Difference between revisions of "Watermarking"

Revision as of 15:54, May 26, 2007

What is Watermarking?

Think of watermarking as a way to claim your work without having to register a copyright.

Why should I watermark?

If you watermark something people will know who made it so the image dosen't get stolen and placed on websites like

• Ebaums World (Stole the Lindsay Lohan Facial Expressions Gif)
• Hedonista (Stole the Paris Hiltion Facial Expressions Gif)
• Gif Dump (Pretty much any YTMND gif has been uploaded to this site)
• Phatpimpclothing.com (Various YTMND gifs have been uploaded to this site and are being used in myspace commments)

Ex: Of YTMND's that have been "ganked" due to negligence

Paris Hilton Dosen't Change Facial Expressions Stolen by eatmyshorts.net Stolen by Kezfun.net

Will Watermaking Keep my image from being stolen?

No but in the event that your image is stolen you will have evidence that it was stolen and you now have grounds to contact the website owner and ask for immediate removal of said image.

When Should I watermark?

Before you watermark something ask yourself these questions

1. Does this image have any meaning outside of YTMND?
2. Is this image funny to anyone outside of YTMND?
3. Did I put in a lot of work to compile this collage of images?
4. Does this image parody a well known person/thing/belief ?
5. Is this image 100% my own work?

Now if the image isn't 100% your own work that doesn't mean don't watermark it; it means you should give credit to where you compiled your image from in your site description or wiki profile (your wiki profile has no text limit so it is easier to cite by using it) but you should still watermark the image.

Watermarking Examples

Watermarking is an art in itself. There are 3 ways you could watermark something.

#1."The lower 3rd"

This watermarking method it the most simple and also the most ineffective

Lower 3rd Example

Why is this method the least effective? Well if you look at the image you can see that the area of interest is above the text and can easily be cropped out and claimed on another website.

#2."Conrnering"

This method simply places the watermark within the area of interest while doing minimal damage to the original image and only affecting the viewers attention minimally.

Cornering Example

This method can not be removed by any amature image theif and does little damage to the area of interest.

#3."Concealment"

This method makes the watermark hardly noticeable and focuses more onto the area of interest and could only be removed by a master of photo editing software.

Concealment Example