Designer Basic Apple Guy has appeared on Cult of Mac a lot lately, but with new wallpaper coming out that makes it looks like Apple CEO Tim Cook and other execs are in a new version of classic game Grand Theft Auto, how can we slam on the brakes now?
Released Friday, “Grand Theft Auto Cupertino” wallpapers are available for free download!
Download Basic Apple Guy’s ‘Grand Theft Auto Cupertino’ wallpapers
“The Apple & Grand Theft Auto mashup you didn’t know you needed” is how Basic Apple Guy (BAG) introduces the nostalgic new wallpapers.
It joins his ever-growing supply of creative wallpapers like “Flow,” inspired by cable management, a gorgeous space shot called “Trip Around the Sun” and “Midnight Mac,” based on Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks painting.
It appears he made the new GTA wallpapers out of a deep respect for the classic, genre-defining open-world game — plus being pissed off he was too young to legally buy it when he was a kid in Canada.
“I was not ‘of age’ when GTA III was released,” BAG wrote. “And with an M for Mature rating in Canada, GTA III was only sold to people over 18, ID required.”
With no older sibling to help out in that pre-download era, he turned to creative methods and conned his family into buying it for him. It’s essentially a driving simulator with a few explosions that net a Mature rating, right?
In the end, his parents and the store clerk went through with the sham and BAG’s lifelong fandom began.
How did he do it?
Photo: Basic Apple Guy
Here’s how he described his process in making the wallpapers:
These images were generated using the latest model of MidJourney at the time (5.2). I ran through dozens of prompts and hundreds of variations to begin narrowing down a look that most closely mimicked the art style of Rockstar’s GTA V. I started with Craig Federighi & Tim Cook, initially posted on July 28, 2023. That post exceeded my wildest expectations so I followed it up with a GTA-style game cover art the following day. That collage featured several iconic Apple figures (Tim Cook, Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue, and former Apple designer Jony Ive), along with a few tech-related images and references to the Bay Area.
The final piece I wanted to create was a set of wallpapers for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Each image was picked out of dozens and dozens of prompts in Midjourney to complete the look and feel of authentic Grand Theft Auto artwork. The full-size Mac wallpaper features returning characters including Tim, Eddie, Craig, and Jony, adding Apple Fellow Phil Schiller. I tried creating more of Apple’s leadership to incorporate into the image but couldn’t develop a satisfactory likeness for them. Other photos in the collage include scenes from the Bay Area, people using Apple products, and a courier we all impatiently wait upon whenever a new product is out for delivery.
Don’t forget to leave a tip
Note that BAG has a day job in healthcare and offers his wallpapers and such for free. So feel free to leave him a tip for his effort, especially if you download a lot of his stuff.
Download from Basic Apple Guy:
