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Text version of the tutorial:
Tutorial: Creating a decent watermark
By KainApophysis
Downloadable Version--->[link]

This tutorial shows you how to create a decent watermark. I will be walking through all the steps, pointing out every button to press, just in case any beginners with no knowledge of Photoshop need this tutorial . Alright, on with the learning!

The first thing you need to do, is open your image in an image editing software. For this tutorial I will be using Adobe Photoshop.


Now you need to create a new layer and put it on top of the image. Do this by locating the Layers window and clicking the button that looks like a piece of paper with one of the corners folded up.

(I want to add that if you have a multi-layered image, you must be selecting the TOP layer; otherwise Photoshop will create a layer on top of the one you are selecting and not the top of the image.)

USING A BRUSH OR A PEN TABLET TO CREATE A WATERMARK.

The next couple of steps requires either a Graphics Tablet, or very good writing with a mouse, if you have neither, skip them and scroll down.

With your new layer selected, click the brush button which looks like... Well, a paint brush!

Depending on the size of your image, and how well you want your watermark to stand out, you may need to adjust the brush width diameter accordingly. Do this by clicking the down arrow next to the word "Brush:" at the top.


Picking a size you want is up to you, using the slider under the word Master Diameter will allow you to fine tune it from anywhere to 1 pixel to 2500.
(If you have a light colored image, or one with a white background, skip this step and leave the brush color black.)

With the brush selected and the size to your liking, change the color of the brush to white (if you have a light colored image, or one with a white background, skip this step and leave the brush color black). Do this by clicking the right-angle arrow.


With the white brush, draw your initials, your online alias name, or anything else with which to identify and link yourself to your image. Make sure to add the © to it to show copyright.

USING TEXT TO CREATE A WATERMARK

This part of the tutorial is for those without a pen tablet or skillful writing with a mouse.

With the top layer selected, click the Text Tool button which is a capital T.

Now choose what font, style, size, and color to use. I'd recommend a font that accents the piece, but it’s rather your personal decision. Note, that you can enter numerical values in the font window that are higher than 72.



Once you have the font you like, change the color accordingly to the image, i.e. a light font color for a dark image or a dark font color for a light image. It is recommended that you choose white or black though.

To type on your image, just click anywhere and type your initials, online alias name, or anything else with which to identify and link yourself to your image. Make sure to add the © (an easy method to do this, is to use parentheses, i.e. (C) ) to it to show copyright.

It is recommended that you choose a rather large font size and center the font in the middle of the image. Do this by clicking the Move Tool which looks like a black pointer with a four-way arrow near it. The reason for centering your watermark in the middle of the image and not to one of the corners is that art-rippers can just crop off the corner, or erase your watermark since corners are not usually paid attention to.

To move your text using the Move Tool, either click the text or anywhere else on the layer and drag it to the desired position.

ADJUSTING THE TRANSPARENCY ON YOUR WATERMARK LAYER

Let's face it, no matter how pretty your handwriting is, or what fond you used, a watermark just isn't pretty, and it takes away from the completeness of your image. Adjusting the transparency can restore this somewhat, but not completely. To change the transparency of your watermark, make sure the watermark layer is selected.

(You may rename the layer, or leave it as the default name Photoshop gave it, which would be "Layer x", x being a number. Note, this is not required.)

Click the arrow next to the word Opacity in the Layer window and move the slider to the left to increase transparency.

Of course, the amount of transparency will depend on the image and the exact position of the watermark, but I find that 10% Opacity works well. Now, you can reposition the watermark, change the font, or anything else you wish to do.

Note for those who chose handwriting: It would be a good idea for you to save your watermark layer to a different file, so that your watermarks will always be the same (for those of you whose handwriting isn't exactly the same each time, such as myself ). To do this, delete everything except the watermark layer, and save to a filename such as "Watermarktemplate". Make sure to make the file type a Photoshop Document (.psd). Of course this is not required. To add the watermark to a different image, open both the watermark file and the image file and click the Move Tool. Drag the watermark across the screen onto the Image window and Photoshop will add it to the image you wish to watermark.

I hope this tutorial is helpful to you, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask me via my Deviant Art page (links in the credits).

Credits
All images are copyrighted of KainApophysis [link]
This tutorial is copyrighted of KainApophysis [link]
MSN help is available, but I request that you ask for my email through my Deviant Art page. Security reasons.
Neither the images in this tutorial, nor the tutorial itself may be reproduced in any way without written permission from the author.



Created by   This tutorial does work, I have personally used it!

Deb




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