Hi everyone!
Today I have something a little different for you! I became very aware recently (thanks to you guys!) that many of my photos are being used on Instagram and other photo sharing sites without any credit given to me and with my watermark cropped out. This saddens me greatly that anyone would purposefully crop out a watermark. So I set about making my photos less vulnerable.
You may remember that I used to add my watermark along the edge of my pinky, but since discovering how easy that is to crop out, I opted to make the change to the curved-around-the cuticle watermark.
Since doing that, I've received several emails asking how to create this type of watermark, and since it's extraordinarily hard to explain without visual aid, I decided to create a step-by-step tutorial to show you all how to do it! First there's a full picture tutorial and then I've also included a video that shows me going through all of the steps.
Note: I use the GIMP program, which is a free downloadable image manipulation program. I recently got Photoshop, but I'm so used to GIMP now that I haven't even tried using Photoshop for this.
Note 2: It's in your best interest to enlarge the photos to better see all the small details.
Note 3: This post is incredibly picture-heavy, so be prepared.
Note 4: Yes I have a leopard print desktop wallpaper. Are you even a little surprised?
Keep reading for the tutorial!
Step 1: Open GIMP. It has 3 main windows - the toolbox on the left side, the image window in the middle and the layers window on the right.
How to fix it: This just means that when you created your text box, you created it too large. In GIMP, there's actually no need to create a text box. Instead, once you've selected the text tool, you can just click anywhere on the picture and start typing. The size of your text determines the size of the box and it automatically adjusts itself. So don't actually create a square text box to type in and your problem will be solved.
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I hope this tutorial has been helpful! Honestly, if this tutorial helps to stop even just one photo from going uncredited, it was more than worth the time that went into it. :)
Monday, January 28, 2013
69 comments:
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Dr. Nail PolishJanuary 28, 2013 at 8:17 PM
Thanks so much! I've wanted to start up my blog for so long now but I couldn't bring myself to post pictures without a watermark and I haven't had the time to figure it out!
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Nancy - LeeJanuary 28, 2013 at 10:46 PMWOW! This is amazing! Thank you for sharing!
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xoxo
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MayaJanuary 31, 2013 at 10:11 PM
I cannot figure out how to do this, I'm so frustrated...I'm sure its just the version of GIMP I have or something. I am SO stuck on step 7- where you click 'text along path'. My GIMP does not have that button! Maybe i'm doing something wrong???
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Do you know what's wrong with it?
thanks so much -
Sunandha VJanuary 31, 2013 at 11:56 PM
Thanks so much for this blog post. I needed this tutorial so much.
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JessicaFebruary 11, 2013 at 9:23 PM
Kayla, I am stuck at step 11. After I select it will not let me color in with the paintbrush. In addition, my text along path doesn't look rainbowy-- it's more of a reddish color with white filling. I'm not sure if that affects it.
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My text along the path is also much smaller and is not legible at a normal size.
Any ideas on how to fix those issues? Thanks so much! -
AralosseienFebruary 23, 2013 at 1:23 PM
Thanks so much for this tutorial - commands are slightly different on the windows version but I figured them out! :)
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Polished PiscesFebruary 24, 2013 at 8:30 PM
Great tutorial but man this is so much work i just want to cry im not that invested in keeping someone from stealing my photos.
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Shilpa GandotraMarch 3, 2013 at 12:36 PMgreat tutorial - I do have one question though - since the watermark is added as a layer I think there are tools out there that can remove the layer and provide the image without the watermark - to someone who is trying to reuse your image without giving you credit. Just thought I'd share that - I may be wrong but that is my current understanding of watermarks added as separate layers.
Nice tutorial and I'm sure it has helped a lot of people - just like your lovely nail art tutorials :)
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Shilpa GandotraMarch 22, 2013 at 4:33 AM
thanks, I finally tried this out and yes it does seem like a lot of work but it works! Will use this more often now to get a hang of it. Still not sure of how to save it as a jpeg though.
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Shilpa GandotraMarch 22, 2013 at 4:34 AM
ok just found that out - use the File->Export instead of save if you want to use jpeg
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Kayla ShevonneMay 2, 2013 at 7:21 PM
Kas is right, GIMP allows you to merge layers, so that's an option for anyone who wants to do so. I'll probably work that into my own watermarking routine just to keep things even safer. Thanks for the tip!
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IngridMarch 4, 2013 at 7:03 AM
Loved the tutorial!
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I downloaded gimp and followed the steps correctly and it worked!
It took me to get to do the first time, because I'm not familiar with the program.
But I managed and I am very happy!
I put the link of your site here below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ingridfp/8526659488/in/photostream
Thanks for the help!
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Shilpa GandotraMarch 22, 2013 at 4:34 AM
you should use File->Export to save as jpeg - just found this out :)
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Kayla ShevonneMay 2, 2013 at 7:19 PM
Yes GIMP may save your file as a ".xcf" file, which is a GIMP file that allows you to open your image and its layers in GIMP. You can export the file, as Shila has pointed out, or when you click "Save As", just change the file type to .jpg. You'll then get a prompt saying that you have to export the file in order for it to be a jpg image. Click yes and you should be good to go.
