We always try our best to challenge your artistic abilities and produce some interesting, beautiful and creative artwork. And as designers we usually turn to different sources of inspiration. As a matter of fact, we’ve discovered the best one—desktop wallpapers that are a little more distinctive than the usual crowd. This creativity mission has been going on for over five years now, and we are very thankful to all designers who have contributed and are still diligently contributing each month.

This post features free desktop wallpapers created by artists across the globe for January 2013. Both versions with a calendar and without a calendar can be downloaded for free. It’s time to freshen up your wallpaper!

Please note that:

• All images can be clicked on 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?

Merry Smashing Christmas

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1600×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Mario January

"One day I was playing Super Mario Brothers on an old Super Nintendo and the idea of creating a Mario-themed calendar came to my mind. I hope you like the end result! (If you have a lower resolution than Full HD, I recommend using the 1920 wide version still, and let your OS do the resizing to fit your desktop.)." Designed by Roland Szabo from Hungary.

• preview
• with calendar: 1280×720, 1280×800, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×720, 1280×800, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200

Array My Way

Designed by Vlad Gerasimov from Russia.

• preview
• with calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×600, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1440×960, 1600×1200, 1600×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 2560×1600, 2880×1800

New Year

Designed by Webolution from Greece.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200

End Of The World Postponed

Designed by Davide Vicariotto from Italy.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Welcome To January

Designed by Logan Holy from Indonesia.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200

Snake

Designed by Cheloveche.ru from Russia.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 395×512, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Moustache 2013

Designed by Lissa Sleeckx from Belgium.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Cozy January

"January is a very cold month and when outside it's too cold, we love to stay at home in a cozy home!" Designed by Fabrizio Venanzi from United Kindgdom.

• 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

The Edge

"This is the edge, the edge of life, when your memories flashes before your eyes, and you feel nothing more than calmness. What you see at that moment is real but its also surreal. Its something magical. And this is it. Its the edge with amazing Clarence's sax melodies. We all gonna be on the edge someday, and this is going to by the part of my edge." Designed by Andrius Tamosaitis from Lithuania.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Fresh Start

Designed by Gabriella from Indonesia.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Woobie

Designed by Tetyana Kovyrina from Canada.

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

Calls For A Bottle

""This calls for a bottle of Israel's finest!" -Friends sit-com quote. There is always a reason to celebrate! Designed by Sarah Tanner." Designed by Sarah Tanner from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Nothing Happened

Designed by Michal Juszczyk from Poland.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200

Happiness In Winter

"Wishing everyone a SMASHING year 2013!" Designed by Mancar from Turkey.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

The Season To Snowboard

"Time to hit the slopes because it's snowboarding season!" Designed by Marina Zhukov from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080

Happy Holiday

Designed by Svetlana Denisenko from Ukraine.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Blue Year

Designed by Elise Vanoorbeek from Belgium.

• preview
• with calendar: 1280×800, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1280×800, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Thought For The New Year

"A thought to begin 2013." Designed by Dangerbrain from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 1280×960, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1280×960, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Blue Neon Sign

Designed by Jong S. Kim from USA.

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

Winter Fun

"Snow boys and snow dog enjoying a winter day." Designed by Anne Alexander from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Join In Next Month!

Please note that we respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience throughout their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us, but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves. A big thank you to all designers for their participation. Join in next month!

What’s Your Favorite?

What’s your favorite theme or wallpaper for this month? Please let us know in the comment section below.

Stay creative and have a truly smashing, happy new year 2013!