!!! About To Make An Artificer Who Invents A Way To Make Pretty, Flashy Signs For The Ritzy Inns (but

!!! About to make an artificer who invents a way to make pretty, flashy signs for the ritzy inns (but it looks like they come with a curse..?)

Strange roadside buildings where you shouldn’t ever go.

I just got emotional because I recognized a flower at a glance that I probably couldn’t have named a year ago, and it made me realize how much I’ve learned about one of my greatest passions even though 2022 felt like a stagnant year of doing nothing

...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!

i lvoe you textile and fiber art i love you quilting i love you sewing i love you knitting i love you cross stitching i love you crocheting ii love you making a scarf for someone you care for i love you repairing the jeans you have been wearing since high school i love you clothes that are passed down generations i love you scraps of fabric inside a pillow i love you making a garment from scratch i love you creativity you can wear i love you i love you i love you

In love w this

My new little artbook is now available on my online shop!! 🪲🌱☀️

Floodmeadow Sketchbook 01 is a collection of the art I’ve done inspired by my time spent out on my local nature reserve here in Yorkshire, UK over the last two years. This is the landscape I grew up in so it means a lot to me.

A portion from each sale will be donated back to the reserve.

You can also find my riso print, other books and my leftover prints and stickers from comic con in my online shop!

NEWYEAR10 gives 10% off until the end of the 9th ✨🌱

Thank you for all the support, especially on some of my more recent posts! ❤️

Draped over