Many web designers and developers have had their work "borrowed" and used on a competitor's website, but catching and putting a stop to the theft is often hard to do.
But have no fear, because in this video tutorial I will show you how to create a custom, vector watermark using Adobe Illustrator CS4, and how to apply that watermark to an image in Adobe Photoshop CS4, effectively projecting your proprietary product images from cyber thieves.
In the video, which is aimed at graphics novices—especially developers seeking to improve their design skills, I will also review some of the basic differences between Photoshop and Illustrator and explain vector file types versus raster file types.
You'll learn some of the basics of Adobe Illustrator, including the difference between "Fill" and "Stroke" and when to use each. And I'll show you how to use the Type Tool, Rectangle Tool, and the Line Tool to create a custom, vector watermark.
After the watermark has been created, I will show you how to convert the different types of objects on your canvas into fills rather than strokes or editable text. Once the watermark has been finalized and saved, I'll show you how to add your watermark to an image, including product images, in Adobe Photoshop CS4.
Finally, this tutorial also addresses a site called Stock Exchange that allows you to download free stock images that are both royalty free and high resolution. Once you have downloaded and opened the source image for this project, I will show you how to place an Illustrator .ai file in Photoshop, and how placed files that are edited and saved outside of Photoshop will update in your Photoshop document. Then, once your watermark has been placed in Photoshop, I will show you two techniques that can be used to make your placed Illustrator design into a watermark using Blending Options and Opacity. By the end of this tutorial you will have created a custom watermark in Adobe Illustrator CS4 and have added it to an image in Adobe Photoshop CS4.
Video Tutorial
