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Desktop wallpapers can serve as an excellent source of inspiration. However, if you use some specific wallpaper for a long period of time, it becomes harder to draw inspiration out of it. That’s why we’ve decided to supply you with smashing wallpapers over the next 12 months.

And to make them a little bit more distinctive from the usual crowd, we’ve decided to embed calendars for the upcoming month. So if you need to look up some date, isn’t it better to show off a nice wallpaper with a nice calendar instead of launching some default time application?

This post features 15 free desktop wallpapers, designed by 15 designers across the globe. Both versions with a calendar and without a calendar can be downloaded for free.

Please notice:

• all images can be clicked and lead to the preview of the wallpaper;
• you can feature your work in our magazine by taking part in our desktop wallpaper calendar series. We are regularly looking for creative designers and artists to be featured on Smashing Magazine. Are you one of them?

So what wallpapers have we received for April? Do you also think that there’s just not enough pink pandas on computer wallpapers out there?

Month Capsule

“The first thing I wanted to tackle was how to make the calendar different looking than your standard 7 column kind. So after much concepting I came up with a spiral design that still grids out the days but makes it more interesting to look at. As far as the overall theme it’s a collage of ideas. The frailty of time was something that interested me most seeing as how much we take the passage of time for granted. The wet flower symbolizes the rain and flowering season which are characteristic of the April month.” Designed by Marcel Mercado from USA.

• preview (0.3 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Orchestra

Dedicated to classical music! Done in Photoshop with Wacom tablet. Available in 12 desktop resolutions — both widescreen and fullscreen. Designed by Vlad Gerasimov from Irkutsk, Russia.

• preview (0.4 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar:
  800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×1024 , 1280×800, 1280×960 , 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600
• without calendar:
  800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×1024 , 1280×800, 1280×960 , 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600

Them

“Animals are very important in my life. A few days ago, I saw a lot of people hurting them and killing them. Why? Dunno. Just, don’t hurt them.” Designed by Patricia Villanueva from Mexico.

• preview (0.3 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1440×900, 1680×1060, 1920×1200

Above us

“The photomanipulation features a look from our planet (the trees) towards another planet that is falling apart. Everything around it is beautiful though, we’re not in any danger (and it’s not us, but the others that are going to die). ” Designed by Cecilie Hundahl Johnsen from Denmark.

• preview (0.3 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Vintage Flower

“April is a woman’s name, and also it is the name of the spring month. I thought that a girl represntaría both concepts mixing it with the symbol of this station, the flowers. As a spring goddess. To make it more elegant I endowed it with a touch vintage. ” Designed by Alba Soler from Spain.

• preview (0.2 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Time is in our hands

“Time is in our hands… I wish it would be true, but even since it isn’t, I design it. :)” Designed by Rogers Sampaio from Portugal.

• preview (0.2 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Blooming Blue

“Blooming Blue represents my anticipation of winter (while the rest of the world – in the northern hemisphere – talks about spring blooming).” Designed by Kristarella from Australia.

• preview (0.3 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Vintage, Grungy Bearwitness

“The main idea is that we shouldn’t take religion too seriously and too literally. That everyone of us would make his own interpretation of this -nowadays sensitive- subject. We should bear witness religion and ways to bring people together in a caring society. That’s why I came up with the idea of using bear witness in a literal way -Bear Witness- just to make the public aware of these twisted truths. I show the opposite of what I’m trying to say. ” Designed by Vincent ‘ViniMan’ Vander Cruyssen from Belgium.

• preview (0.2 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1280×1024, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×1024, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Creative Blast

“The idea behind the wallpaper is on the one hand that the computer is an important tool we use to express our ideas and create the final work. So the wallpaper brands the computer as this area of creativty. On the other hand the wallpaper expresses that the “Smashing Magazine“ with its loads of inspiration offering for free, helps to not run dry and often releases the hard to control bursts of creativity in our minds.

The Design is minimal to get great contrast and the colors create a kind of “facility-warning-athmosphere”. The logos are transparent but by this according to the minimalism are really eyecathing.” Designed by Henning Lüdeke from Germany.

• preview (0.3 Mb, jpg)
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1600×1200, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

WeMissed

“Sometimes I feel something is missed, or some percent of something that related to me, it runs out of my life & my hand. maybe, if we just stand longer in the golden sunshine of evening, it will be saved. But it already missed by us, it is inexistent,so we can not say “if”. The inexistent part of us floats above our head, like a boat,or air bubble. In the dream you can see it, half is bright, half is dark, just like youself.” Designed by Dan Chetao from China.

• preview (0.3 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Typography: April Showers

“I wanted something simple and type oriented. A friend mentioned/ reminded me of the phrase April showers, May flowers, since I did not remember the may bit at all, it stuck. I decided to literally rain April, over flowers made with the letters M, A, Y. Used Harrington font for “April” and Fertigo for the rest, including the flowers.” Designed by Yaco Roca from Bogota, Colombia.

• preview (0.3 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Autumn Flowers

“This wallpaper is rather dark, inspired by my new love for the Helvetica font. This wallpaper would most likely apply to those who enjoy uncluttered wallpapers. ” Designed by Shaun Hall from Scotland.

• preview (0.3 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Aprilily

“This design is a simple typographic solution, minimal of design, but strong impact on the visual senses. April is my favorite month (since I was born on April 1st), and this design reflects both a personal and professional aspect of myself, optimistic and simple. ” Designed by Vane Kosturanov from Macedonia.

You can download the wallpaper in 4 widescreen resolutions. A .zip-archive with all resolutions is packed in a wallpaper-pack and is also available for free download:

• preview (0.1 Mb)
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Eternal Sunshine

“Worked in Photoshop and Illustrator, the work is called Eternal sunshine and express in this art a person for a mistake in his life decides to lose all the memories to start over with a new life with a sense something abstract and rustic I design ” Designed by Miguel Angel Lozada M. from Mexico.

You can download the wallpaper in 4 widescreen resolutions. A .zip-archive with all resolutions is packed in a wallpaper-pack and is also available for free download:

• preview (0.3 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Pink Panda

“Dark green background is an alternative, artistic representation of a bamboo forest, there’s also a panda which has been coloured with pink in a punky, fun sort of way – obviously a ‘modern’ panda! Motivation behind the design: there’s just not enough pink pandas on computer wallpapers out there?! I hope it makes people smile/laugh.” Designed by Matt Robin from UK.

• preview (0.4 Mb, jpg)
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Join in next month!

Please notice that we respect the ideas and motivation behind artists’ work which is why we’ve given artists full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience through their works. And this is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us, but designed from scratch by the artists themselves.

Thanks to all designers for participation. Hopefully, in April we’ll receive as many entries as in March. Join in next month and smashing April, folks!