watermarking random

[mbalensiefer]

Hi!

 Is there a way that one can perform a "random" function in Photoshop?

I am using "Place" to put a watermark on my images but I would like the mark to move around, frankly.

Thank you,
Michael

[sniper]

I can't think of an easy way to randomise this process, a script might do it but I wouldn't have a clue where to begin with that.

[Lightbox]

Well as they say there's always a way to skin a cat in Photoshop, and sometimes it can be fun trying... I had some time to have a play and came up with an action for you to try, but I can't guarantee it's what your after or will work to your liking, as randomizing isn't something Photoshop does well.

The action I have made creates a small object at a random place within your image, then uses "Place" to bring in your watermark and then centers your logo with the object, then deletes the object. For some reason though it seems to favour the right hand side or the middle, and another bug would be if you have a large watermark it may place the edges outside the frame. Give it a go anyway and let me know if you like it, I'll have another go at refining the action tomorrow.

One last note, you will have to edit the action by deleting the "Place" step from within the action, and re-recording it to point it to the folder on your hard drive that has the watermark. Also if you do decide to use it on a bunch of images, record a "Flatten Image" as the last step in the action.

Download V3 and enjoy -

http://www.mediafire.com/?x43u4i45qz9205d

.

[sniper]

Well done Lightbox, I'm courious as to how you got the random aspect of it working??

[Lightbox]

Using a duplicate of the background layer, and then Filter>Pixelate>Crystalize will give you this -



Every time you do a "Crystalize" it will create a random pattern like above, even within the same image, so this is where the randomization comes in, from there "Equalize" adds a bit of contrast, and then "Threshold" at a value of 10 leaves you with only the darkest piece -



This is then converted to a just the black object you see above using the layer as a channel and then that channel as a mask to delete the white within the layer, leaving you with a small black object at a random place within your image, then adding your watermark -



Bit of a crazy work around really but I had fun figuring it out. Still has a few issues as I mentioned previously, this mostly to do with the "Threshold" being set to 10 in the action, as sometimes this can leave two small black objects, I tried using a lower value of 8-9, but every now and then that would make the layer pure white leaving no black object to center on.

Will have another bash at it today and see if I can create a version 2  

[feppe]

Bit of a crazy work around really but I had fun figuring it out. Still has a few issues as I mentioned previously, this mostly to do with the "Threshold" being set to 10 in the action, as sometimes this can leave two small black objects, I tried using a lower value of 8-9, but every now and then that would make the layer pure white leaving no black object to center on.

Will have another bash at it today and see if I can create a version 2  

Wow, you win at photoshops

[Lightbox]

Wow, you win at photoshops

Not too sure that's always a good thing

Have made a quick tweak to the action and updated the link in my first post to download the V2 crazy randomizationess action. Version 1 was moving both the object and watermark when aligning, V2 keeps the object in place and only moves your watermark, enhancing the already awesome randomness, so now it has no favor towards the right side like before. Download V3 here -

http://www.mediafire.com/?x43u4i45qz9205d

In V2 I have recorded a "Flatten Image" as the final step, however this is switched off by default so if you are happy with the action and want to use it in a batch process workflow, click on the little tick to the far left of the "Flatten Image" step to make it active. You will still need to delete the "Place" step and re-record this so the action knows where on your computer the watermark file is located. Any feedback or further ideas for the action I'll be happy to help.

[sniper]

Thank you for sharing that, very clevely done mate.
Thanks Wayne

[AFairley]

Damn.  (bows down)

[Lightbox]

No problems and I enjoyed the challenge, not too sure why you would want to randomly place a logo on an image though?

[mbalensiefer]

As the original poster, it would simply be so that my watermarks cannot be so easily removed

Is there a way that I can make the watermark fit all images, to the same amount?:

Basically, an image that is 500 pixels in height would have the watermark take up the same space as an image 1000 pixels in height.

Thank you!
Michael

[mbalensiefer]

Is there a way that actions, when incorporated into a PS batch file (script), can use the bicubic sharper resampling option when resizing?

[Lightbox]

Hi Michael, I think I understand what you are asking but I think you are making it more complicated than it needs to be. If you were to have your full res image at say 3500 x 2333, resized this to 1000 x 666, then ran the action to place your watermark, flattening the file would set in place a size ratio for your image/watermark. So if you were to then resize the same image further to 500 x 333, the ratio would stay the same, the image would resize along with the watermark. Is that what you are asking? You can change the size of layers and objects in Photoshop using a "Percentage" too, which I think this may be more towards the answer you are looking for.

I could build you an action that did everything from start to finish that resized the image twice, saving one copy at 1000px wide and another at 500px wide, let me know as it doesn't take long to record and tweak a new action for this. The only problem here is that when you record a "Save" step into an action, the action will include the specific folder you used to save into when you recorded the action, so the next time you want to use it it will always want to save into that same folder.

The work around here would be to utilize the scripting powers built into Image Processor, using it to save, and not the action. This would require the use of two separate actions though and you would have to run Image Processor twice, for each image size.

As to sharpening, I am no scientist or maths expert, but I have spent a lot of time experimenting visually with sharpening and creating various actions for customized sharpening. I never use the "Bicubic Sharper" resampling as it destroys edges and sharpens out of focus areas, and does way to much sharpening without any of my control. A better workflow would be to resize your images using "Bicubic Smoother" and then sharpening your image at its destination size, using Smart Sharpen or any other sharpening method you may prefer.

However, when you record an Image Resize step in an action, you can choose "Bicubic Sharper" and it will use that everytime you run the action.

I hope the above makes sense to you, if you have any input or want to research things further go for it, if you want me to build you an action, let me know what you want it to do, the more specific you can be the better so I can get everything into the action and make sure it preforms well.

Cheers and Enjoy your weekend.

[mbalensiefer]

Thanks, Shaun.

 I have found that during a batch of many many images, some of them do not come out with the right percentage-sized watermark. This is perhaps one image out of 10. So I "standardize" all my images first by resizing them to 2000 pixels (bicubic smoother), then shrink them down to my final image size of 480 pixels before saving.

 This does not cause undue artifacting, does it? Have you any idea why the size discrepancy? I am using 72 PPI on my images before the Place function. :O

Michael

[Lightbox]

Hi Michael, as requested I have made a slight change to the action and created V3, all links above have been updated or download from here -

http://www.mediafire.com/?x43u4i45qz9205d

I haven't played with the action much myself so I'm not sure of it favors the darker areas of an image, everytime the action uses "Crystalize" even within the same image, it will create a different pattern, but maybe this is based on tones in the image and puts the darker patches over the darker parts of your image.

V3 uses a blank layer filled with white, rather than a duplicate of your background, then "Difference Clouds" are rendered onto the white layer which seem to be created randomly each time, so the crystalize step is now working on a layer that has no tonal relation to your original image. Hope this helps, the only issue I haven't given much further thought is the placement of your watermark and whether its edges land outside the dimension of your image. In my testing with a square watermark I haven't seen it happen, however if you had a rather large or elongated watermark this may be an issue.