Retro Background
Make a retro background from 8 motifs of our own: wavy bands, sunset arches (half rings round a half sun), groovy daisies, nested rounded rectangles, a plain check, four-point sparkles, dots and suns with rays. Wavy bands are true parallel curves, so each band keeps the same width all the way along its bends, and the wave fits a whole number of times across the repeat so it joins the next copy. Pick 70s, 80s or 90s colour sets (named by colour) or your own 2 to 5 colours, set sizes in inches or centimetres, and download a background PNG at an exact pixel size (phone 1170 × 2532 or 1080 × 1920, desktop 1920 × 1080, larger screens, tablet or square), a seamless SVG tile at real size, a 300 DPI PNG or a full-size PDF. Nothing is uploaded.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Page 1 is the pattern at full size with a 1 in test square; page 2 is the motif key. The SVG tile is one repeat and joins edge to edge; the background PNG is drawn at the exact pixel size you pick.
Motif
Colours
Print and screen
Runs in your browser with our own code: nothing is uploaded or saved. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed.
How to make a retro background
- Choose a preset, or pick a motif.
- For wavy bands, set the bands, band width, waves across the repeat, wave height and repeat width; for the other motifs, set the size, spacing and layout.
- Pick 2 to 5 colours: a ground and up to four band or motif colours.
- Pick a background size for the PNG.
- Download the SVG tile, a background PNG, or the PDF; print at 100% and check the 1 in test square.
What you can use it for
- Phone and desktop backgrounds at an exact size
- Video call, stream and slide backgrounds
- Party, birthday and event flyers
- Website hero and section backgrounds (SVG tile)
- Gift wrap, scrapbook paper and cards
- Fabric and wall mock-ups (real-size tile, full-size PDF)
The 14 presets
| # | Preset | Motif | Size | Repeat | Colours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70s wavy bands: mustard, orange, brown, olive | Wavy bands | 4 bands of 0.25 in, 2 waves | 6 × 1.29 in | 5 |
| 2 | 70s sunset arches | Sunset arch (half rings) | 1.8 in, grid | 4 × 4 in | 5 |
| 3 | Groovy daisies, half-drop | Groovy daisy | 1.2 in, half-drop | 3 × 3 in | 4 |
| 4 | 70s rounded rectangles | Rounded rectangles (nested) | 1.8 in, grid | 4 × 4 in | 5 |
| 5 | Plain check, orange and cream | Plain check | 0.75 in squares | 1.5 × 1.5 in | 3 |
| 6 | 80s sparkles on navy | Four-point sparkle | 0.8 in, half-drop | 2.4 × 2.4 in | 5 |
| 7 | 90s dots, teal and coral | Dots | 0.5 in, half-drop | 1.8 × 1.8 in | 5 |
| 8 | Suns with 12 rays | Sun with rays | 1.6 in, grid | 4 × 4 in | 3 |
| 9 | 80s wavy bands: pink, teal, purple, yellow | Wavy bands | 4 bands of 0.2 in, 3 waves | 6 × 1.01 in | 5 |
| 10 | 90s wavy bands, five per group | Wavy bands | 5 bands of 0.16 in, 2 waves | 5 × 1.01 in | 5 |
| 11 | Pastel daisies in a grid | Groovy daisy | 1.1 in, grid | 2.8 × 2.8 in | 4 |
| 12 | 90s sunset arches, half-drop | Sunset arch (half rings) | 1.6 in, half-drop | 3.6 × 3.6 in | 5 |
| 13 | Fabric scale: 15 cm wavy repeat | Wavy bands | 4 bands of 0.6 cm, 2 waves | 15 × 3.15 cm | 5 |
| 14 | Black and white rounded rectangles | Rounded rectangles (nested) | 1.4 in, half-drop | 3.2 × 3.2 in | 4 |
Each preset only fills in the fields; change any setting afterwards.
The 8 motifs
| Motif | What it is |
|---|---|
| Wavy bands | Bands that are parallel curves of one wave, each the same width all along |
| Sunset arch (half rings) | Half rings of equal width round a half sun, standing on a line |
| Groovy daisy | Round petals (4 to 24) round a centre |
| Rounded rectangles (nested) | Rounded squares, each one band inside the last |
| Plain check | Squares of one size in two colours |
| Four-point sparkle | A four-point star with curved sides |
| Dots | Round dots in a grid or half-drop |
| Sun with rays | A disc with 4 to 24 pointed rays |
All motifs are our own drawings. Page 2 of the PDF draws the motif large from the same shape data.
Background sizes (first preset)
| Background | Pixels | Repeats across × down |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | 1170 × 2532 px | 2.03 × 20.51 |
| Phone | 1080 × 1920 px | 1.88 × 15.55 |
| Desktop | 1920 × 1080 px | 3.33 × 8.75 |
| Large screen | 2560 × 1440 px | 4.44 × 11.66 |
| Very large screen | 3840 × 2160 px | 6.67 × 17.49 |
| Tablet | 2048 × 2732 px | 3.56 × 22.13 |
| Square post | 1080 × 1080 px | 1.88 × 8.75 |
Which tool to use
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Retro motifs as a seamless background | Retro Background (this page) |
| A wallpaper from your own photo or text | Phone Wallpaper Maker |
| Round dots only | Polka Dot Pattern Generator |
| A plain check only | Checkerboard Pattern Generator |
| Bold 1980s shapes and squiggles | Memphis Pattern Generator |
Also handy: the Phone Wallpaper Maker, the Polka Dot Pattern Generator and the Checkerboard Pattern Generator.
More free tools
More pattern and background tools?
Pattern makers and print tools that run privately in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
Are the wavy bands the same width all along?
Yes. Each band is a parallel curve of one wave, so its width is the same measured square to the curve, on the bends as well as the straight parts. Our tests check every band at every sample point. The first preset has 4 bands of 0.25 in and 2 waves across a 6 in repeat.
Why does the maker refuse some wave settings?
A band cannot be wider than the bend of the wave allows: past that point the curve folds back on itself. If the wave is too tall or too tight for the bands, the maker says so instead of drawing a broken band. Lower the wave height, use fewer waves, or fewer or narrower bands.
Will the background repeat without a seam?
Yes. The wave fits a whole number of times across the repeat, and the other motifs sit on a 2 × 2 grid or half-drop; a motif that runs over an edge is drawn again from the opposite edge. Our tests compare the pattern one repeat over by sampled colour, for every preset.
What sizes are the background PNGs?
Phone 1170 × 2532 and 1080 × 1920, desktop 1920 × 1080, larger screens 2560 × 1440 and 3840 × 2160, tablet 2048 × 2732 and square 1080 × 1080 pixels, each exactly that size. The pattern is drawn at 96 pixels per inch of the size you set.
Which colours make it look 70s, 80s or 90s?
The presets use colour sets named by colour: mustard, burnt orange, brown and olive on cream; hot pink, teal, purple and yellow on navy; teal, purple, lime and coral on off-white. Change any colour to suit your project.
Is the tile the exact size I set?
Yes. The SVG tile is written in inches or centimetres (the first preset is 6 in wide and 1.286 in tall, the height worked out from the bands and the gap of 0.12 in), and the PDF prints the pattern at full size with a 1 in test square.
How is this different from the phone wallpaper maker?
The phone wallpaper maker builds a wallpaper from your own photo, colours or text at your screen size. This page draws repeating retro motifs, keeps them seamless and exact, and gives the same pattern as a tile, a PDF and several background sizes.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit.
Is anything uploaded?
No. Everything is drawn by JavaScript in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.