Used to hate putting watermarks on my art, now I swear by them

I thought watermarks looked tacky and ruined the vibe of a piece. Then last month someone stole a portrait I spent 8 hours on, cropped out my tiny signature, and posted it on their own merch site. Took 3 days and a legal threat to get it taken down. Now I put a subtle watermark right over the main focal point. Doesn't affect how it looks in galleries but makes it real hard for thieves to use. Anyone else change their mind on this?

2 comments

2 Comments

troy_adams18d ago

Man, that's the worst feeling when someone steals your work like that. My own attempt at watermarking was a total mess - put it right in the corner like a dummy and watched someone just clone stamp it out in five seconds. Now I slap a big goofy looking one right across the face of the piece, like a bad sports logo on a jersey. It looks ridiculous up close but nobody can crop it out without wrecking the whole image. Plus it doubles as a conversation starter at craft fairs. "Yeah that's my watermark, I call it the scarecrow.

faithb7618d ago

Used a transparent logo over the eyes on my last piece and it stopped the thieves cold.