UHH

Usually I don't like Long posts but damn this is good

...that your audience won't hate.

This is a method I started using when NFTs were on the rise - thieves would have to put actual work into getting rid of the mark - and one that I am now grateful for with the arrival of AI. Why? Because anyone who tries to train an AI on my work will end up with random, disruptive color blobs.

I can't say for sure it'll stop theft entirely, but it WILL make your images annoying for databases to incorporate, and add an extra layer of inconvenience for thieves. So as far as I'm concerned, that's a win/win.

I'll be showing the steps in CSP, but it should all be pretty easy to replicate in Photoshop.

Now: let's use the above image as our new signature file. I set mine to be 2500 x 1000 pixels when I'm just starting out.

Note that your text should not have a lot of anti-aliasing, so using a paint brush to start isn't going to work well with this method. Just use the standard G-Pen if you're doing this by hand, or, just use the text tool and whichever font you prefer.

Once that's done, take your magic wand tool, and select all the black. Here are the magic wand settings I'm using to make the selections:

All selected?

Good.

Now, find a brush with a scattering/tone scraping effect. I use one like this.

You can theoretically use any colors you want for this next part, but I'd recommend pastels as they tend to blend better.

Either way, let's add some color to the text.

Once that's finished,

You're going to want to go to Layer Property, and Border Effect

You'll be given an option of choosing color and thickness. Choose black, and go for at least a 5 in thickness. Adjust per your own preferences.

Now create a layer beneath your sig layer, and merge the sig down onto the blank layer.

This effectively 'locks in' the border effect, which is exactly what we want.

Hooray, you've finished your watermark!

Now let's place that bad boy into your finished piece.

You'll get the best mileage out of a mark if you can place it over a spot that isn't black of white, since you'll get better blending options that way. My preference is for Overlay.

From here, I'll adjust the opacity to around 20-25, depending on the image.

If you don't have a spot to use overlay, however, there's a couple other options. For white, there's Linear Burn, which imho doesn't look as good, but it still works in a pinch.

And for lots of black, you have Linear Light

Either way, you're in business!

EDIT since this has escaped my usual circles, and folks aren't as familiar with my personal usage:

An example of one of my own finished pieces, with watermark, so you can see what I mean about 'relatively unobtrusive'-- I try to at least use them as framing devices, or let them work with the image somehow (or, at the very least, not actively against it).

I know it's a bummer for some people to "ruin" their work with watermarks, which is part of the reason I developed this mark in particular. Its disruption is about as minimal as I can make it while still letting it serve its intended purpose.

There's other methods, too, of course! But this is the one I use, and the one I can speak on. Hope it helps some of you!

it’s been long enough i’m making an executive decision that we all need to go reread the tgi fridays infinite mozzarella sticks article

me, having deeply fallen out of the practice of writing poetry: I can’t write any more, I am now a Talentless Hack

the voice of my 11th grade journalism/12th grade creative writing teacher who rly did know everything: if you stop writing for a while the words will build up and stagnate. to clear the water, you will have to open the dam completely, and accept the fact that what initially comes out will not be palatable

Got into Danny Phantom a few months ago, still on season one.

Here's some sketches, my camera's sorta dirty so they're kinda blurry-

It's been awhile T~T

School has decided to swamp me with homework for the last two weeks of the semester, I haven't had any chance to sit down and draw! I've done some writing and have a general idea of how I want to tell the story of The Phantom's Façade AU...

It's going to be short stories with a full illustration each. I've got three written so far and a fourth in the works, but they're only five hundred words each... Obviously there'll be a big overarching story-

Anyway, I don't know how much progress I'll make on anything art related until the start of the second semester, sorry!

It is not going well for the comic drafts... I'm rewriting majority of the story and redesigning most of the characters, it's actually pretty fun but I think it'll be a few forever before I finally start the comic :/

I completely forgot to post, but here's some oc art from the past few weeks including a Miasma redesign. I'm working on the first few drafts of my comic as well!

I learned from a friend how to render hair while drawing my character, James

I also experimented with the shading, I like it.

what do you think about the option of aku completely dying because of his lung issues?

personally I feel like it'll be really meaningful if it happens after us the readers get to know his character better, his past, his trauma and faults. the information probably being revealed to atsushi as well and him dying right before he's about to step into the light and make that final step into becoming a good person.

the thought of it makes me want to cry but it'll be a really good plot point in the story.

A... A jellyfish..?

A JELLYFISH?!

JELLYFISH?

Probably a dumb question but what is Saleos? (Most likely butchered that sorry)

Creature wise I mean, he's really ambiguous, I think it adds to his charm though :3

The wiki says hes a jellyfish!

I don't have it T^T

I can't boop people!! :d

Everyone rn: