Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
Here's how Google made the stock wallpapers in Android 6.0 Marshmallow
The stock wallpapers found in Android 6.0 Marshmallow fun, bright and look great on just about any screen you decide to throw them on. There are a total of 9 stock wallpapers in all – 3 aerial shots from Google Earth, 3 landscape shots, and 3 paper-like wallpapers, complete with their own bright color scheme. Do you ever wonder how Google created these awesome paper backgrounds we’ve all grown to love? Thanks to the Google Design team, we’re getting an inside look at how they were made.
Carl Kleiner has made all of the abstract wallpapers since they were first introduced in the Lollipop days with the introduction of Material Design. The main thing to note is that these aren’t digitally made – each one is constructed out of different types of paper and photographed very carefully with the correct amount of lighting.
Through lighting, layering, and considered color blocking, Kleiner’s work echos some of the early material studies we created while we were developing Material Design, particularly our process for developing iconography and emphasizing natural shadows and realistic depth with three-dimensional objects.
Google says the new wallpapers in Marshmallow plays up “subtle shifts in tone and texture” instead of relying primarily on stark shifts in color. “We wanted to work with surfaces that have a subtle and sophisticated texture,” says Kleiner, “organic to the touch and graphic in composition…Painted surfaces, color pigment powders, floating ink and the like.”
Google limited the palette to the core Google brand colors with pops of neutral gray. While Kleiner maintained the precision of the original “paperscapes” found in Lollipop, he ended up making the geometry a bit more complex. He added depth by using materials like colored water to create troughs, and even grainy powders to add in pixelation.
Pretty cool, right? Not only has Google given us a look behind the creation process, the Google Design team is also sharing two new exclusive wallpapers, which are now available for download.
If you’re interested in downloading the new wallpapers, you can do so by following the link below. Out of all the stock Marshmallow wallpapers, which one is your favorite?