Ability To Add Watermark To Images
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Ability To Add Watermark To Images
New Feature Addition · Images & image management · Created by orphidor
declined
suggestion images watermarks
THE PROBLEM: Right now, WorldAnvil takes images you submit and hosts them as-is. Unless you take the annoying and time-consuming steps to design a watermark and manually add it to every single one, the images you upload are available for anyone who stumbles across your articles to take and possibly profit off of without your permission. We are in desperate need for a quick and convenient way to protect our files so our intellectual property and we/the artists we commissioned to draw our stuff are safe from theft.
THE SOLUTION: Adding a feature that allows users to protect their images with a site-hosted watermark would provide valuable protection for everyone who wants visual representations for characters, locations, etc, but are nervous about having their files used by random folks without their permission. It's already a vital feature on dedicated art websites like DeviantArt, where you can choose to add a simple website logo over anything you upload. It hopefully wouldn't be too difficult to add, but it would go a long way in terms of protection for artists, and it would finally mean I could add my entire library of character art to the site without spending two hours manually adding watermarks (when I could be worldbuilding instead.)
Follow up
To answer a question: ideally, the feature would be optional, so you could choose which images to display a watermark on and which to leave as-is (such as headers or maps.) You could also choose NOT to use the feature at all and continue utilizing WA as you do currently if you don’t personally the need. I don’t think watermarks are necessary on thumbnails because of the low resolution, though that could be determined later, ultimately what I’m arguing for at this point is at least just the ability to watermark full-sized images like on other sites such as DeviantArt. As a reminder, if you disagree with the idea, that’s completely fine, but some feedback as to why would be very helpful and appreciated so I can improve the idea! :)
Oh, I almost forgot to mention: DeviantArt’s watermark is very low opacity and is barely visible if you’re not looking for it. It doesn’t interfere with the immersion of the audience, it’s just there to deter thieves. Something similar with the WA logo overlaid on the center of the image would be unobtrusive yet effective, allowing viewers of our worlds to appreciate the images while keeping bad actors from using our stuff against our wishes.
Personally, I’m not sure that this feature would necessarily cause any legal issues or more art theft. To use an already-existing example, if you intended to watermark something on DeviantArt but forgot and your work ended up being taken, no reasonable person would argue that it’s the site’s fault that the user didn’t check an optional box. If the site were guaranteeing that no art theft would occur, that would be a different matter; all that’s happening is an optional feature is possibly being provided and someone is choosing whether or not to utilize it. In regards to theft, providing watermarks seems like a secondary issue on any site where the artist field is freely filled in (or not) by an uploader. If someone is going to steal something and upload it, watermarks won’t allow that to go unnoticed any more than misrepresented text credits claiming ownership of a piece, or no text credits at all. I personally haven’t come across any proof that those who use art without permission are more likely to use watermarks to cover up what they’re doing, or that it would allow them to get away with it. To address the placement and opacity questions again, as mentioned in a prior update, I believe that no more than one option is necessary because DeviantArt only provides one themselves (a low-opacity, non-customizable site logo in the center of each chosen image) and that works perfectly. Other placement and size options are irrelevant, WorldAnvil could simply provide one and I have no reason to doubt its effectiveness. Another point I’d like to emphasize again: I am already watermarking everything I upload here that I don’t want used by others. This includes my own pieces as well as work I’ve commissioned from other artists in the last few years. I’m asking if the site’s team would be willing to aid me in something I’m already doing (but which is intensely time-consuming and feels a bit weird to do since I am required to edit other people’s work at times.) It’s nothing more than an interest in saving time and preserving the intact original files on my end. I also noticed that concerns were being raised regarding whether WA is the right site to request this feature on. I believe it definitely is, for the sake of those of us who heavily feature art in our worldbuilding. Many Anvilites, myself included, view art as an integral way to illustrate our worldbuilding and provide visual references for what certain characters or items look like. In my view, it’s important for all of us to support the numerous different ways we each worldbuild and make everyone’s well-intentioned preferences easier to implement as long as they are logically feasible. For me, WA IS an art site because not only is worldbuilding an art, all my visual media that I create or buy is worldbuilding-related and I want to represent that in as streamlined a way as possible. Being able to attach my visual references through the site is a vital part of my work here and I am asking if the WA Team are willing to make it a little easier for me by eliminating a bothersome part of my process.
I’m not going to address “A Fluffy Dragon’s” remarks, I’m simply going to thank everyone else who commented with empathy and helpful criticisms. It’s people like you who make the WA community a pleasant place to collaborate and interact with other artists. I’m thankful that a majority of you are thoughtful in what you say and kind to those whose viewpoints you don’t understand. I’m also grateful for the WA team and this awesome feature allowing us to share what we think would enhance our site experience with you. :)
The Team's Response
Thanks for your suggestion! We appreciate that watermarks are important for many artists, and that such a feature would be useful to those artists who also use World Anvil. However, World Anvil is not a dedicated image hosting platform, and therefore we feel that this is outside the scope of our service.
