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Do You Watermark?

Discussion in 'Creative Zone' started by UnstoppableGamer, Feb 16, 2017.

  1. UnstoppableGamer

    UnstoppableGamer Attention Seeker~


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    A question for the artists here at Lake Valor. Do you watermark your works? Why?

    I personally don't watermark my stuff because I feel it would cover the image. Even if it doesn't, I still don't care to do so. I don't care if people steal my work. I don't make money off of it, so who cares?
     
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  2. Beffie

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    I don't watermark, but sometimes I put a signature on pieces I'm really proud of. I've been doing this less and less since most of what I've been doing recently is messy sketches/doodles, but if I actually take the time to work on it more, I will sign it.
     
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  3. An Evil Wizard

    An Evil Wizard The Ironic Mage

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    Ehhh, I never liked the concept of watermarking. I just feel like that it messes up the artwork and gets in the way (AKA Deviantart's watermarking mechanic.)
    Nowadays I just sign my work to claim it's mine. I try to make it where no one can easily get rid of the signature without ruining it, but without having it be in the way.

    I'm not really concerned about art theft, but I guess I would be a little salty if someone strait up stole my art. Other wise I'm alright if anyone uses my art in anyway. Only if I'm credited on it.
     
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  4. Cadbberry

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    I dont since I think if the person paid for the image then you take away from it. It also degrades what people are looking at in my opinion. Also I dont have art worth water marking XD I sign a piece but do my best to make it to the side.
     
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  5. JadeFox

    JadeFox Valor Veteran

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    I wouldn't want to watermark my art (even though it's...mmm...something else...), because it just kinda takes away from it. I mean, I can't produce any high quality art, but I think signatures would be better for art rather than watermarks (ugh, it makes me shiver...).
     
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  6. ElsaRivrwood

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    I don't, but maybe if i'm posting a commission or something. The buyer would have the un watermarked picture, but it's more special cause the one in public has a silly watermark so it doesn't look as good. That's of course if I do commissions.
    I also don't sign my shtuff as much as I should... I really just forget to half the time. And my signature looks boring.
     
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  7. ~Nova~

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    I don't, because I think watermarking just gets in the way of the art. It's hard to really enjoy something on Deviantart, for example, when there's a giant, translucent logo right smack in the middle.

    I try to sign my drawings and stuff, although I do forget more often than not.
     
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  8. DeathxVictory

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    I don't like intrusive watermarking either. So I made a logo, vectored it and can change the size and layer style to make my water mark hardly noticeable. Being that watermarks like DA intrusive logo take from the artist and the person who wishes to admire the art. So signing the art or a small water hidden in the art piece to me seems more logical.
     
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  9. Cadbberry

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    That is a clever idea, I always try and sign a piece and it never looks the same i should for sure make it a vector.
     
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  10. Azazel

    Azazel Better count your blessings

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    I don't watermark my colorings because I don't really care if people use them lol, I signed my wallpapers when animepaper was still a thing but still people edited them so now I'm just *shrug*
     
  11. Rafael

    Rafael Math Geek

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    I don't watermark, because my art isn't even good enough for people to steal anyway.....
     
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  12. Otter Mii-kun

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    I never watermark my artwork. I think watermarks covering the center of any art piece are a bit of a distraction, although I know it's to keep track of whether somebody steals their work.
     
  13. Perfectly Chaotic

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    I never liked watermarking over the art, for all the same reasons stated. When you're posting art online, it's usually because you want to show it to people, so intentionally obscuring it seems to defeat the purpose.

    But then I had some hack take a bunch of my Pokémon Patronuses and start selling them on mugs. The Facebook post linking to their store page had about 9000 likes, so who knows how many sales they got. I figure that's a sign that I'm onto something good enough to steal, so from now on, it's got to be watermarks, unfortunately. I try to put the mark in a place where it overlaps, but doesn't obscure the face or other important detail. Luckily they have a lot of random, amorphous swirls which help the mark blend in a bit.
     
