody I know loves coffee… and for that matter, starbucks! Wallpapers designed by Sasha Bell from England, UK.
Bonding
Spend some quality time with your parents because they will not always be around. Designed by Terence Gomez from Philippines.
Beautiful Prague
Last month I visited Prague - a beautiful city. I re-did wallpapers with Sibiu from May, now with Prague. Designed by Anca Varsandan from Romania.
Escape of Red Riding Hood
Escape of Red Riding Hood. This wallpaper was designed by Monica Corduneanu from Romania.
- 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600
Ink Mountain
This is a rough and dark, sketchy wallaper with the emphasis on the weight of the “ink” and form of the shapes. Designed by Mike Healy from Australia.
- 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×960, 2560×1024, 3360×1050, 3840×1200
Clockwork Decay Wallpapers
I’ve been wanting to play with a steampunk-themed design for a while. So, I made that the goal of this month’s design. I started out with some watch pieces and I added in some grunge textures and played with the color palette. I really like the way the end result looks like rust, and has a real gritty quality to it. Designed by Arcane Palette Creative Design from USA.
Colors of Autumn
Illustration presenting the beginning of autumn. Designed by Berenika Kolaczynska from Poland.
Where Acorns Come from
Acorns coming to life in this wallpaper. Designed by Monica Corduneanu from Romania.
- 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600
Transformers
Designed by Artcream from Netherlands.
Patlabor Ninja
Patlabor is one of my favorite character anime when I was child. It always amazed me everytime I looked the details about well-designed character’s mechanical shape. So, here I create my own vector character version of Patlabor which I called “Patlabor Ninja”. I hope it’s not too bad comparing to the original design… :) Designed by Andik Taufiq from Indonesia.
Symbian World I
Scene from Symbian World. Designed by Anna Alfut from UK.
Symbian World II
Scene from Symbian World. Designed by Anna Alfut from UK.
Queen
Forest in Autumn. Designed by Jana Jelovac from Serbia.
Searching for spring
Designed by Andrei Verner from Russia.
Imaginary Friends
The inspiration for this illustration was russian rock’n’roll-song “Pharmacist, judge, beaver and owl” by Maksim Leonidov. Designed by Andrei Verner from Russia.
Big Catch
My “Big Catch” Wallpaper Illustration was inspired by a drawing I made alittle while ago during an amazing day at the beach. Too bad I did’t see the big catch coming… Designed by Manuel Esposito from Germany.
V for Vendetta
This wallpaper was inspired by the movie V for vendetta (one of my favourites), the quote is from a very dramatic part of the movie where V kills one of the characters after having said the line(hence the blood). Designed by Luka Dadiani from UK.
Do The Dance
Just a tiny monster dance party! Designed by Guilherme Simoes from Brazil.
Ride a Bike
With spring rolling around (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), it’s time to dust off the old bicycle and get some much needed fresh air and exercise. Let this wallpaper encourage you to spin your wheels at least once this month. Designed by Dan Sweet from USA.
Tidy Desktop
Cleaning time! Here’s a simple and clean calendar to help you keep your desktop nice and tidy. Designed by Axura from Italy.
It wasn’t me
Actually there no special meaning behind my wallpapers. I just had this idea of a cute monkey character and this is what came out of it. ;) Designed by Nicole Bauer from Germany.
Caballito
Ride a small sea horse and find the depth of your own ocean. Designed by pampaneo from Spain.
Slummingbird
This graphic is about keeping busy and active. For some people, this season is when you relax and let loose… for those like myself, the summer is the busiest time of year for design. Designed by William Hawke Bassignani from USA.
Go Green!
May be not in the real world, but pictures like this will surely let you to take a fresh breath.But the reality is the Earth is heating up in every single hour. The early warning signs of global climate distractions are in – heat waves and warmer weather, high tides, Cyclone,spreading disease(e.g. Swine Flu), earthquake, earlier spring arrival and so on. It’s the time to stand up and protect our environment. Designed by Sagar from Bangladesh.
- 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200
Ele-Centric
Everyday do I quick little something (whether it be colour swatches or banner design) and a friend suggested that I sell what I’m doing, so I recently started an etsy store. This is one of the designs that came from the daily doodles. :) Designed by Elly Gedye from New Zealand.
