No. 078, in ten platesThe Colourful Planet
A man in a dark suit keeps walking into landscapes that were never painted for him.
The Colourful Planet is drawn like a late-sixties paperback cover: crisp black linework, engraved hatching and stippling, and slabs of flat, saturated colour. Tangerine skies, magenta fields, turquoise rivers and lemon hills sit side by side without any attempt to blend. Against all that, the people are dressed for the office, mostly in black or charcoal, which makes every figure look slightly lost and entirely deliberate.
Rainbow Road sends a man in a long coat down a striped highway towards a turquoise sea, two suns, pink and orange, stacked on the horizon. The Stepping Stones catches a figure in a blue turtleneck mid-stride across a stream. Canyon Moon stands a suited man between striped cliffs under a silver planet. Silver Spheres and Spire and Climber, two near-twins, put a small orange-suited explorer inside a blue circle beside a towering blue spire and floating chrome balls. Briefcase Pass ends the walk with a man and his case leaving a canyon of jagged peaks.
Many plates keep a plain band of sky across the top, orange in Tree at the End and turquoise in The Hiker and Boulder Beach, which leaves a clean place for the clock. The busiest detail gathers in the lower two thirds, so it is worth trying a few before settling. As a psychedelic landscape wallpaper on the Home Screen, the strong colour fights white labels in places, so the plain-skied plates work best there too.
It suits fans of retro sci-fi art, album covers and surreal travel posters. The Stepping Stones and Canyon Moon are free to download in full resolution; the other eight are premium.
Everyone here is dressed for the office and walking somewhere far stranger.
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 The Colourful Planet, 8 × 16 in each, for A$179.
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Plate IRainbow Road -
Plate IIThe Stepping Stones -
Plate IIICanyon Moon -
Plate IVSilver Spheres -
Plate VBriefcase Pass -
Plate VIThe Hiker -
Plate VIITree at the End -
Plate VIIIBoulder Beach -
Plate IXSpire and Climber -
Plate XThe Long Walk
How The Colourful Planet wears.
Surreal, retro, adventurous, bold. Retro pop art illustration, sized for every iPhone up to 2160 × 4800.
On the Lock Screen
Tree at the End leaves a flat orange sky across the top, giving the clock clear ground above the tree.
On the Home Screen
The Hiker's plain turquoise sky and wide striped hills leave icons room without hiding the walker.
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.
- Tangerine sky#FF8000
- Lagoon#00A0C0
- Magenta field#E00040
- Deep teal#0080A0
- Mulberry#800040
Free plates, and the rest.
Open The Colourful Planet 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.
The Colourful Planet
Two 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 The Colourful Planet and the rest of the gallery, for as long as you subscribe.
On the App Store · iPhone only · No account needed
About The Colourful Planet.
Why do two pairs of plates look almost the same?
Silver Spheres and Spire and Climber are variations of one scene, as are Tree at the End and The Long Walk, which moves the walker closer. Use one on the Lock Screen and its twin on the Home Screen for a matched pair.
Are these wallpapers retro or sci-fi?
Both. The flat colour and engraved shading recall sixties and seventies poster art, while the chrome spheres, spires and spacesuited explorer push it towards science fiction.
Can I download all ten without paying?
Not all ten. The Stepping Stones and Canyon Moon are free in full resolution; the other eight are premium, 10 credits each in the pxCream app with re-downloads forever, or unlocked by Unlimited.
Something else? Support answers within two business days.
The Colourful Planet, in your pocket.
pxCream is on the App Store for iPhone, with The Colourful Planet and the rest of the gallery inside.