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How to add a watermark to your pictures
This is a basic, but detailed, tutorial on how to add a watermark to your picture to keep others from claiming it as their own.
First off, what is a watermark? A watermark is a code embedded into digital material that can be used to establish ownership, may be visible or invisible to the user.
The program that will be used in this demonstration is Paint.NET (basically a free, dumbed down version of Photoshop, but still a powerful picture editor for the price) is available free of charge and can be downloaded from http://www.getpaint.net/download.html
Screenshot of the Paint.NET download page
Click on the circled green "Download Now" box. This will take you to the Download Now page to download the program.
Screenshot of the Download.com download page for the Paint.NET program
After you click on the Download Now button, the download will begin. The easiest way to install the program is to save it to your Desktop so it will be easy to find. Once it is downloaded, double click on the icon to begin the program installation. Once you have the program installed, start the program by either double clicking on the newly created Desktop icon or accessing it though your Start Menu in the Programs tab.
Once the program is open, you can open the picture you want to add a watermark to by either using the shortcut "Ctrl + O" or using the "File --> Open" menu tab in the upper-left hand corner of the program.
Here is the picture I will be using in the demonstration
The next step is to create a new layer. This allows the text to be added to the image, without actually being on the picture itself. This enables you to alter the text without altering the image. Let's go ahead and create a new layer by going to "Layers --> Add New Layer" (Ctrl + Shift + N).
Screenshot of the Add New Layer button
You have just created a new layer, named Layer 2. You will see a box on the right side of the program named "Layers." You will have the Background layer on the bottom, and Layer 2 on top. You want the new layer on top so the text will actually be on top of your image. Makes sense, right?
Now to add the text, or watermark, to the image. To do that, you need to get to the Text option. To do this, go towards the upper-left part of the program to where it says "Tool." Click the little arrow, go down to "Text" and click it.
Screenshot of the Text option
Once you click on the Text option, this will bring up the Text Toolbar right above your picture.
Screenshot of the Text Toolbar's Location
Here you can select your font, font size, and formatting options such as Bold Text, Italicized Text, or Underlined Text. If you want or need to change the text color, before you start to type the text, look towards the bottom-left part of the program. That is you color selection box. Your Primary color (default is black) will be the color of your text. Now it is time to get the text onto the picture. Once you are using the text tool, wherever you click on the picture, is where the text is going to going to start. In my case, I chose a lighter section of the picture so I could easily see what was being typed. I had a high resolution photo with large dimensions, so I needed a very large font size to cover the picture. You will want your text to cover your entire image so no one else can just crop your watermark out of the picture. Once you type your text, you can use the 4-pointed arrow at the bottom right of the text to move your text around. After you have typed it and moved it, you can now click off of the text to move onto the next step. A word of caution here: once you click off of the text, you cannot go back and edit the format of the text (i.e.- color, font, font size...). If you make a mistake, you must undo your "actions" under the "Edit" tab until the text is gone. You can then redo your text. If it is a placement error, you can fix that. I will explain that later.
Here is what mine looked like with the text typed and in place
If you have two layers, and your text looks how you want it and is where you want it, you are ready to move on.
*Optional Step* Rotating the text if need be or if you want to. I chose to rotate mine so the text didn't just simply cover the object/focus of the picture. If you would like to do this, here we go. If not, read ahead to the next step. In order to do this, we need to go to the Rotate/Zoom option for our text layer (Layer 2). To get there, go to "Layer --> Rotate/Zoom" (Ctrl + Shift + Z). This will bring up the Rotation/Zoom box.
Rotate/Zoom Option
Rotate/Zoom Box
With this box, you can rotate the text, twist it, pan it (this is one of the places you can move your text around a bit and get it exactly where you want it.), or zoom the text in/out to make it bigger or smaller. I simply rotated mine 25 degrees. Feel free to mess around a bit here. It will preview your changes on the picture behind this box and you can reset everything with the Reset All button or cancel your changes and start over.
Also, the other way to move your text around is to click on the white arrow with the + sign on the bottom of it. This will allow you to "grab" your text layer and move it around.
Picture with Text Rotated
Now onto the last text editing part of this tutorial, the text opacity. This is where you will fade the text so it does not take away from the picture, but leaves your mark visible. Onto the Layer Properties. "Layers --> Layer Properties" (F4).
Layer Properties
Layer Properties Box
You are concerned with the Opacity option. Use your mouse to grab onto that slider and move it on down until the text has faded enough not to take away from your picture, but still be visible.
Here is my text faded over the picture
There is only one final step to making this a savable picture. Remember, you have 2 layers. We need to get that to one, and it is really easy. Simply go to "Image --> Flatten" (Ctrl + Shift + X). You should now notice there is only one layer again (layer box on the right), Background.
Flattened (Merged) Image
While here, you can also resize the picture. To do this, go to "Image --> Resize" (Crtl +R).
Image Resize
Image Resize Box
You can either reduce the image by a specified %, or manually change the dimensions. Keep the "Maintain Aspect Ration" box checked if you want the program to keep your image in proportion automatically. Once you enter a new value into either the width or height box, the correct value for the other option will automatically be change. Click OK to accept. Now your image is resized and has a watermark on it!
Remember: Make sure when you go to save the file, use the "Save As..." option to rename your picture. This will prevent you from saving over your original copy of the picture. If you do, there is no fixing it. Here's a tip: When I edit a picture, I like to copy the original and edit the copy so if something like that does happen, I did not ruin the original picture!
Final Image
Written by Tyler Clegg (roushtage2) for Meguiar's Online Forums. If you find any errors, please let me know so that I can get them fixed! Thanks!
