How to DIY your own carbon fiber wallpaper?

What you need to have: Adobe Photoshop
PS: ⌘ key for Mac users / CTRL key for Windows users

Prepare the texture pattern

(Download the ready made texture 1 and texture 2 if you are too lazy to create your own.)

1. In Photoshop, create a new document by pressing ⌘N / CTRL-N. Set the size at 20×20 pixel.

2. Zoom in (z) few step so that you can work on it easily. Choose Rectangular Marquee from the toolbar (m).

3. Make the selection of 5×10 pixel

4. Set foreground and background colour as different tone of gray:
Foreground: #171717
Background: #3a3a3a

5. Select Gradient Tool (g), then choose ‘Foreground to Background’

6. Fill the selection with the colours chosen by dragging across the selection area.

7. Make another selection of 10×5 pixel, fill with the gradient of:
Foreground:#282828
Background: #0d0d0d

8. Select all (⌘A / CTRL-A), copy selection (⌘C / CTRL-C), paste selection (⌘V / CTRL-V), then use Move Tool (v) to arrange the new layer into position:

9. Paste the selection into new layer again and arrange until it looks like this:

10. Combine all the layers: Menu > Layer > Flatten Image

11. Define a new pattern: Menu > Edit > Define Pattern…

Making the actual wallpaper

12. Create a new document by pressing ⌘N / CTRL-N. Set the size of your screen resolution. Eg: 1600×1200

13. Fill with the texture pattern: Menu > Edit > Fill… ; Use ‘Pattern’ and choose the last pattern that you just created from the Content section.

14. Apply effect: Menu > Filter > Render > Lighting Effects…

15. Adjust levels (⌘L / CTRL-L): Menu > Image > Adjustments > Levels…

Save!

16. To preserve the detail quality of the wallpaper, save it as PNG or BMP.

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About Kevin Yeoh
I’m Kevin Yeoh. I design functional and beautiful websites for creative people like you. Check out my website: www.kevinyeohdesign.com

27 Responses to How to DIY your own carbon fiber wallpaper?

  1. Nobody says:

    Best FREE carbon fiber wallpaper ever found on net!

  2. eyerings says:

    🙂 will subscribe to your feed. How about some free wallpapers of your creation?

  3. mimi says:

    Hi, I love the carbon fiber wallpaper, however, I like it better in the pattern you have in the banner of your webpage. Any luck on having a tut (toot) on how to make that pattern?

    Thanks!

  4. mimi says:

    Sorry, I found it. Whoopsie.

  5. FreedomRice says:

    I tried making myself. but it didnt come out right. also i tried using you texture. but the squares were too big.

  6. dolph says:

    cool coz i’m really new using photoshop

  7. Pingback: twinturbo.org » Carbon Fiber Wallpaper

  8. Zooter says:

    Excellent Carbon Fiber. I photograph it all the time and it takes forever to get the right look. I think I’ll create your pattern and fake it from now on. Looks better!

  9. nice carbon fiber, looks like something I could use on my web site

    web development

  10. Sam says:

    Great tutorial, mine came out great, thanks

  11. franz says:

    my turns out good thanks for the guide it really helps me alot

  12. Very nice tutorial.. I had just created my own wallpaper in blue color.

    It look like a desktop 2.0 now.. 😛

  13. alex says:

    wow thanks i’ve done awsome wallpapers with this some w/diff colored wallpapers too,thx a million!

  14. pander says:

    Great looking Carbon Fibre – THANKS for the tutorial!!

  15. Hamid says:

    thanks alot 🙂

  16. thank u for this tutorial, very useful. i’m starting out.

  17. Zakumo says:

    damn nice texture tutorial, is some kind of background able to use like this on design. thanks a lot…….^^

  18. walter says:

    great tuto is very usefull
    thanks

  19. Tommy says:

    cool…:)

  20. MapleCars says:

    Awesome Pattern, looked for months,
    now I can used them on games.
    Thanks

  21. dennyboy says:

    Thanks dude,
    yr da genius!

  22. roy says:

    yo great tutorial !!
    easy and fast, just what i was looking for 🙂

    gratz and keep it up, thanks!

  23. Studio3sf says:

    Dude, my laptop only weighs about 400 grams now thanks to this awesome carbon fiber wallpaper. Thanks for the tutorial and the inspiration! See you at the races on Sat.
    Peace

  24. Gent says:

    Thank you very much, it helped me to make my ArchLinux wallpaper. Details here: http://manzard.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/arch-carbon-fibre-wallpapers/

  25. Daniel says:

    Here’s a couple of .pat files for those of us using GIMP:

    http://www.syrinx.net/public/carbon-fibre-left.pat
    http://www.syrinx.net/public/carbon-fibre-right.pat

    I found that using a 20×20 pixel pattern didn’t work very well in GIMP for some reason, so I did my own 6×6 pixel pattern that works like a charm. Just put them in one of your pattern folders (Edit > Preferences > Folders > Patterns on Linux) and they’ll appear in your patterns palette.

  26. yo, this is great tutorial, thats awesome, i will try it 🙂

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