Creating Unique Desktop Wallpapers in Paint Shop Pro

In this tutorial I will be showing you how to make a bright and colorful abstract desktop wallpaper using Paint Shop Pro. Using this method there are endless possibilities with experimentation. That is, after going through the whole process to get a feel for it.

Just so you know I'm using Paint Shop Pro 7 to make this. Yet any version of Paint Shop Pro can be used with little or no adjustment of the steps.

The very first thing you should do is click the Resources link at the bottom of the page to download the dsb flux plugin.

Save the .zip file to your hard drive, open the .zip and then extract it to the /plugins directory where you have Paint Shop Pro installed (usually in c:program filesPaint Shop Pro 7.

By the way, if you have Paint Shop Pro already running then you will have to close the program and open it again to refresh your plugins.

That's it and now we get started creating the wallpaper.

Now that you have Paint Shop Pro open start by clicking new and make sure the settings are set like this:

Width: 1024
Height: 768

Make sure the box to the right of Width and Height is set to Pixels.

Step 1 - Using the DSB Flux Plugin Filter

Choose the Flood Fill tool and click the image to make the layer a solid color. The color doesn't matter since it'll be replaced anyway.

Now in your Effects/Filter menu there should be dsb flux entry under the Plug-in Filters part. Once you find it click Electrosphere and a settings dialog will pop up.

Set the settings to whatever you think looks good. I personally used these settings below.

Current: 51

Voltage: 25

Heat: 57

Frequency: 39

Hue: 9

Now press OK and the filter will apply to your image. Before you continue to Step 2 save your image to a Paint Shop Pro format, .psp or otherwise, so you don't lose any of your work. Give it a good name and save it in a place you'll remember.

Step 2 - Creating a New Layer and Applying the Second Filter

At the top menu click Layer and then New Raster Layer. The new layer should be named Layer2 automatically. Now click OK to accept the defaults. Go look at your Layer Palette and you should have two layers. Make sure the new layer, Layer2, is highlighted and do another default solid color fill on the image.

Now go to the dsb flux filter again. ONLY this time choose Isotope instead of Electrosphere as your choice. Now choose the settings, just like you did in the previous step, that you think look right.

My settings were as follows:

Tension: 35

Attraction: 61

Radiation: 35

Distance: 34

Hue: 68

Now press OK to apply this filter.

Step 3 - Blending the Two Layers

Under the Layer Palette you'll see a drop down menu that says Normal. Again, this is a choice that can be up to you to choose what looks good. Click on Normal and then choose Dodge.

That's it. In three steps you've created a simple yet interesting desktop wallpaper. Now save the image again. Then, if you look to apply it to your desktop, go to Save As and choose JPG as your output format and save it.

Hopefully you have found this tutorial useful and easy to follow. Remember, feel free to experiment with the filter settings, layers and other settings to get your own unique results. Experimentation is always the best way to learn, create and hone your digital artistry skills.