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Katie ZieglerApril 29, 2013 at 10:51 PM
I can't even tell you how much this has helped me! I was using GIMP and watermarking in one of the four corners. It looked terrible and the watermark would have been easy to crop out. Now my pictures actually look better and they're safer! I mentioned your tutorial in my latest post (scheduled to publish at midnight) and added a link to this page. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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Anita MydailynaildesignsAugust 22, 2013 at 2:09 PMafter a lot of headache i gave up lol. I do curved tect too but its my own generated way .... u really explained nicely but i don't know the software i downloaded is not having same interface as shown here so yup .... still i loved your blog, i am following u everywhere so that i dont miss anything ! :)
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bellabellNovember 18, 2013 at 11:12 AM
Photoshop
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is the most important tool from any respectable designer’s toolbox and without
it, your chances to create a stunning design is very limited. Photoshop Free. -
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jennifer loopJanuary 11, 2015 at 5:22 AM
My goodnes you really have a nice tutorial, i love all yout tutorial on photoshop as i cannot afford any photoshop i am using alternative to Photoshop Online Free if you can make any tuts on toolpic that will be great and wi wil be very thankful to you thanks
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John KingJanuary 16, 2015 at 6:34 AM
Hi...
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I would like to let you know that i am impressed from your this amazing tutorial. I am expecting more stuff from you in the future. I am using photoshop free in order to edit my photos. -
That is an awful lot of work! Thank you for showing this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing this. After searching for weeks I finally found an app that can do this for on the fly editing (not sure if its available for Android...sorry). It's called "TypeDrawing." You are supposed to "draw with text" over a photo and then take the photo away for a neat typographical image....but it works great for watermarking in non-straight lines. It's a little trickey to get it at the right curve, but with some practice and a stylus for a smart phone and it's not too bad.
ReplyDeleteWow I cannot express how useful this is!! I didnt know how to do that in GIMP!! so much help here, much appreciated Kayla! I'll be sure to to this since im afraid my pictures will be cropped since I put my water mark at the bottom! Many thanks again :)
ReplyDeleteYou're so welcome!
DeleteI downloaded GIMP once and had no sweet clue how to use it so I deleted it and downloaded a "visual watermark" program... unfortunately that program could only watermark in straight lines. Thanks so much for showing how to do this!! I'll be trying this for my photos from now on!
ReplyDeleteI used to have one of those watermark programs as well! Oddly, it would always alter the colours in my photos when saving the new watermarked photo, so I just gave up on it. GIMP takes some getting used to, but now that I'm acquainted with it, I love it!
DeleteAmazing post, I have GIMP to, but I never tried the curved watermark.
ReplyDeleteKiss
Thank you for this awesome tutorial. I have been frustrated with my watermark because I find it too big yet easy to remove. This will be of enormous help.
ReplyDeleteI actually think it is a ton easier to do this in Photoshop if you know how to use it! But thanks for the tutorial.
ReplyDeleteThat might be true, but I think that since GIMP is a free program, it's slightly more accessible than Photoshop, which not everyone has. I will have to finally open up Photoshop and give this is a try using Photoshop, though!
DeleteThanks for this! I've been wondering how people do this!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this tutorial. I downloaded Gimp once but didn't really know how to use it, so I might try it again. I ended up buying Photoshop Elements and that's what I use right now. I like Elements for most things, but I was disappointed to find out that it doesn't do curved watermarks. You can type along a path, but because Elements doesn't have a vector tool, the path is never 100% smooth, and the text ends up wonky (if that makes sense).
ReplyDeleteThank for the tutorial! I do however have a bit of an issue. I have been trying to do this for at least half an hour, and maybe there's a step I'm missing, but no matter what font, or size I choose, my letters are off the path setting. Rather than hugging the cuticle or nail where I put the path, they're a few centimeters away from the line, and overlapping onto the other nails. Any idea why that's happening?
ReplyDeleteHmm. No I'm not sure. Would you mind sending me a screenshot of the problem? I might be able to figure it out if I have a visual. My email is
DeleteThink I got it figured out :) Thank you though!!! :) :)
DeleteGreat! :)
DeleteOk, I lied, lol. Guess I didn't get it figured out. Email on the way.
DeleteMine does the same thing, if you figure it out please let me know :)
DeleteOk, I think I figured it out. If you make the text box really big (lots of space around the text) when you apply the text to the path it will add the extra space. If you make the text box fit tight around the text, you don't get that problem and it should hug the cuticle better. (At least that's what worked for me).
DeleteInteresting! And I think that may actually be the source of the problem! Thanks rewdoesnails!
DeleteHowever, as an FYI to you both, you don't actually have to create the text box like you would in other image manipulation programs. Once you select the text tool, you can just click anywhere in the picture and start typing. The size of your text determines the size of the box and it automatically adjusts itself. So don't actually create a text box and then you don't have to worry about the size of it!
Hope that helps!
Sure enough, I just emulated this problem myself in GIMP. I've added it and the solution to the troubleshooting guide above. :)
DeleteThis tutorial is great by the way, I actually understood it haha, you made it easy to understand :) Thanks!
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