Finding the perfect wallpaper for your desktop and smartphone can be fruitless, so why not create your own wallpaper instead? Once you figure out how to do this, you can quickly create attractive wallpapers.
In this tutorial, we’ll be using Canva, an online service that lets you create graphics for free. Professional features are available, but you can create your own wallpapers without paying, without any major restrictions.
Visit Canva to get started, then sign up. From there, you can follow the guide below to create your own wallpaper for your desktop or smartphone.
Use Canva to create your own custom backgrounds
Once you sign up, you will be asked to choose why you are using Canva. Select Personal. Click “Maybe Later†in the upper right corner of the next card to skip signing up for Canva Pro.
You will then be prompted to start your first design. Enter wallpaper and you will be able to choose wallpaper for your desktop or phone. Choose an option here. You can always come back to this page later.
It’s time to get familiar with Canva’s user interface. The blank white space on the screen is an area that you can use to create your own wallpaper. This is your blank canvas. You can use the tools on the left to add elements, photos and text to spice up the wallpaper.
If you want something simple, you can choose one of the templates in the templates section. You can even search for specific words and topics. Let’s say you want a peaceful scene. You can enter a character and the corresponding results will appear.
In any template you add, you can click elements to change them. For example, click the text to change the font, color, or text. You can click and drag items to move them.
Or click and drag the borders to adjust the size. Or click and drag the rotation icon to rotate the element.
Whether you’re choosing a template or starting from scratch, you’ll want to add your own elements too. Pay attention to the user interface on the left side of the screen. From top to bottom, we have photos, items, text, videos, backgrounds, downloads, and folders.
Most people might be interested in uploading their own images and content, so choose the upload option. From here, you can drag and drop files from your computer.
As you upload files, you will see thumbnails of each file in the upload bar. Then you can click and drag these thumbnails onto the blank canvas. Once added, you can click and drag to adjust the dimensions.
Keep in mind that the default resolution for wallpaper is 1920 × 1080 for desktop and 1080 × 1920 for smartphone, so you can choose photos that match those resolutions.
If you want a wallpaper in a different resolution, just click the Resize button at the top and then select Custom Sizes. Enter the dimensions you want and click Resize or Copy and Resize.
To find wallpaper patterns again, simply search for wallpaper in the search box.
After that, it’s time to add more detail to the wallpaper. If you want to add shapes, lines, or other graphics, start with the Elements tab. You can scroll through each category or use the search bar to find specific items.
Clicking on any of the elements will add it to your image. As you add items and photos, take a look at the bar at the top. You can use this to remove, reposition, add transparency, duplicate or lock items in place.
Pay attention to the pink lines as you add elements. They are used to help you align each element with each other. Once the element is aligned, it snaps into place slightly to help you place everything in the right place.
Text is another tool you’ll want to master. You can add text as a heading, subheading, or body of text, or choose font combinations.
With font combinations, you essentially add a font template that matches the designs shown in the sketches. There are dozens of font templates out there, so you can get something really out of the ordinary with minimal effort.
When you add a template, you can use the tools at the top to edit the font, color, and font size. If you can’t find a font template you like, you can still manually do it with subheadings, headings, and body text options.
With the text tools at the top of the page, you can easily create beautiful designs for your wallpapers. When you’re done with the design, it’s time to download and add it to your device.
Click the Download button in the upper right corner, then click Download again from the drop-down menu.
If you are on Windows, you can right-click the downloaded file and select Set as Desktop Background. On a Mac, you can right-click a photo in the Photos app, click Share, and then click Set Desktop Image.
For Android and iOS, you must first transfer the file to your smartphone and then set it as your desktop background or lock screen in the settings menu. If at any point you want to make changes, Canva will automatically save your designs so you can go back and make changes and then upload them again.
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