Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

I have received quite a few emails asking me how to create that sort of linen texture effect we see in the iOS on iPads and iPhones. I like that effect but had never stopped to think about how I could do that in Photoshop, so last week I decided to give it a try. For my surprise it was much easier than I thought.

So in this tutorial I will show you how to create the linen texture effect in Photoshop and also the metal/glass effect we see in the Apple logo in the iOS.

Step 1

Open Photoshop and create a new document. I'm using 2560x1440 pixels for the size. After that fill the background layer with black.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 2

Add a new layer and go fill it with white using the Paint Bucket Tool (G). After that make sure you have black and white for the background and foreground color, then go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Use 100% for the Amount, Gaussian for the Distribution and select Monochromatic. Duplicate this layer once.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 3

Select one of the layers with the noise filter and then go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur. Use 90º for the Angle and 50 pixels for the Distance.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 4

Select the other layer with noise and go again to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur. Use 90º for the Angle and 50 pixels for the Distance.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 5

You will have to layers with the blurry effect, one will be with a vertical texture and another with horizontal. Select the one that is on the top and change the Blend Mode to Multiply. Group the 2 layers into a folder and then change the opacity to 40%.

Because we applied the motion blur, the edges get a bit transparent so select both layers and go to Edit>Transform>Scale. Increase a little bit the size of the layers so you can hide those edges.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 6

Now import a symbol to use in your wallpaper. I'm using the Abduzeedo symbol. Place it in the middle of the document.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 7

Go to Layer>Layer Styles>Gradient Overlay. Click on the gradient colors to open the Gradient Editor. Then use a color scheme like the image below.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 8

Now back to the Gradient Overlay options, change the Style to Radial and increase the size to 150%. Then click on the symbol hold the button of the mouse and move it to move the gradient position. Use the image below for reference.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 9

Select Bevel and Emboss. Use Inner Bevel for the Style, 150% for the Depth, Down for the Direction, 1 pixel for the Size and 2 pixels for the Soften. For the Shading use 103º for the Angle, 40º for the Altitude. For the Highlight Mode use Screen with white at 100% Opacity, then for the Shadow Mode use Multiply with black at 30%.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 10

Select Inner Shadow. Use Screen for the Blend Mode with white for the color, -90º for the Angle, 5 pixels for the Distance, 25% for the Choke and 5 pixels for the Size.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 11

Now select Drop Shadow. Use Multiply for the Blend Mode with black for the color. For the Angle use 90º with 5 pixels for the Distance, 0 % for the Spread and 15 pixels for the Size.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 12

This is the effect you will have after these 12 steps.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 13

Add a new layer on top of the symbol. Select the symbol area by clicking with the right button of the mouse over the thumbnail of the layer, then select the option Select Pixels. After that go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal Selection. Then with the Brush Tool (B) with a very soft brush and white for the color, paint in the center of the symbol. Also change the Opacity to 40%. The idea of this step is to create a reflection in the metal effect.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 14

Now add a text, in my case I added the Abduzeedo logotype. Then go to Layer>Layer Styles. Use grey for the color with Multiply.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Step 15

Then select Inner Shadow. Use Multiply for the Blend Mode with black for the color. For the Angle use 120º, 2 pixels for the Distance, 0% for the Choke and 2 pixels for the Size.

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Layers Order

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Conclusion

Here is the final outcome of the tutorial. The idea of this tutorial was show you how to create the line texture but I decided to add the logo with an Apple style effect in it. The whole process is very straightforward and if you want to use different colors for the linen texture you will have to change the background color or the opacity of the 2 layers with noise/motion blur, the ones we created in the steps 2 to

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Darker Version

Easy iOS Style Wallpaper in Photoshop

Download the Photoshop File

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