Creating custom dynamic wallpapers on your Mac enhances your desktop experience by reflecting the time of day or other dynamic elements. While macOS includes some built-in dynamic wallpapers, designing your own allows for a more personalized touch. Using the Equinox app, you can easily create custom dynamic wallpapers that change throughout the day based on various parameters.

Using Equinox to create custom dynamic wallpapers

Equinox is a free application available on the Mac App Store that enables you to create custom dynamic wallpapers. It offers an intuitive interface and simplifies the process without unnecessary complications.

Equinox provides three methods to create dynamic wallpapers:

Solar wallpapers: These wallpapers change based on solar calculations, adjusting with the sun's position throughout the day and year. You can configure them to change according to the sun's position at your location or based on the time and location when the photos were taken.

Time wallpapers: These wallpapers change at specific times of the day that you set.

Appearance wallpapers: These wallpapers switch between light and dark modes, changing according to your system's appearance settings.

Before you start, you'll need your own images to create custom dynamic wallpapers with Equinox. The app doesn't provide any wallpapers to choose from. For Appearance wallpapers, you'll need two images, but for Solar and Time wallpapers, you can use as many images as you like.

You can download images from the internet (preferably of the same location at different times) or generate them using AI tools. There are plenty of AI tools available, such as DALL-E 3 in ChatGPT, Midjourney, Microsoft's Copilot, or Meta's AI Image Generator.

Ensure the images are in PNG, JPEG, TIFF, or HEIF formats.

Step 1: Before you can set your custom dynamic wallpaper, you need to have a dynamic wallpaper already selected in your macOS settings. Open the System Settings and navigate to 'Wallpaper'.

Step 2: Choose any dynamic wallpaper from the available options and make sure 'Dynamic' is selected as the wallpaper type.

Step 3: With your wallpaper settings and images ready, open the Equinox app. Select the type of dynamic wallpaper you want to create. For this example, we'll create a 'Solar' wallpaper. Double-click on 'Solar' to proceed.

Step 4: Click on 'Browse' and select the images you want to use from your gallery, or drag and drop them into the app.

Step 5: You need to provide the Altitude and Azimuth values for each photo. These values determine when each image will display based on the sun's position. You can calculate them using the Sun Calculator within the app. Ideally, provide the Altitude and Azimuth corresponding to the time and location when each photo was taken, or you can use your current location to configure the wallpapers according to the sun's position where you are.

Click on the 'Calculator' option to open the Sun Calculator.

Step 6: In the Sun Calculator, adjust the location, date, and time to match when and where the photo was taken. Set the location by entering the address or using the map, choose the date, and adjust the time using the Sun timeline.

Step 7: The Altitude and Azimuth values will update in the 'Results' section based on your input. Drag and drop these values below the corresponding photo in Equinox. Repeat this process for each image you've added.

Step 8: After assigning Altitude and Azimuth values to all your images, click on the 'Create' button.

Step 9: Upon creation, you'll see options like 'Save', 'Set', and 'Share'. To apply the wallpaper immediately, click on the 'Set' button.

Step 10: To save the dynamic wallpaper file for future use or sharing, click the 'Save' button and choose your desired location. Your custom dynamic wallpaper is now set.

Step 11: You can also create 'Time' wallpapers by selecting 'Time' from the app's main menu. Add your images, and for each one, enter the specific time you'd like it to appear.

Step 12: For 'Appearance' wallpapers, select 'Appearance' from the main menu, and choose two images. The wallpapers will automatically switch between these images when your system toggles between light and dark modes.

Using Dynaper for dynamic wallpapers

Another option for creating time-shifting or appearance-shifting dynamic wallpapers is Dynaper. While it may be slightly more complex to figure out, it offers additional features like auto-detection of time in photos, support for more image formats, and a metadata viewer. However, during testing, the Solar Wizard (the tool for creating solar-shifting wallpapers) was not functioning properly, which is why it wasn't the main focus here.

With these tools, you can create as many dynamic wallpapers as you want, giving your Mac the personalized makeover it deserves.