Friendship
Day of National Unity. Designed by cheloveche.ru from Russia.
Rock’n’roll Hall Of Fame
A tribute to some of the legends inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Designed by Gokul Nair from India.
Troy
Designed by Zayeem Khan from India.
Sunset Playtime
I created this while I was reminiscing about my childhood and how much fun i had playing when the sun was setting. I wish i could rewind time and go back to those days of just feeling free. Designed by Elyse Jones from USA.
iLogiCow - absolute social
“The very first debut of a “new something” called iLogiCow. Some say it’s unbelievably creative persona. Some say it’s fresh looking symbol of trendy design ideas. Stay tuned folks.” Designed by iLogiCow from Europe.
Vulkan
“I’ve always been fascinated with volcanoes, so the recent events in Iceland with Eyjafjallajökull was the main inspiration for this wallpaper.” Designed by Viveca Forsblom Ljungdahl from Sweden.
Shine
Designed by Kai Stabel from Germany.
Quiet Blue
Bubbles filled with embryonic geckos floating in a sea of blue, with dark anonymous sharks circling nearby. Designed by Di Harrison from Australia.
The Blessed Night of Al-Qadr
The first day of September 09 will be the 11th day of the Holy month of Ramadan in the Hijri calendar. The month of Ramadan is a very special month for the entire Muslim nation. Muslims are supposed to fast this holy month. Fasting is from first light of dawn until sundown, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations. On the moral, behavioral side, one must abstain from lying, malicious gossip, quarrelling and trivial nonsense. Fasting is a great act of worship for the Muslim which he performs by neglecting his desires to please his Lord and hopes for His Reward. The last 10 days of Ramadan have special virtues. Among the unique virtues of these special nights is that Laylat al-Qadr (the night of veneration or honor) is among them. It is the night on which the Quran was sent down. God described it as being blessed and better than a thousand months. He forgives the previous sins of the one who stays up and prays during this night out of faith and in hope of earning the reward from Him. Designed by Ahmed Hassan Alley from Egypt.
Ramadan Kareem
Eid ul-Fitr, This happy festival marks the end of the fast of Ramadan which is the Islamic month of fasting. I designed this wallpaper to dedicate my design for the month of Ramadan kareem. Designed by Vanshika Wadhwani from Bahrain.
Welcome Ramadan
Wallpaper I made on the holy occasion of Ramadan. Designed by Taghreed Alhaqbani from Saudi Arabia.
Fuzzy Feeling
We all have the fondest dreams that give us this warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Even if they seem too incredible to come true, always cherish them, as they keep us alive. Happy February everybody! Designed by Lina Itskovitch from USA.
Thargelion
Greece “Thargelion” name and i tried to expose elements culturalof my country, in name florist awarded May. Designed by Boian Cristian from Romania.
Flower Island
My inspiration for this wallpaper was the photo I took in the beautiful butterfly garden in Mainau island. Designed by Zlatina Petrova from Bulgaria.
- 320x480, 640x480, 800x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1024x1024, 1152x864, 1280x720, 1280x800, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1366x768, 1400x1050, 1440x900, 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1680x1200, 1920x1080, 1920x1200, 1920x1440, 2560x1440, 2560x1600, 2880x1800, 5120x2880
Cinderella
Inspired from Cinderella fairy tale chracater and created by using free clip art image of cinderella. Designed by NarjisNaqvi from Pakistan.
- 320×480, 800×600, 1024×640, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200
Ah, Russia - The Famous Trio
Designed by Tihomir Budic from BiH-Republika Srpska.
Doodles
Who says doodles isn’t art? What someone draws unconsciously can oftentimes be the most significant visualization of their stream of thought. Also, it’s therapeutic to doodle. And fun! Designed by Jen Cheng from Canada.
A Fresh Beginning
One bleak morning, a girl sits on a dead tree. She feels sad but tried to put a smile on her lips. Suddenly three glittering butterflies went out from the branches and the world begins anew. The girl whispered, to the earth, ìthank you for a fresh beginning.î At that moment the sun begins to shine on the east. Designed by April Joy E. Jasmin from The Philippines.
Remembering George
On November 29th, the world lost its second Beatle to cancer. George was my favorite of the four, and I thought this lyric was fitting for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Designed by Emily Blackwell from USA.
