by No lie, the latest Ubuntu 23.04 “Lunar Lobster” daily builds look a quantity tastier than usual.
For what I believe is the first time, the Ubuntu developers have decided to provide a custom desktop wallpaper for use in development builds only.
And of course the new artwork conveys a creative fit of the release code name.
Now typically, each new development release of Ubuntu uses its predecessor’s graphics for most of its development cycle. It just gets a custom background near the UI block. Not so with the Lunar lobsterthe next short-term release of Ubuntu set to emerge in April 2023.
The background of the development “Lunar Lobster”.
Longtime readers may recall that I breathed a little too heavily over a series of AI-generated jellyfish wallpapers shared on social media earlier this year. Those designers have been masterfully pulled from the machine mind by Simon Butcher.
Well, Simon has done it again. This time, he uploaded the words “lunar” and “lobster” into the computer’s creative consciousness, then began carefully sculpting and refining the output until it looked like something truly special.
And here:
Beautiful clawsome, right?
Wallpaper colors are perfect. Purple as a color is already synonymous with Ubuntu, but also with space (hence moons and stars). Works well. I also dig the lobster shape. It’s layered in a way that makes it look like it’s made of card stock or paper – the “do it yourself” build vibes well with the developer release mode.
The new wallpaper will be available as an update from ubuntu-wallpapers package in Ubuntu 23.04 daily builds over the next few days, so if you’re riding the developer wave – brave soul, you are – get ready for the change!
If you are Not Still using the Lunar Lobster — that is pretty much everyone — but don’t want to be left out of the fun, you can download this wallpaper from Launchpad using the link above. Extract the complete Ubuntu wallpaper archive, then fish for lobster (filename: warty-final-ubuntu.png) in 4K quality to use however you like.
Let me know what you think of this rather mystical-looking marvel, or simply share your thoughts/experiences with AI-generated art in general, down the cavernous comment hole below.
Thanks Ken
