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This article was co-authored by Shari Fairclough and by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Shari Fairclough is a Social Media & Graphic Design Expert based in Atlanta, Georgia. Shari is a versatile designer with extensive experience in social media marketing, UX/UI design, and graphic print production. She has over 4 years of both freelance and in-house experience working as a UX and Graphic Designer. She currently works as the Social Media & Marketing Coordinator at Guidepost Montessori. In this role, Shari curates engaging content and enhances the school's online presence. In 2022, Shari founded Sunni Aesthetics, a design platform that blends culture, design, and art. Shari holds a Google UX Design certification. Additionally, she studied graphic design at The Creative Circus, has four years of experience working as an assistant teacher, and is certified as a TEFL instructor. Shari has contributed to various publications, including Canvas Rebel, VoyageATL, and 11 Alive, and has film credits on IMDb for her work in "Black Lightning," "The Color Purple," and "The Staircase." She received a BA in Film & Media from Georgia State University.
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This wikiHow teaches you how to use Adobe Illustrator for Mac or Windows to create and place a watermark on an image. Although Illustrator doesn't have a built-in watermarking feature, you can use the typing tool to add a text watermark on top of any supported image file.
Steps
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Open the image you want to watermark. Upon launching Adobe Illustrator, you'll have the option of selecting or creating a new document. Click Open, locate the file you want to edit, and then click Open. -
Click the Type Tool. It's the T icon at the upper-right of the toolbar on the left side of the window.Advertisement -
Click anywhere on the document. Doing so creates a text box that contains the text "Loren ipsum."
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Type your text watermark. Type anything you like, such as your name, URL, or company name.- Other common watermarks include "Sample," "Draft," or copyright notices.
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Click the Selection Tool. It's the black pointer in the upper-left part of the toolbar on the left side of the window.
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Single-click your watermark text. This selects the text as an object that you can edit.
- You can adjust the font face, size, and color on the Properties panel, which is on the right side of the screen. The font information face and size settings are at the bottom of the panel under the "Character" heading.
- If you'd like your watermark to appear at an angle, click on the Rotate Tool ("↺") in the left-center of the toolbar on the left side of the screen, then click and drag over your watermark to rotate it.
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Move the watermark to where you want it to appear over the image. To do this, click and drag the watermark text to the desired position.
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Decrease the opacity of the watermark. Locate the "Appearance" section of the Properties panel on the right side of the screen. To make your watermark less opaque, select 50% from the "Opacity" menu in this section. This makes the background image visible beneath your watermark.
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Click the Object menu. It's in the menu bar at the top of the window.
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Click Arrange. It's near the top of the menu.
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Click Bring to Front. Your watermark is now the topmost object in the layer.
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Click the Select menu. It's in the menu bar at the top of the window.
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Click on All. It's at the top of the menu. This selects all objects on the image.
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Click the Object menu. It's in the menu bar at the top of the window.
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Click Lock. It's near the top of the menu. Another menu will expand.
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Click Selection. The watermark is now "locked" in place on top of the image.
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Click the File menu. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
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Click Export…. It's near the bottom of the menu. Another menu will appear.
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Click Export As. It's the second option in the menu. This opens your computer's Save As dialog box.
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Enter a name for your file. This goes into the "File name" field near the bottom of the window.
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Select a file format. You can save the file in any of the available file types. If the image will be used on the internet, choose a common file type like JPG or PNG.
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Click Export. It's the button at the lower-right corner of the dialog box.
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Choose additional settings and click OK. Depending on the file type you chose, you may be asked to choose other properties for the file, such as the resolution and/or quality level. Make your selections if desired, and then click OK to confirm.
Community Q&A
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QuestionWhat do I save it as and how do I place it in a video?
Community AnswerYou save it as .png to keep transparency on. If you are using After Effects, you are free to place your .png image to your project column and then place it on your video canvas where you can transform it freely. -
QuestionI want to create a watermark for someone. Once I've finished it, she will apply it in photoshop. How should I save it to send it to her?
Community AnswerExport it as a JPEG, TIFF, PNG or EPS file.
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About This Article
1. Open the image.
2. Type your watermark.
3. Move the watermark to the desired location.
4. Adjust the opacity to 50%.
5. Bring the watermark object to the front.
6. Lock the objects into place.
7. Export the image.
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