Create A Wallpaper For Your Phone

Tools: Photoshop (or any other image editing tool).

Most of the phone nowadays support the capability to add your own wallpaper. You can take a picture with the built-in camera, but that will end up giving you something that is probably not as nice, as the picture found on the web of that model you have been in love for the past 10 years. So, the question is, how to make that picture a wallpaper for your phone?

1. You will have to find the screen resolution of your phone. For this example, I will use the ultra famous iPhone and the Sony Ericsson P1i, but this applies to any other phone as well. Doing a Google search of “iPhone screen resolution”, it took me to http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html. For the P1i, it took me to http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/specifications/p1i?cc=us&lc=en.

iPhone = 320 x 480
P1i = 240×320

2. Now launch your favorite image editing tool. I will use Adobe’s Photoshop. Go to File –> New. Fill the fields with the following information:

iPhone:
Name = iPhone Wallpaper, Preset=Custom
Width = 320 pixels, Height = 480 pixels
Resolution = 72 pixels/inch, Color Mode = RGB 8 bit
The rest stays as is. Save the Preset with the name iPhone Wallpaper.

P1i:
Name = P1i Wallpaper, Preset=Custom
Width = 240 pixels, Height = 320 pixels
Resolution = 72 pixels/inch, Color Mode = RGB 8 bit
The rest stays as is. Save the Preset with the name P1i Wallpaper.

3. You will end up with a white box. Open that graphic you want to transform into a wallpaper: File –> Open. For this example, I will use the graphic in the following link: http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/downloads/01623_stoporillshoot_1024×768.jpg.

4. Go to Select –> All. Go to Edit –> Copy. Now click on the window with the white box and go to Edit –> Paste. You can close your original graphic.

5. Now onto the tweaking. Firs go to Edit –> Free Transform. Change the size, position and angles until you are satified. You can also add your own text or effects.

6. Now that you are done, you will save your file as jpg. Go to File –> Save for Web… In the preset box select JPEG High. Now click Save.

7. That file will need to be transferred into your phone. The methods are different but very easy, check your phone’s manual on how to do it. Once the file is in your phone, open it and use it as your wallpaper.