How to Create a Seamless Facebook Cover and Profile Picture in Adobe Photoshop

Final product image — What You’ll Be Creating

Want a new fresh look for your Facebook profile? In this tutorial, we’ll design a template to create a custom Facebook cover photo and profile picture that interact seamlessly with each other. We’re going to do this by making your profile and cover photos overlap so the two appear as one whole image. Many have tried to achieve this polished look, but they don’t always succeed due to sizing issues. Well, let’s see if we can get this right.

Feel lazy? Check out my plugin for Photoshop to get an amazing result in seconds! “Seamless Identity Action for Facebook” is a Photoshop plugin that allows you to create an eye-catching cover and profile picture for your Facebook page.

Tutorial Asset

The following asset has been used during the production of this tutorial:

Landscape photo

1. How to Create a Facebook Template

Step 1

Create a new document specifying the following options for the selected preset:

Width and Height: Specify the size of the document. Type 1630 px for width and 734 px for height.
Orientation: Specify a page orientation for the document. Select Landscape.
Color Mode: Specify a color mode for the document. Select RGB.
Resolution: Specify the fineness of detail in a bitmap image measured in pixels/inch or pixels/centimetre. Since we’re using this template for web images, the resolution is irrelevant. Keep the default resolution 72 Pixel/Inch.
Background contents: Specify a background color for the document. Select White.

Step 2

With the Rectangle Tool (U), click somewhere on the canvas to create a new 1630 x 605 px rectangle.

Open the Properties panel by selecting in the top menu Window > Properties, and set the rectangle position to 0 for X and Y axis, and then set the Stroke and the Fill to No color.

In the Layers panel, rename the layer just created by double-clicking on the layer’s name and typing “Cover Photo“.

Step 3

With the Rectangle Tool (U), click somewhere on the canvas to create a new 307 x 307 px rectangle. In the Properties panel, set its position to 38 for X and 341 for Y axis and then set the Stroke and the Fill to No color.

In the Layers panel, rename the layer just created by double-clicking on the layer’s name and typing “Profile Picture“.

Step 4

Right-click on the layer “Profile Picture” and choose Duplicate Layer and then press OK. Rename this new layer “Frame“.

Step 5

Add a new Layer Style to the “Frame” layer by double-clicking on the layer, outside the layer name or thumbnail.

Add a new Stroke effect. This outlines the object on the current layer using color, a gradient, or a pattern.

Set Size to 8 px, Position to Outside, and Fill Type to White Color. Keep Opacity to 100% and Blend Mode to Normal.

Now add a new Drop Shadow. This adds a shadow that falls behind the contents on the layer. Set Blend Mode to Normal, Color Black, Opacity 22 px, Distance 0, Spread 100%, Size 10 px. Keep the other options like the image below:

Step 6

Select the layer “Profile Picture” and then with the Rectangle Tool (U) click somewhere on the canvas to create a new 1630 x 129 px rectangle. In the Properties panel, set its position to 0 for X and 605 for Y axis and then set the shape Fill to White and the Stroke to No color.

Rename this new layer “Base“.

Step 7

Select the layer “Profile Picture” and choose in the top menu Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color. Press OK and choose any color. Rename this layer “Fill“.

Step 8

Now we’re going to add some new anchor points to modify the path.

In the Layers panel, select the layer “Base” and then, to select the path, choose the Path Selection tool, and click anywhere inside the path component.

Selecting a path component or path segment displays all of the anchor points on the selected portion. Selected anchor points appear as filled squares and unselected anchor points as hollow squares.

Select the Add Anchor Point Tool.

To add an anchor point, position the pointer over the path segment and click. Add four anchor points like the image below:

Step 9

Select the Convert Point Tool and click on each of the four points we just created to convert them.

Step 10

Select the Direct Selection Tool.

Click on point 2 and drag the segment to its new position behind the frame. Do the same with point 3. Now the path of the “Base” layer should be similar to this:

Step 11

Double-click on the “Base” layer, outside the layer name or thumbnail, and add a new Layer Style. Add a new Drop Shadow, setting the Blend Mode to Normal, Opacity to 35%, Color to Black, Angle to 90°, Distance to 0 px, Spread to 40%, and Size to 200 px.

Step 12

Now we need to edit the “Base” effect separately from the layer. To do this, we can ask Photoshop to put the layer style on its own separate layer (or layers if necessary). Click on the “Base” layer, and then move down your mouse on the “Drop Shadow” effect, open the contextual menu by right-clicking on it, and choose Create Layers. Your effect will now appear on its own layer beneath the “Base” layer.

A message may alert you that: “Some aspects of the Effects cannot be reproduced with layers“. If so, press OK.

Step 13

In the Layers panel, select the layer just created. For an English version of Photoshop, its name should be “Base’s Drop Shadow“. With the layer selected, Command-Click (Mac) on the thumbnail of the layer “Frame” to select the shape.

Step 14

Our purpose now is to delete the shadow inside the profile picture frame. Choose Edit > Cut (Command-X) and deselect by choosing Select > Deselect.

Step 15

Select the layers “Base’s Drop Shadow“, “Base“, and “Frame“. To select multiple contiguous layers, click the “Frame” layer and then Shift-click the “Base’s Drop Shadow” layer.

Right-click on one of the layers and select “Merge Layers” to combine them all into one.

Step 16

It’s time to save our progress. Choose File > Save As. Choose the PSD format from the Format menu. Specify a filename (Facebook-Frame.psd) and location and click Save.

Your Facebook frame is ready! Go forward and discover how to add a photo to the Facebook frame, and save a new ready-to-upload profile picture and cover photo!