TwoThousandTen
Designed by Xabiso Ndaba from United Kingdom.
New Beginnings
A new year means, well….new? So that’s why I wanted to try something new. I have always loved the vector art I find all the internet and finally decided its about time to prove to myself that I can do that too. This piece is all about feeling, subconscious and conscious. I can’t believe how the slightest change in the curves or colors affected my sense of flow and for that reason I spent an unbelievable amount of time perfecting the flow of the piece ever so meticulously. Here’s to going from an old 2009 (red) to a fresh 2010 (blue). Designed by Saidur Hossain from USA.
Scary
Designed by Marta Miazek from Poland.
Wash Away
For my home country, April is always a rainy season filled with cherished memory of the deceased. The rain is washing away our sorrow and cleansing the earth where our beloved lying under. Designed by Jade Cheng from USA.
Sacred Island
“Inspired by an avatar movie, floating island and dragon, happy new year everyone” Designed by Auliya Rahman from Indonesia.
Colours of Life
Just enjoy your life! :)Just enjoy your life! Designed by Wouter Sioen from Belgium.
- 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×640, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440
Circus
There are 48 more clowns in this picture. Find them all. Designed by Cheloveche.ru from Russia.
Transformers
Designed by Artcream from Netherlands.
Birdhouses in Wallpapers
Designed by Pietje Precies from The Netherlands.
Patlabor Ninja
Patlabor is one of my favorite character anime when I was child. It always amazed me everytime I looked the details about well-designed character’s mechanical shape. So, here I create my own vector character version of Patlabor which I called “Patlabor Ninja”. I hope it’s not too bad comparing to the original design… Designed by Andik Taufiq from Indonesia.
Expanse
The shear magnitude of our corner of creation is inconceivably small compared to the known universe, which overshadows our solar system 1.25 quadrillion (successor to trillion) to 1 in diameter alone. Humility in this great expanse should be instinctive. Designed by Coswyn from United States.
- 1365×768, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2730×768, 2880×900, 3200×900, 3360×1050, 3840×1080, 3840×1200, 640×960
Up
Fun spring. Designed by Anca Varsandan from Romania.
Global Warming Warning
I just wanted to remind you, guys, that we should all take care of our planet and don’t forget about global warming too! Designed by Andrei Verner from Russia.
Lemonade Love
Just a little wallpaper from me, I’m a huge fan of lemonade! Designed by Sasha Bell from England, UK.
Matilda’s Backyard
It was May day Eve. The clock strikes twelve. The cat was asleep, the ladder cast aside and the book with a giant red apple opens. Designed by April Joy E. Jasmin from Philippines.
Warsaw Wallpapers
Designed by Berenika Kołaczyńska from Poland.
Fallen Icon Mozart
I want to pay homage to a fallen young icon Mozart. Designed by Jeremiah Selengia from Tanzania.
All Seeing
An abstract, gold all-seeing eyeball. No real rhyme or reason to it - enjoy! Designed by Evan Eckard from USA.
Heart Splash
I always see a lot of photography featuring random fruit and lemons (a lot of lemons!) falling/splashing into water, and thought it would be cool to turn a photography “idea” into a vector looking design, but with a heart! Hope you enjoy this! Wallpapers Designed by Rosanna Bell from England, UK.
Alma Climber
Like the winter in february (Northern Hemisphere), the climber is reaching the mountain top and both soon will start to slowly go down for the beginning of spring in march. Designed by Pablo Prudêncio from Brazil.
Chuck misses a tooth
Was kinda bored and looking for some fun. So, came up with Mr. Chuck who just lost a tooth! Designed by Abdus Salam from Pakistan.
Banana Slip
I had an idea about a big monkey/gorilla with a lovely girl in his neck. The girl is a little bit dominant and she points him at the banana. So I drawed it on a paper, scanned it and work it all out in Illustrator and Photoshop. The idea is that the monkey has drop his banana on the floor, which is dangerous because someone can slip over it. So the little girl points at the banana and the monkey/gorilla has to pick it up, before someone is going to slip over it. Designed by Eelco Verbrugge from Netherlands.
Prevail
The devastation in Japan as a result of the tsunami’s been enormous. As a tribute, I thought I’d create this piece. Designed by Umer Tahir from Canada.
