Prince William Art Society (PWAS) is a group of local artists in Prince William County in Northern Virginia dedicated to an appreciation of the visual arts and fine crafts of local artists and this is their Blog, Artistry Spin. Find information about and by PWAS, our events, our Scholarship Program, our artists, our art shows and exhibits plus much more. Many of our artists display art at locations all around Prince William County, Manassas and beyond.
There
are several great reasons to watermark your artwork and probably some
decent reasons why some artists don't use them. Nonetheless, if you have artwork online, the
recommendation is to use a watermark on all of your work.
Why Watermark?
If
there isn't a saying for it already, there should be - the great thing
about the Internet is you can share your art with the world. A bad thing
about the Internet is you can share your art with the world - and those
with bad intentions.
Just
when you thought all you had to do as an artist is put a paintbrush to
canvas everyday or perhaps tote that finished canvas around to show it
off, you realize you have to protect the image of your artwork from
being stolen online too.
Watermarks are used to help prevent your online artwork images from theft, or at least, more difficult to steal. Look around the internet and you can read the woes about the artists that have had their work stolen and someone is selling prints of their artwork!
You and Your Artwork Are a Business
An artist and his or her artwork are a business. A business has a brand. A watermark is a part of "Brand Awareness" and help identify that the photograph -of your artwork- is yours. Watermarks are used to help brand awareness and also as an online "signature".
Understand that a watermark is not a copyright though, it has no legal value.
Watermarks can be distracting from showing your art piece in its full glory, but most people understand why they are important to be on the artwork you are posting online. It takes a bit of work to do it, but watermarks can be removed. Photoshop is one way to do it, but also, a way to add it.
How to Watermark
As
a first step, in general, try to be strategic when signing your artwork
when you are signing your artwork. That would mean your signature
should really be your full name placed so that it doesn't distract from
the painting itself, but when possible wouldn't be so easily "cropped
out" without distorting the image online.
Keep images low resolution, not too large, files dpi to 72
Some things to remember:
Create your watermark that you will use similar to your real signature on the canvas, using a specific font, color - opacity, size, style - with the @YourName/Business OR use @YourName.com - your URL name to your website.
When saving your images that are watermarked, include "WM" or "Watermark" in the file name to more easily identify it. Pop those into your file for watermarked images that you use whenever selecting artwork images for online social posts and not the originals.
Never work with your original artwork image, make a COPY. Store and Save the originals (and a backup) in another file. One of our members lost a huge number of original photos not long ago when his computer went up in flames (AKA died).
"Water Pads and Blooms" by Donna Liguria, Acrylic 10x10
"Virginia Beach" by Donna Liguria, Acrylic 11x14
I didn't do anything very fancy on mine so far but I am learning too. At least its a start!
Well folks, I've tried to include some info here on the basic whys and hows but I sure would like to know your ideas on how you use watermarks too. Leave a comment below.
Local Art: Visit us at Clearbrook Center of the Arts at Tackett's Mill in Lake Ridge, VA on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 – it’s free to see the artwork! Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership
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Author: Donna Liguria An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Blog at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/.
