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Textured Backgrounds For iTerm2

I've started using a textured background for my terminal. It gives a little more visual interest without being a full on image of something.

This is what it looks like before the texture is set:

My apologies. I haven't added alt text to this image yet.
My apologies. I haven't added alt text to this image yet.

The Image

This is the image I made with the texture. You're welcome to have it.

My apologies. I haven't added alt text to this image yet.

Make Your Own

This is how I built the image in Photoshop if you'd like to make your own:

  1. Make a black image in photoshop with the same resolution as your monitor
  2. Double click on the layer and give it a name in the New Layer dialog so that it's not "Background" anymore
  3. Select Filter -> Noise -> Add Noise from the menu bar
  4. Set the Add Noise dialog box to Amount: 100%, Distribution: Uniform, and Check the box for Monochromatic (if it's not already) then click OK to apply it
  5. Click the fx button at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose "Blending Options"
  6. In the Blending Options window, move the marker on the white side of the "Blend if" "This Layer" slider to the left so value goes from 255 to 215
  7. Set the Opacity of the layer in the Layers Palette to 35%
  8. Export the image as a .png
  9. Set the mode to "Tile"
  10. Move the Blending slider to 25

Notes

  • All those values are starting points. Play around and season to taste
  • The reason for all the transparency stuff is to prevent the color of the theme from being overpowered by the noise
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