Smashing Magazine

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 have decided to supply you with smashing wallpapers over 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 35 free desktop wallpapers, created by 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 January 2010?

[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that there is a Smashing eBook Series? Book #2 is Successful Freelancing for Web Designers, 260 pages for just $9,90.]

New Year Inspiration

"Essential tools for the new year! Have a great year!" Designed by Phidev Inc. from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1920×1200, 1920×1440
• without calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1920×1200, 1920×1440

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 Philippines.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Paper flower

"Colorful design made in illustrator and retouched in photoshop." Designed by Guillermo Mantilla from Mexico.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050

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.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

2010 in Style

"2010 Celebration with lots of friends. I hope you all have a wonderful 2010!" Designed by Sasha Bell from England, UK.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

It’s Snow

"January is a month of long nights, childhood stories, hot tea, cozy fireplaces and cookies with milk. I’d like to share this spirit in my image." Designed by Inna Ogando from Portugal.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Colorfull

"Happiness and colors." Designed by FranÁois Leproust aka MrRayures from France.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Towards Growth

"This is a hope for better year 2010." Designed by FahadQue from Pakistan.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

2010

Designed by Sven Johnson at Modern Postcard from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Multilingual Typographic Calendar

"The letters say “Happy New Year” in several languages. Moreover, I wanted to send out a message to all nations about the several universal problems which need to be addressed effectively in order to make this world a perfect place to live in." Designed by Abdus Salam from Pakistan.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1920×1200

Seeds

"Experimental piece meant to show growth and reason to flourish." Designed by Umer Tahir from Canada.

• preview
• with calendar: 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200

Friendly

"Lately I’ve been captivated by this very naive style of drawing; very cartoon-like. Although, it may be because that’s the limit of my drawing ability. But I’m proud of it, anyway! Inspired by cartoons and beautiful, bright colours." Designed by Eli Burford from Australia.

• preview
• with calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Cool bulb’s

"We wish you a lot of cool ideas in 2010. 3D Modeling rendered with Cinema 4D." Designed by Hansjoerg Schneider from Switzerland.

• preview
• with calendar: 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1440×1080, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1440×1080, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

ScaryJanuary

Designed by Marta Miazek from Poland.

• preview
• with calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1600×1200
• without calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1600×1200

Ice Flowers

"I took some photos during a very frosty and cold week before Christmas.And with one of those decided to make a January wallpaper :P" Designed by Anca Varsandan from Romania.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Sacred Island

"Inspired by an avatar movie, floating island and dragon, happy new year everyone" Designed by Auliya Rahman from Indonesia.

• preview
• with calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×1024
• without calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×1024

Wish You Were Here

"Picturing where I would rather be than in front of my computer." Designed by Valerie Morgan from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600

New Year Balloon Festival

"The traditional balloon festival brings in the new year!" Designed by Chris Alexander (Yipori) from England.

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

Party Animals

"The wallpaper is like watercolor paint effect of forest with animals along with January 2010 calendar. The wallpaper calendar depicts party animals wishing viewer on new year." Designed by Jayanthi from India.

• preview
• with calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900

Sexy new year

"I wish you a Sexy New Year!" Designed by Nick Voronin from Ukraine.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

New Year Party

"Wow, I’ve finally made it! It’s new year, and I want to celebrate it with my Illustration. So, happy new year guys!" Designed by Adrian Wildandyawan from Indonesia.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Lifestyle Adjustment

"I designed this wallpaper for inspiration and encouragement for one of the best years of life ever." Designed by Millicent Bowman from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 480×320, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×768, 1280×800, 1400×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 480×320, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×768, 1280×800, 1400×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Inspire

Designed by Valentin Bozhilov.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Online Snowball Fight

"It’s wintertime here at thunder::tech, and we’re gearing up for a snowball fight! You’ve been in snowball fights before, but never like this—you can throw snowballs at your friends but you’ll never touch a flake of snow or go outside in the freezing cold! Enjoy this little piece of wonderland, complete with winter-themed animals and abominable snowmen!" Designed by tech from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Create/Destroy

Designed by Valerie Morgan from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600

Snowboard Season 2010

Designed by Davide Vicariotto from Italy.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Snow in January

"A snow that will not fall in my city gave me an inspiration for making this wallpaper" Designed by Klement Grgić from Croatia.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×640, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1440×900
• without calendar: 1024×640, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1440×900

Dutch Winter

Designed by Pietje Precies from The Netherlands.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

A deer with a bird

"Illustrated desktop shows an idilic winter scene. A deer and a bird are telling us a story about frendship in unpleasent circumstances. It is a poetic message, that makes your desktop nicer and offers you an inspiration." Designed by Tina Krašovec from Slovenia.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050

Extreme Winter

Designed by Julio Ortiz Gonzalez from Spain.

• preview
• with calendar: 800×480, 1024×640, 1280×800, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600
• without calendar: 800×480, 1024×640, 1280×800, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600

January Sentense

"Just motivating sentence for December :)" Designed by Temeshi from Poland.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Happy new year!

"New year wallpaper theme" Designed by Umut Isbilir from Turkey.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Egg

"Just an egg to represent the new beginning this new year." Designed by Dsaurus from Philippines.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050

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. Join in next month!

What’s your favorite?

What’s your favourite theme or wallpaper for this month? Please let us know in the comments! And have a smashing January and New Year, folks!