Create a Psychedelic iPhone Cover

If you are tired of paying good money for the same old bland iPhone 4 case designs one finds these days then why not create your own psychedelic iphone case that you can be pretty sure that no one else has. This is a cheap way to keep your phone looking cool and allows you to change it anytime you feel like without having to pay for a new case each time. 

To do this trick you will need the following :

• a clear iphone case ( any will do but I recommend the clearest you can find for best results )
• a printer 
• glossy photo print paper ( not 100% necessary but it does give a nice finish )
• your desired favorite psychedelic image in digital format
• image software such as GIMP, Photoshop, Painter etc. 
• an iPhone case image template

For the iPhone template I use one created by Ahoodie.com 

Download iPhone 4 back cover template in .PDF

Download iPhone 4 back cover template in .PNG

Download iPhone 4 back cover template for Photoshop

Download iPhone 4 back cover template for Illustrator 

Once you have all that in order here is what you do :

Step 1 

Open the case image template.

Open the image you want to use as your case design. I have used an image created by Android Jones. Check out his website for some incredible artwork.

Here I have the template in one tab and the image I want to print in a new tab

Step 2 

Select the template image tab.

Select the magic wand tool ( most popular image programs should have one ).

Click inside the template area to select the template without select the black and red lines. You may need to lower the magic wand thresh hold attribute to do this effectively.

Using the magic wand to select an area

Step 3

With the template area now selected, go back to the image you want to print and copy it to the clipboard ( Select All, Copy )

Now go back to the template tab and select "paste into" from the the edit menu. This will paste your image into the template ( see image below ). Note that the black border and red dotted line in the top left corner are still visible - you want to keep it this way. The red line will but cut along to provide a space for your iPhone's camera.

Image pasted into iPhone template

Step 4

After pasting the image you will need to move it around until it is in the position you like. You can do this with the selection move tool. In GIMP it is the cross looking icon ( see selected icon in image below ) . 

Once you have everything looking good it is now time to print.

Image centered and ready to print

Step 5

Printing the image may require a few trial runs until you get it perfectly the way you want it. I suggest printing onto regular printer paper first until you are happy with the print results. Once your are satisfied, load your printer with some glossy photo print paper. I use premium postcard size glossy paper. It costs me about $6 USD for a pack of 60 sheets. Not too bad.

Image printed on postcard size photo glossy paper

Step 6

Next you need to cut out the image using the template guidelines. First cut around the outside of the black border that surrounds the image. Go slow and be careful not to cut too far into the image. I cut right on the outer edge of the black border so that no white paper shows in the final cutout. 

Once you have cut around the border you need to cut along the red guidelines to allow for a space that the iPhone's camera can use. 

You should now have something resembling this :

Looking good ... 

Step 7 

All that is left to do now is to place the image inside the the clear plastic iPhone case and attach it to the back of your phone as you would any other case. The printed image sits between the phone and the case. 

A new iPhone case ready to go !

And there you have - a new iPhone case that is totally upgradeable anytime you like. Use your favorite album cover, painting, logo or original design and as soon as your get tired of just print something else ! If you make any cool psychedelic cases then send me a photo - would love to see them and share here on the blog. 

Cheers ...