How To Make Watermarks

How To Make Watermarks

Simple Watermarks, which we are dealing with here, are graphics of choice "Pasted" over photos, or other graphics to add a means of I.D. for the fun of it, or to dissuade others from using it...however, some clever people bent on conversion can "erase" simple Watermarks.

Here are some samples:

I like this one for starters...nifty for placement in a web page where photos are used, and origin are uncertain.

An embossed gif...looks nice on a color background...Google around for how to emboss...we're not into it here.

This is pretty neat if the text can be customized in this fashion.

This gif graphic, made using Paint, is made to appear light so as not to be too over-powering...a procedure explained below. It can also be made to show white, or any other color.

You can make a Watermark any size you want. Suppose you catch a great picture...maybe a rare thing for you. You want to display it in your site for all to see, and copy but not without first contacting you. Let's presume outside of any monetary gain, you aren't really into "Intellectual Property", or Copy"Right"...or is it "Left", but just want email...your old on-liners have past on, and you're lonely. Here's where fun with Watermarks can be had...place a large watermark smack-dab in the center of the photo...rendering it useless.
Indicate that the particular photo, or photos can be had watermark-free, free of charge, for just requesting it. Post your email address so you can be contacted, and there you have it...some nice email.

Here's a sample:

How I created the circular text using my friend's PhotoImpact - 7.

Using PhotoImpact - 7, Click on File, New, New Image.
In dialogue box, set size of screen, and Click Okay.
Click on the "T", and click screen ( where you click the screen will begin the text ) for font-size dialoge box ( text entry box ); set font size, etc., and enter text in the view pane, Click Okay. The size of the font determines the size of the circular text...big font - big circle. Click Object, Wrap, "Select From Wrap Gallery"...select shape, ( circular is no. 23 ) and drag to screen. The text will form a circle.
With cursor in the work pane, Right Click the mouse, and Click on Copy.

Note: I use Paint alot because the things I have learned to do with Paint, I can't figure out how to do with most other graphic/photo editing applications. If I could do everything with Paint, I would...one of them is making circular text...can't be done in Paint. At this point that is all I want to do...my graphic artistry requires very little...I'm not in that business. Googling, I search for "how to" do simple things...that's how I find out...to continue:

Open "Paint", Click on Edit, then Paste. See small black dot on right of work pane halfway down, and similar dot at bottom of work pane halfway along...these dots are hard to spot, but they're there...seems like they didn't want anyone to know. Place mouse on either dot, and when double arrow appears press mouse button, and make like you're going to move the dot...read size of work pane at bottom of screen in small box extreme right.

Knowing the size of the work pane, by placing the cursor to extreme left ( read zero ) , measure in towards center...do same from top of work pane. Where two readings indicate middle place a dot...this is the center of the text circle you made...you may want to know the center, though it's not essential.

If you want a circle around the text, enlarge the work pane using the two dots mentioned above...make it a square for convenience...remember values.

Place select box around circular text, place cursor on dot you made for center, and drag to center values of new pane.

Go find values for circle...place cursor where circle should land top, and side of circular text...remember values. Place cursor where both values appear, hold down Shift Key for perfect circle, and drag circle to where it looks good.

None of this is easy to explain...most things I do with Paint I have discovered myself over the years. Relentless experimentation pays off. Actually, these postings in my Silly Puddy Galery are for me...what I manage to create isn't documented anywheres, and if I don't document it, it's gone forever...I will forget.

As promised above...how to "lighten up" a Watermark...for example, the original on the left into the graphic on the right:

We will do everything in Paint...Open Paint.

Click on File; New, and expand the screen to be a bit larger than the size of your graphic. Click on File; Save As and save as Monochorome Bitmap (*.bmp; *.dib ). Now everything is either Black, or White...no colors. On the menu at the bottom of the screen ( the one with all the little boxes with different shades of B&W, select the box from the lower row, sixth from the left, and Click with the mouse on it. Next, Click on the Icon showing the paint bucket spilling paint, and then Click on the screen. You will see alternating Black, and White pixels close spaced, filling the entire screen. Now Click on File; Save As, and save as 24-bit Bitmap (*.bmp; *.dib ). Click on Edit; Select All...then Click on Edit; Copy. Now Click on File; Open, and get your watermark graphic you made, and saved in .bmp form. On the left side of the screen you will see two colorful Icons, or Buttons...one above the other...click on the bottom one, enabling it....You can now use transparencies. Now Click on Edit; Paste. The photo will appear dark, like behind thick screening...we don't want that. Here's where we do something not revealed in the Help files. Click on the Dropper Icon ( see menu boxes on the left side of the screen ). Now, using the mouse's Right button Click on the little Black colored box menu at the bottom of the screen. Now Click on Edit; Undo...then Click on Edit again, and Paste...the photo, though covered, is lighter this time. That's because the Black pixels have become transparent. Now Click with the mouse anywheres around, and outside of the photo just to clear the dashed lines around the photo. Now Click on File; Save As ( you name it ) 256 Color Bitmap ( *.bmp; *.bmp ) file. The reason for saving it as a 256 Color Bitmap is because you may want to convert it to a GIF 89a ( *.gif )... an exportable transparent GIF to be used in a web page for instance. Paint cannot covert to this type of gif file...you will have to use another application that does...like LViewPro, or Adobe Photo Deluxe.

Without leaving Paint...we can afix Watermarks to photos/graphics using Paint quite nicely. Open the photo/graphic you want watermarked, Click on Edit> Select All> Copy, and open a New File, and Paste. This new file containing your photo/graphic is the one you will Paste your watermark on, so, Click on File> Save As> and give it a name...the original saved as original.
Now open your Watermark, Click on Edit> Select All> Edit> Copy. Open the photo/graphic you want to append the watermark to...Click on Edit> Paste. Selecting the lower of the two colorful icons on the left toolbar, then Clicking on the dropper, then Right Click on the Black square on the Color Tool Bar at the bottom left. This now makes the color Black the transparent color. Click on Edit> Undo ( this removes what you Pasted ), then Click Edit ( again )> Paste. Now you see your watermark as it should appear. Using your mouse, drag it to where you want it on the photo, or graphic, Click on File> Save, and your done. Close Paint.

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