Current score
35/300 Votes · +4204 points
Votes Cast
-
-300
by A Fluffy Dragon
on 2023-12-21 18:20IF putting on a watermark in whatever software you use (Which I would note, once you created the watermark and made it to the transparency you wish for, can be done even in PAINT through a copy and paste.) is too much work for you to consider it BEFORE uploading it, then it is clearly not worth the time it takes you to do so. If it is not worth that amount of your time, it's not worth the time it would take to create a whole feature for this on a site that is not an art feature site to begin with ; You mention deviantart as an example watermark ; What is stopping you then from uploading the picture to deviantart, get the watermark, plop the DA watermarked version into WA? Would take about the same time and button presses as uploading a watermark and then adding it to every picture, given you'd need to also have a feature to adjust where to watermark is for it to properly be difficult to remove. Aside from all of this, as someone who does make art, I do not understand just how lazy one has to be to think adding a single layer onto your project, whether it be in photoshop, gimp or even paint, is so much work that they NEED it automated, otherwise they're rather put their art raw on the net and risk it being stolen, yet STILL insist that art being stolen easily is 100% something a website not directly related to visual art upload to begin with should equip themselves to deal with. TL;DR : Adding a watermark takes all of two minutes, and that's if you do it the long way using nothing but PAINT. If it's that important to you, spare the bloody minute and a half.
-
+100
by TenembrianChronicler
on 2023-12-21 09:12 -
+1
by devinsxdesigns
on 2023-12-19 15:24I have a few thoughts. 1. I wouldn't want the WA logo on my personal work, so I wouldn't use it unless I could upload my own watermark to use. 2. In most cases, if I was going to watermark my work (which I probably wouldn't, because I hate the way it looks), I would do it in post-production pre-publishing on my end. If I'm already making artwork, I'm going to be picky about watermarking and how it looks. 2. I think the only real benefit would be if somehow it could be made to only show up if someone clicked an image through to display the full-size image, while not displaying a watermark in-line in articles or links. That way it would be harder for thieves to steal a full-size image but it wouldn't mess with how my artwork was viewed in-world.
-
+100
by usurperkings
on 2023-12-18 17:48 -
+300
by GoldenPants Worldbuilding
on 2023-12-18 13:31 -
+300
by donpedicinijr
on 2023-12-17 20:41 -
+300
by Maeryn Althea Tover
on 2023-12-16 20:32 -
-1
by Pete Nelson
on 2023-12-14 20:23I think adding such a feature would create nearly as many problems as it would solve. For example, what if you intended to watermark your image, but forgot, then someone stole your work. Would WA be liable? How many different options for display location of the watermark, opacity, size, etc. would WA need to create and support? Though your points about theft of art are valid, I don't think WA is the right platform for this. WA already supports copyright and licensing notices in the footer (or wherever) of articles, and you could also put one in the image description or one of the other fields attached to images to give you some legal protection, if you need that. It seems me that if you think your art is really likely to be stolen, you would want to take some time to put your own watermark in it before you upload it to WA.
-
+300
by zunami
on 2023-12-07 17:45 -
-1
by Slaskia
on 2023-12-07 03:35As an artist, I make sure to take the time to put in copyrights/watermarks on my work myself: it's literally the last thing I do before saving it for the final time (and it's nothing fancy: just a bunch of text stating who the copyright owner is, who made it and when). While I can see using a DA style watermark as an option, it should only be secondary to the artist taking the time to put their personal 'signature' on their work.
-
+1
by picnicprincess
on 2023-12-06 11:06 -
+300
by yaky22
on 2023-12-06 10:40 -
-1
by Kazdy
on 2023-12-05 07:03This could be just as easily used by users of the site to pretend to have ownership over artwork they don't have ownership of. The safest bet will always be to simply never post art you made or own online publicly without a watermark in the first place, especially if you use a custom one you made yourself in gimp or photoshop. I don't think it's gonna solve anything and just would add more tools for the very people you're worried about.
-
+1
by Goreface
on 2023-12-04 05:21 -
-300
by SeeleyOne
on 2023-12-03 21:25While this sounds like a great idea. It is beyond the scope of what World Anvil should be able to do.
-
+300
by amelianite
on 2023-12-03 20:54 -
+300
by Bomulos
on 2023-12-03 11:44 -
+100
-
-300
by A Lusty Dragon
on 2023-12-02 22:24 -
+300
by Gregorian
on 2023-12-02 16:09 -
+1
by Luna_Bruce
on 2023-12-02 09:05It would also be cool to be able to choose where the watermark Is located like be able to drag it and move it where you see fit or maybe clicking on where you want it to be.
-
+1
by zpires
on 2023-11-30 22:28 -
+300
by Scalenex
on 2023-11-30 14:29 -
+300
by Cyborg Starfish
on 2023-11-30 11:49 -
+100
by GHOZTSHXRKZ
on 2023-11-30 10:42 -
+100
by ss2020
on 2023-11-29 21:22Only if they show when not in the article. I don't want to interfere with the emersion.
-
+1
by tjtrewin
on 2023-11-29 15:46I don't feel the need for this personally, but I agree with your points and I think this would be a great opt-in feature :) I have some questions though:
- where would the watermark show? (only on full size images?)
- what about header images?
- maps (& chronicles) always need to be shown at a full size too, what about those?
-
-300
by A Goodhearted Ooze
on 2023-11-29 15:24 -
+300
by Foxyowlet
on 2023-11-29 12:04 -
+100
by Renviere
on 2023-11-29 11:39 -
+1
by A Thundering Unicorn
on 2023-11-29 11:09 -
+300
by TheDoctor292
on 2023-11-29 05:54 -
+300
by BasicDragon
on 2023-11-29 03:59 -
+300
by DramaticDragons
on 2023-11-29 03:35 -
+300
by Hanhula
on 2023-11-29 02:49 -
+300
by orphidor
on 2023-11-29 02:38
Find your way!
Resources
WHO WE ARE
LEGAL
Get the news
Listen to our Podcast
Our Allies
by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.009 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 00:56, May 8 2024