I used loads of artwork for this wallpaper - a drawing by Julie Bell for the figure left, 4 others by Boris Vallejo seen on the right, as well as 9 other pieces of artwork for the custom logo. The letters "Spider-man" were made pixel-by-pixel and it did seem quite original to me back then. I just did not think what would happen if I resize it - that is, that pixels would disappers, as seen in the thumbnail.
The effects include a predefined mask, "outer glow" in two colours and some "shadow". Sure enough, the figure on the left was selected with the "lasso" tool. The whole thing makes your eyes bleed, right?
I remember complaining that this one took me over 3 hours to finish. Based on that, you could judge how long the previous ones took me. I recollect that I needed 20 to 30 hours for each of the two wallpapers I did in 2004. I was too young and naive in 2002, I guess.
You can see more of Bell's and Vallejo's amazing art at their website by clicking this [link] .
You can also see my other 2001-2002 wallpapers by clicking this [link] .