This is a basic, but detailed, tutorial on how to add a watermark to your picture to keep others from claiming it as their own.
First off, what is a watermark? A watermark is a code embedded into digital material that can be used to establish ownership, may be visible or invisible to the user.
The program that will be used in this demonstration is Paint.NET (basically a free, dumbed down version of Photoshop, but still a powerful picture editor for the price) is available free of charge and can be downloaded from http://www.getpaint.net/download.html
Screenshot of the Paint.NET download page
Click on the circled green "Download Now" box. This will take you to the Download Now page to download the program.
Screenshot of the Download.com download page for the Paint.NET program
After you click on the Download Now button, the download will begin. The easiest way to install the program is to save it to your Desktop so it will be easy to find. Once it is downloaded, double click on the icon to begin the program installation. Once you have the program installed, start the program by either double clicking on the newly created Desktop icon or accessing it though your Start Menu in the Programs tab.
Once the program is open, you can open the picture you want to add a watermark to by either using the shortcut "Ctrl + O" or using the "File --> Open" menu tab in the upper-left hand corner of the program.
Here is the picture I will be using in the demonstration
The next step is to create a new layer. This allows the text to be added to the image, without actually being on the picture itself. This enables you to alter the text without altering the image. Let's go ahead and create a new layer by going to "Layers --> Add New Layer" (Ctrl + Shift + N).
Screenshot of the Add New Layer button
You have just created a new layer, named Layer 2. You will see a box on the right side of the program named "Layers." You will have the Background layer on the bottom, and Layer 2 on top. You want the new layer on top so the text will actually be on top of your image. Makes sense, right?
Now to add the text, or watermark, to the image. To do that, you need to get to the Text option. To do this, go towards the upper-left part of the program to where it says "Tool." Click the little arrow, go down to "Text" and click it.
Screenshot of the Text option
Once you click on the Text option, this will bring up the Text Toolbar right above your picture.
Screenshot of the Text Toolbar's Location
Here you can select your font, font size, and formatting options such as Bold Text, Italicized Text, or Underlined Text. If you want or need to change the text color, before you start to type the text, look towards the bottom-left part of the program. That is you color selection box. Your Primary color (default is black) will be the color of your text. Now it is time to get the text onto the picture. Once you are using the text tool, wherever you click on the picture, is where the text is going to going to start. In my case, I chose a lighter section of the picture so I could easily see what was being typed. I had a high resolution photo with large dimensions, so I needed a very large font size to cover the picture. You will want your text to cover your entire image so no one else can just crop your watermark out of the picture. Once you type your text, you can use the 4-pointed arrow at the bottom right of the text to move your text around. After you have typed it and moved it, you can now click off of the text to move onto the next step. A word of caution here: once you click off of the text, you cannot go back and edit the format of the text (i.e.- color, font, font size...). If you make a mistake, you must undo your "actions" under the "Edit" tab until the text is gone. You can then redo your text. If it is a placement error, you can fix that. I will explain that later.
Here is what mine looked like with the text typed and in place
If you have two layers, and your text looks how you want it and is where you want it, you are ready to move on.
*Optional Step* Rotating the text if need be or if you want to. I chose to rotate mine so the text didn't just simply cover the object/focus of the picture. If you would like to do this, here we go. If not, read ahead to the next step. In order to do this, we need to go to the Rotate/Zoom option for our text layer (Layer 2). To get there, go to "Layer --> Rotate/Zoom" (Ctrl + Shift + Z). This will bring up the Rotation/Zoom box.
Rotate/Zoom Option
Rotate/Zoom Box
With this box, you can rotate the text, twist it, pan it (this is one of the places you can move your text around a bit and get it exactly where you want it.), or zoom the text in/out to make it bigger or smaller. I simply rotated mine 25 degrees. Feel free to mess around a bit here. It will preview your changes on the picture behind this box and you can reset everything with the Reset All button or cancel your changes and start over.
Also, the other way to move your text around is to click on the white arrow with the + sign on the bottom of it. This will allow you to "grab" your text layer and move it around.
Picture with Text Rotated
Now onto the last text editing part of this tutorial, the text opacity. This is where you will fade the text so it does not take away from the picture, but leaves your mark visible. Onto the Layer Properties. "Layers --> Layer Properties" (F4).
Layer Properties
Layer Properties Box
You are concerned with the Opacity option. Use your mouse to grab onto that slider and move it on down until the text has faded enough not to take away from your picture, but still be visible.
Here is my text faded over the picture
There is only one final step to making this a savable picture. Remember, you have 2 layers. We need to get that to one, and it is really easy. Simply go to "Image --> Flatten" (Ctrl + Shift + X). You should now notice there is only one layer again (layer box on the right), Background.
Flattened (Merged) Image
While here, you can also resize the picture. To do this, go to "Image --> Resize" (Crtl +R).
Image Resize
Image Resize Box
You can either reduce the image by a specified %, or manually change the dimensions. Keep the "Maintain Aspect Ration" box checked if you want the program to keep your image in proportion automatically. Once you enter a new value into either the width or height box, the correct value for the other option will automatically be change. Click OK to accept. Now your image is resized and has a watermark on it!
Remember: Make sure when you go to save the file, use the "Save As..." option to rename your picture. This will prevent you from saving over your original copy of the picture. If you do, there is no fixing it. Here's a tip: When I edit a picture, I like to copy the original and edit the copy so if something like that does happen, I did not ruin the original picture!
Final Image
Written by Tyler Clegg (roushtage2) for Meguiar's Online Forums. If you find any errors, please let me know so that I can get them fixed! Thanks!
As others have mentioned I understood it. Thank you very much.
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