  14. Fidchell

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    I do put a small signature someplace in the art, but I try not to obscure anything. People who do that excessively (four watermarks in one image) I feel are downgrading the artwork itself.
     
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  15. Sheep

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    Not really. When I actively drew my Neopets (aaaaa good times) I'd just write my username on the images since art theft used to be a common issue there, but nowadays I don't watermark anything. No need. Maybe if I ever post all my work to tumblr I will but I never feel inclined to. :-0

    This one Eevee picture I drew like a decade ago has been massively circulating the net though, and I can't tell if I'm glad I didn't watermark it or not. Since I didn't I get to see it around a ton more because less effort required to edit the watermark out and yeah. But as horrible as it is since it's so old, it would've been nice for people to know who made it.
     
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  16. Eclipse

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    This essentially sums up my opinions on watermarking word-for-word. Sometimes I'll hunt around for images or renders on the Internet to use for signatures, and I'll automatically have to rule out some pretty fantastic ones due to a watermark being right in the field of vision and unable to be removed in any neat way (I'm look at you, Shutterstock, you nexus of shame).

    Going on top of that, I feel if I'd watermark my images, I'd be a hypocrite in much the same way. It would make much more sense to simply sign my name on the side somewhere, to show it's my creation - which I have done from time to time, particularly on pencil drawings. For signatures I don't do this (nor do I need to), because whenever I try putting words into them, it detracts from the quality in some degree - plus, since my username is essentially different everywhere I go, it wouldn't make much sense anyway.
     
  17. Vigilance

    Vigilance once here, now gone

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    I don't really like the concept of WM either. I might get it if you didn't wanna be ripped off on a TUT but not on artwork someone pays you for
     
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  18. GiratinaMissingNo

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    Yes, definitely if it's a work I'm really proud of, but I put it off to the side so it's not obtrusive. In fact, I don't even sign my name anymore, I just put my sig in the work itself. There's a tiny scribble in the right corner of the art I work on-that's my MissingNo.
    #MissingNo
     
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  19. AeroHail

    AeroHail No dogs on the moon

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    I'm going against the grain here but I do support watermarks, purely because of something that happened to me 5-6 years ago and also something that happened more recent.
    I'll start by stating I'm not a fan of the huge intrusive watermarks over the whole/main image. It's distracting and annoying. I pop my user name in the lower corner or at the side at a low opacity.

    Okay, onto 6 years ago. *magical flashback music*
    6 years ago an artist across the planet from me took 3 of my images (and a bunch of another persons), redrew them (badly), and got a lot of recognition for them, was selling them for thousands and had several gallery shows using OUR art. Our composition and hard work that she sloppily painted over.
    I would have never found out if it wasn't for someone at her college/university finding the images she had printed out that had my username on them (in the bottom corner). She contacted me and because of that I was able to make her stop. I was also able to track down the other artist and we're still friends to this day now that I think about it.
    If it wasn't for my watermark I would have never known.

    Second event happened during the Undertale boom. Someone took some of my Sans fanart and put it on tshirts and bags and was selling it on ebay. But what they failed to notice was in the background of the image my watermark was sitting in plain view. Again, someone noticed and through my username being my watermark they managed to find me, let me know and I was able to get ebay to pull the items down because, again, my watermark was there for all to see. Sadly, they had already sold a bunch =/ but you cant win them all I guess.

    So yeah, I'll always pop my watermark in somewhere. Just in case someone needs to know who did the art.
     
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  20. 「✧Aɴɪᴍᴀ✧」

    「✧Aɴɪᴍᴀ✧」 Dᴇᴀᴛʜ's Dɪᴘʟᴏᴍᴀᴛ

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    I do watermark my drawings. Because Ive seen the artist that I look up too get their drawings stolen and I don't want that to happen to me. I don't mind people using my art as bases tho, that just means i'm helping spark their activity and one day they might just learn how to draw on their own.
     
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