I am interested in writing a terminal emulator program, and hopefully using QT4 or GTK(+) to handle the basic GUI functions. I am having trouble finding any information on doing this.

All I really want is to run a shell (with vim or screen for example) in a QT4 or GTK(+) window. The important things are control over the display fonts and the background (image) underneath the displayed shell text. Konsole and Gnome-terminal lack the specific features I need.

Can anyone recommend documentation, tutorials, libraries, or guides for doing this?

Edit: Before anyone asks: Yes I have explored the numerous terminal emulators available, such as konsole, gnome-terminal, etc. They don't give me what I need.

This should help you get a transparent background http://doc.trolltech.com/qq/qq16-background.html
The QTextEdit manages the fonts, check out the demos that come with QT