No. 072, in twelve platesBlack Snake
Twelve studies in black on black, where the only light is the sheen along a scale.
Black Snake is photographed in low key, almost entirely in shadow. A single soft light glances across the coils, so each scale reads as a small dark tile with a cool, gunmetal edge. There is no colour to speak of: charcoal, graphite and an occasional hint of slate blue, with a warm bronze glint along the throat in one plate. The result sits closer to texture than to wildlife portrait.
Some plates are pure pattern. Coils knot into a spiral with no head in sight, or the camera moves in so close that the overlapping scales look like roof shingles or chain mail. Others find the face: a head resting on a loop of its own body, staring out with flat patience; another rising tall against broad dark leaves; a hooded head lifted in a curve with paler scales beneath. In the last plate the snake slides across rumpled black cloth, tongue just showing.
On a Lock Screen the clock sits on dark scales, and white numerals read cleanly against them. Where the head sits high, it will share space with the time, so the pattern-only frames are the safest pick. As a Home Screen this is about as quiet as wallpaper gets: near black from edge to edge, at home with dark mode, the texture glimpsed only in the gaps between icons.
Made for people who want an all-black phone that still rewards a closer look, and for reptile keepers who see the beauty in a well-kept skin. Not one for anyone uneasy around snakes. Knot, Resting Head and Shingles are yours free in full resolution, and the other nine coils are premium plates.
Closer to chain mail than to menace.
Try each one on before you save it.
Tap any plate to hang it on the Lock Screen, then switch to the Home Screen to see it behind your apps. This is the same preview the app gives you, on your own phone, with your own clock.
Every plate here can be ordered as an unframed matte print, from A$59 with free shipping. Or hang three side by side: any three plates from Black Snake, 8 × 16 in each, for A$179.
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Plate IHooded Rise -
Plate IIFace-On -
Plate IIIResting Head -
Plate IVSpiral Coil -
Plate VAmong the Leaves -
Plate VIChain Mail -
Plate VIILoop Above -
Plate VIIIKnot -
Plate IXWary Look -
Plate XShingles -
Plate XILow Gaze -
Plate XIIOn Black Cloth
How Black Snake wears.
Dark, sleek, tactile, brooding. Low-key macro reptile photography, sized for every iPhone up to 2160 × 4800.
On the Lock Screen
Pattern-only plates like Spiral Coil give the clock a field of dark scales with no face competing for attention.
On the Home Screen
Near black from edge to edge, it disappears behind icons and pairs naturally with dark mode.
Full resolution, every model
Each plate is delivered at the exact size of your iPhone's screen, up to 2160 × 4800, so nothing is stretched or soft at the edges.
- Pitch#000000
- Graphite#202020
- Gunmetal#404040
- Ash scale#606060
- Slate blue#202040
Free plates, and the rest.
Open Black Snake in pxCream and preview any plate on your Lock Screen first. Prices come from the App Store in your region and are shown in the app before you buy.
Black Snake
Three free platesFree
Full resolution, saved straight to Photos.
A single premium plate10 credits
Yours for good: re-download it any time, on this iPhone, at no extra cost.
pxCream UnlimitedMonthly
Every premium plate in Black Snake and the rest of the gallery, for as long as you subscribe.
On the App Store · iPhone only · No account needed
About Black Snake.
Is there a Black Snake plate without a visible head?
Yes, three: Spiral Coil, Shingles and Chain Mail show only scales and coils, for anyone who wants the texture without the stare.
Does Black Snake suit dark mode?
Very well. The frames are almost entirely charcoal and black, so they sit flush with dark mode, and white icons and labels stand out sharply.
Something else? Support answers within two business days.
Black Snake, in your pocket.
pxCream is on the App Store for iPhone, with Black Snake and the rest of the gallery inside.