📷 AnduinOS Wallpaper Contest

[Anduin2017]

I've heard quite a few complaints that many of the wallpapers currently included in AnduinOS are abstract or AI-generated.

And... I agree.

Unfortunately, I'm not exactly a professional photographer either. So instead of generating more wallpapers, I'd like to try something different:

Let's let the AnduinOS community create them.

I'm officially opening the AnduinOS Wallpaper Contest!

Timeline

From today until October 20, 2026.

After submissions close, I'll look at the most upvoted entries and select 3–4 wallpapers with distinctly different styles to be included with AnduinOS by default.

Requirements

Your submission must:

• Be a photograph you personally took with a camera.
• Be an original work for which you own the copyright.
• Be suitable for use as a desktop wallpaper.
• Preferably be landscape-oriented and at least 4K resolution.
• Not contain watermarks.
• Be licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, allowing AnduinOS to redistribute, crop, adapt, and include it with the operating system while preserving attribution.

AI-generated images are not eligible for this contest. This time, I specifically want photographs created by real people, in real places, with real cameras.

You can photograph landscapes, cities, architecture, nature, night skies, streets, mountains, oceans, or anything else you think would look beautiful on an AnduinOS desktop.

And yes — if your wallpaper is selected, your photo will ship with AnduinOS.

I'm very curious to see what places around the world the AnduinOS community will bring to our desktops.

Show us your best shot. 📷

[samwhelp]

Digression

Regarding desktop images, I always use Variety (Source) to let it automatically switch and download them.

It is compatible with most mainstream desktop environments.

Those who are interested can refer to my settings.

Config File Path
~/.config/autostart/variety.desktop
~/.config/variety/variety.conf
~/.config/variety/history.txt
~/.config/variety/.firstrun

I've set a download source. Please see this file: ~/.config/variety/variety.conf.

You can find a setting block similar to the following.

[sources]
src11 = True|wallhaven|space

This setting causes Variety to search for https://wallhaven.cc/ using space as a keyword,

and download the desktop background images found.

# change_interval = <interval in seconds - not less than 5>
change_interval = 300

The image changes every 5 minutes.

[sources]
src10 = True|folder|Pictures/Wallpaper

I've also set a source for image switching, which is the ~/Pictures/Wallpaper folder, where I can place the images I want to switch between.

For other image source switching options, please refer to the file: ~/.config/variety/variety.conf.

The above is a brief introduction to the parts I used.

[FromLinuxWithLove]

I took this photo on August 17, 2024, in Mühlenbeck on the so-called Kirschweg ("Cherry Path"), on the outskirts of Berlin. Do whatever you want with it. It reminds me a little of the Windows XP wallpaper.

[Anduin2017]

Nice one!!