Where to begin?

Well the first thing you need to know are the maximum dimensions allowed for your Facebook profile photo. Facebook displays your profile images at a maximum 200 x 600px. If you upload an image larger then these dimensions then Facebook will automatically resize and crop your image to fit their layout.

The trick I am going to show you today is nothing new or groundbreaking, but its a fun way to break out of the creative box Facebook has placed all of us in. Ill show you how to create the background in three easy steps.

Step 1

Creat a new document in Photoshop with a width of 200px and height of 600px. Fill the background layer with white.

Step 2

Next we need to create the top of our image which sits 52px above the thin 1px gray border. We will use this area to give the illusion that we are breaking out of the box.

Select the Rectangular Marque Tool (M) and create a selection 200 x 52px and fill this selection with #edeff4.

Step 3

Now select the Single Row Marque Tool and create the 1px border below the previous step. Fill this selection with #dee3ed. Name this layer background.

All that is left to do now is find a nice picture of whatever you like and overlay the image on top of our background layer.

Here is a screen shot from one of my profile images. I simply used a variety of grungy brushes on a layer mask to remove some of the image background. You can see that my head extends past the border and allows me to break from the page.

The trickiest part is isolating your image but never fear below is a video tutorial on how to use the Extract filter in Photoshop. Also I suggest you watch a video from a preivious post: How To Replace Your Digital Backdrops for your Digital Portrait Photography.

There are a ton of different ways to remove your subject from a background, but experiment with different techniques and have fun with the process. Not all techniques work on all images. Ultimately your image will dictate what method you should use or combination of methods.

Here is the PSD file for you to play with! Facebook Profile Picture Background PSD file

Remember have fun and feel free to share you background removal tips and screen shots of your Facebook profile photos below.

Have a look at our pricing to create a Stylized Vector Profile Portrait from your photo.

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1. Stylized Facebook Profile Portrait
2. Stylized Social Media Profile Portrait
3. 5 Free Digital Backgrounds for Your Creative Needs

Within a few days, you can have a unique stylized digital avatar for inclusion to all of your favorite websites! Simply submit your photo to our Order Now page or email it to jason@photointopainting.com and I will create a one of a kind vector illustration from your photograph.

The digital avatar above was created for use on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, and Flickr to name a few.

Visit our Stylized Facebook Profile Portrait article to read more about the process and to view other examples.

• How to Order
• Pricing
• Order Now

Related posts:

1. Stylized Facebook Profile Portrait
2. How to Make a Creative Facebook Profile Photo
3. Step 1: Choose Your Style and Print

Your profile picture is your online identity. In today’s digital social and professional reality, your profile picture is your first chance to make a good impression. With over 250 million users on Facebook alone and an average of 120 friends per user, a unique profile photo is a fun way to stand out from the crowd and showcase your personality. A stylized profile portrait is a mini piece of art that immediately grabs viewers’ attention amid hundreds of standard snapshots uploaded by other users.

Photo Into Painting will take your favorite photograph and transform it into a unique stylized portrait using the latest vector illustration techniques. We will work with you to create a perfect mini portrait for you to share with all your social networking sites. Once you have approved the final version of your stylized portrait, we will email you a 500 X 500 pixel file in jpeg format — the accepted format for all popular social media websites.

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Original Picture

Stylized Facebook Profile Portrait

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1. Stylized Social Media Profile Portrait
2. How to Make a Creative Facebook Profile Photo
3. Step 1: Choose Your Style and Print

So what style to choose?

Some photographs lend themselves quite well to a particular style of painting. If the style and composition of the photograph is very loose and airy, it may look best painted as a watercolor printed on fine art paper. On the other hand, if you’re going for a formal, high-end, traditional portrait look, you’ll most likely want to make the finished product look like an oil painting. The best presentation for this style is a gallery wrap canvas.

By no means are these guidelines solid. These are general guiding principles that we use when deciding how to approach a project. Please feel free to email your images to us, and I will be happy to help you decide which style to choose.

So why digital painting?

Unlike traditional media, painting digitally allows the artist to mix and combine media that could never be combined with their traditional counterparts–for example, you can literally mix oil (paint) and water (color).

Fine Art Products

Our Fine Art products are printed with large format inkjet printers on several unique materials – Fine Art Paper, Fine Art Canvas and Gallery Wrap Canvas. The Fine Art Paper, Canvas and Gallery Wraps are a great way to showcase a more artistic style with impressionistic artwork, like oil and watercolor.

Fine Art Paper

Fine Art Paper

Fine Art paper is similar in look and feel to watercolor paper, and it is a great alternative for fiber-based printing. This paper is more fragile than traditional photographic prints and must be handled and displayed with care. Standard sizes range from 11×14 to 30×40.

Gallery Wraps

Gallery Wraps

Fine Art Canvas

Fine Art Canvas

We print directly on our Fine Art Canvas material, an industry standard. Canvas sizes range from
11×14 to 30×40.

Stylized Profile Portraits

Stylized Facebook Profile Portrait

Our stylized Facebook profile portraits are a unique way to create and build your online identity. Using the latest vector illustration techniques, Photo Into Painting creates a realistic 500 x 500 pixel digital representation of yourself. Once you receive your .jpg file, you will be able to upload your image to all of your favorite online social media networks.

Everyone has an online picture of themselves, why not stand out from the crowd with a unique work of digital art.

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