Aesthetic Background Generator
Make an aesthetic background: warm sunlight falling through a window onto a plain wall, light through blinds, the soft shadows of leaves, or a dreamy film light leak with grain. Pick a preset or set your own: the wall colour, the kind of light, the panes, the sun angle, the size of the light, how many leaf sprays, how soft the shadows are, how strong and warm the light is, the light leak and the grain. Every picture comes from a seed number: the same seed and size always give the same picture, and New seed moves the light and the leaves. Choose desktop, 4K, phone, a 16:9 video-call background (for Zoom, Teams or Meet), tablet, square, banner or your own size up to 4096 pixels. It is artwork drawn by our code, not a photograph. Download a PNG or JPG, or a PDF to print. Nothing is uploaded.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
The preview is the same picture drawn smaller. PNG and JPG download at the full size; the PDF fits the picture on one page.
Picture
Window and leaves
Mood
Runs in your browser with our own code: nothing you type is uploaded or saved. The wall, the light and every shadow are drawn by our own code from the seed; it is artwork, not a photograph. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed.
How to make an aesthetic background
- Pick a preset: sunlit window, window with leaf shadows, blinds, light leak and more.
- Choose the wall colour and the kind of light.
- Set the panes, the sun angle and the size of the light.
- Add leaf sprays and set how soft the shadows are.
- Set the light strength, warmth, light leak and grain; press New seed to move the light.
- Choose a size and download the PNG or JPG, or the print PDF.
What you can use it for
- Phone lock screens and desktop wallpapers
- Video-call backgrounds that look like a calm room
- Quote posts, stories and captions
- Product and shop backdrops
- Slides, journals and planners
- Website and newsletter headers
The 12 presets
| Preset | Light | Wall | What is in it | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunlit window shadow | Window light | Cream wall | 4 panes | 1920 × 1080 |
| Window light with leaf shadows | Window light and leaf shadows | Cream wall | 6 panes, 4 leaf sprays | 1920 × 1080 |
| Soft leaf shadows | Leaf shadows | Sage wall | 6 leaf sprays | 1920 × 1080 |
| Light through blinds | Light through blinds | Greige wall | 15 slats | 1920 × 1080 |
| Film light leak | Light leak, no shadows | Sand wall | light leak 80 % | 1920 × 1080 |
| Blush wall, golden window | Window light | Blush wall | 6 panes, light leak 20 % | 1920 × 1080 |
| Terracotta wall, palm shadows | Window light and leaf shadows | Terracotta wall | 2 panes, 5 leaf sprays, light leak 10 % | 1920 × 1080 |
| Low light, olive wall | Leaf shadows | Olive wall | 7 leaf sprays, light leak 15 % | 1920 × 1080 |
| Dreamy sun fade | Light leak, no shadows | Blush wall | light leak 100 % | 1920 × 1080 |
| Video call: calm window light | Window light | Greige wall | 4 panes | 1920 × 1080 |
| Phone wallpaper: leaf shadows | Leaf shadows | Cream wall | 6 leaf sprays | 1170 × 2532 |
| 4K window and leaves | Window light and leaf shadows | Sand wall | 4 panes, 4 leaf sprays, light leak 10 % | 3840 × 2160 |
Worked out by the tool.
Sizes
| Size | Pixels | Width ÷ height |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | 1170 × 2532 | 0.462 |
| Desktop | 1920 × 1080 | 1.778 |
| 4K | 3840 × 2160 | 1.778 |
| Video call background | 1920 × 1080 | 1.778 |
| Tablet | 2048 × 2732 | 0.750 |
| Square | 2048 × 2048 | 1.000 |
| Banner | 1500 × 500 | 3.000 |
Every size is drawn at its own pixels, not stretched.
How soft the shadows get
| Softness | Blur radius (desktop, each of 3 passes) | Farthest a shadow edge reaches |
|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 1 px | 3 px |
| 0.5 | 10 px | 30 px |
| 1.0 | 18 px | 54 px |
Worked out from the rule the tool uses: the radius grows with the long side of the picture, so a 4K picture gets about twice the pixels and looks the same.
What downloads
| Download | What is in it |
|---|---|
| PNG | The still picture at the full size you chose, every pixel exactly as drawn |
| JPG | The same picture as a smaller JPG (quality 92) |
| One Letter or A4 page with the picture fitted inside 10 mm margins |
| Paper | A 4K picture prints at | Sharpness |
|---|---|---|
| Letter (landscape) | 259.4 × 145.9 mm | 376 px per inch |
| A4 (landscape) | 277.0 × 155.8 mm | 352 px per inch |
To add a light leak or grain to your own photo instead, use the Light Leak or the Grain Filter.
Which tool to use
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Window light, blinds or leaf shadows on a wall | Aesthetic Background Generator (this page) |
| A light leak on your own photo | Light Leak |
| A cute repeating print | Kawaii Background |
| A soft colour blend | Gradient Generator |
| A painted sky with clouds | Sky Background Generator |
Other tools: the Bokeh Effect for dreamy blurred lights on a photo, and the Phone Wallpaper Maker to fit a photo to your screen.
More free tools
More soft backgrounds?
Picture and print tools that run privately in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a photo?
No. The wall, the light and every shadow are drawn by our own code from the seed: it is artwork, not a photograph.
What kinds of light can it draw?
Five: sunlight through a window with panes and bars, window light with leaf shadows reaching in from its edges, a broad beam with leaf shadows, light through blinds, and a film light leak with no shadows.
How are the shadows made soft?
The tool fills the light shape sharply, then blurs it three times; the softness slider sets how far the edges spread. The table below gives the numbers for a desktop picture.
How is this different from the pastel and minimalist backgrounds?
Those draw flat colours and shapes. This one draws light and shadow falling on a plain wall, with no flat shapes, arches or blobs.
Can I use it as a video-call background?
Yes. Choose Video call background (16:9, 1920 × 1080), download the PNG or JPG and pick it as a virtual background in your video-call app. The calm window light preset keeps the shadows soft.
What does the seed do?
It fixes where the window, the light and every leaf go. The same seed and size give exactly the same picture, pixel for pixel.
How big does the PDF print?
The picture is fitted on one Letter or A4 page inside 10 mm margins, turned to suit its shape. The table below gives the printed size of a 4K picture.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit.
Is anything uploaded?
No. Every pixel is worked out by JavaScript in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved when you close the page.