There was once an appearance theme for Mac OS 8 and 9 called Neutech, by Flanksteak Design. I don't think I particular liked the theme as a whole, but it included a desktop background that has been my favourite background for the last eight years or so since I discovered it:
![Neutech desktop](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2qBmo1f-q1hM3lMdmDYArNMH4p7-_aAMIQqqGtNp7-lUKWVVnW5h-a6hYJGFGkTecIQG-FigMey07p8G8UDRnyT47tKEJFDp6YaQz05VlBLF-snke4RRbqjcwRjMp2RB9_U4_A/s400/NeutechThumbnail.jpg)
Here's a detail:
![Neutech desktop detail](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyo7Hrlp2NALLsXe9A_w2ggDBfC44M0pyjYnBK7_n-qUL4k1qms9w-tmwt5aHzXFM1BDM6jHeQP_k3TOB3MXE5G9o_nbz-piSNPzdlsMvHeSd4Sw1bULUebcK8KW2fhaS0L7i4dA/s400/NeutechDetail.jpg)
I have made sure I that I always have a copy, which has survived across all the different Macs I've used since. However, the image is only 1024 × 768 pixels, which wasn't small at the time, but makes the image look rather pixelated and blurry on modern displays. I have made several attempts in the past to reproduce it in Photoshop, but never got very far. Today, I sat down again with renewed determination and finally found the secret recipe to emulate the look of the original:
![Neutech desktop revived](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NduV-Ju6Gr11GMrqyugx0TpIrTV-jk1Ge3lc2bTEjquWWIh-nkjC4Ot4d8CuI5TQ1q1FrRHN6_mxwb-MrA1BTyR5K3BLNdj8L5jDnWN7CSbuTNfkjY-iDB6_QGCcIJi3YV_6vQ/s400/NeutechRevivedThumb.jpg)
![Neutech desktop revived detail](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHvcDMFikACkpODZCUdCQvUNRTUu3yeE-jFAgBoh9UtLdoTtocOrawSGorh782ykP4DrKKLIItKw8NML2-PLK0R0BdAkFCIJfRG7xHDhjFzYFN4BQ5AMJMXx5efHcCeptxSyvkA/s400/NeutechRevivedDetail.jpg)
One thing that really helped here was Photoshop CS3's Smart Filters, because I could experiment and keep tweaking the many effects I had to apply. This also means that I can easily produce updated versions in the future as screen resolutions increase.
For the time being, here's a 2560 × 1600 version.
Update: I've changed the grid to look more like dried earth and less like reptile skin, and made minor changes to shading.
Hello Mr. Amar Sagoo,
ReplyDeletetoday I tested your application Tofu, - my mother didn't like to read on the screen before, and now -thanks to your application - she really loves it. She reads her big classic novells now on my old powerbook, the whole day long, and even at night in bed. - Good new job for my old hardware... ;-)
Your theory about reading on screen is right, it is much better with columns.
Many many thanks to you
(and please excuse my bad english, I am german, so: "Vielen Dank" to you again.)
Mind making a 1280x800 version for us MacBook users? Thanks
ReplyDelete