An easy-to-follow tutorial on how to create custom watermarks using PicMonkey.
For the longest time I have been searching for ways to create a watermark {a transparent overlay} for my images here on Mom On Timeout. Every tutorial I could find referenced Photo Shop which I don’t have. I felt for sure there had to be a way to do it on PicMonkey and sure enough, there is! The trick to a watermark is that it has to have a transparent background and the way to do this in PicMonkey is with a collage. PicMonkey is my go-to source for all my photo-editing needs and I am so excited to be able to make custom watermarks now as well – so awesome! Okay, let’s do it!
Step 1. Go to PicMonkey.com and select “Create a collage“.
Step 2. The Collage editing screen opens up. Select the background tab on the far left all the way at the bottom. Click on “transparent background“. You’ll notice that the entire collage is now transparent because we haven’t added any images to the collage.
Step 3. Click the small “x” on any two cells to remove them. You are now left with one single transparent cell.
Step 4. Click on “Save” and save the transparent background as a .png file. You can resize it now but we will be cropping it in the next step anyways. You can see the file size is tiny 🙂
Step 5. Okay now we’re going to close out this collage and open up the image we just saved. Click on “Edit a photo” and open the transparent background image that you just saved {hopefully you remember where!}. You won’t see anything because it’s transparent but trust me – it’s there 🙂
Step 6. Now it’s time to actually design your watermark. Use the tools found on the far left to design your watermark. Use the text tools {that is the “P”}, overlays and anything else that grabs your attention to create a watermark that people will recognize as your own. You can see that I made mine very similar to my header. I also chose to make my watermark white – you can pick a different color of course! Next, we’re going to crop the image. You want to place the crop tool as snugly around your watermark as possible and then crop. Don’t worry too much about the size of your watermark because you will be able to re-size it when placing it on an image.
Step 7. Now we have the watermark nice and tightly cropped and we’re ready to save. Make sure to save it as .png file again and name it something awesome, like, I don’t know… “Watermark”!
Step 8. That’s it! You’re done! Now to add it to a photo. Open up PicMonkey and select “Edit a photo”. Click on the Overlays tab and select “Your Own”. Open the watermark and voila! It’s now on your photo! You can easily re-size the watermark and you can use the overlay tool to fade your watermark if you’d like.
Can you believe how easy that is? Now anytime I want to edit or create a brand-spankin’ new watermark I don’t have to hire someone 🙂 Thanks for being so awesome PicMonkey!
Other posts you might find helpful:
15 Steps Every Blogger Should Take…Today!
Goal Setting for Success: 5 Tips for Bloggers
Connect with me!
Linking up here, Home Stories A2Z, Savvy Southern Style, Serenity Now, and My Repurposed Life.
Jayme says
Fantastic step-by-step directions!! I’ve always wondered how to do this and decided today was going to be the day. It took me maybe a half hour, that included searching and downloading a font that wasn’t in PicMonkey. I shared these directions to my team so they can learn as well! Thank you!!
mylisa says
Do you have to buy a membership to picmonkey to get this to work?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I don’t believe so. I think this can all be done with the free membership.
Olivia Douglass says
Thank you so much!! My husband has PhotoShop and is always willing to Watermark my photos BUT he doesn’t do it fast enough ;).
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yay! Glad you found this helpful 🙂
Alexandra says
Soooooo helpful! (:
Amanda says
Thank you so much for this amazing tutorial! I’m new to this whole blogging world and am blown away by how helpful all the other bloggers are :).
Debbie Dillon says
This article was SO helpful! Thank you so much!! I love using Picmonkey and I’m so glad I can watermark photos with it, too!!
Blessings,
Debbie
Mary Rose says
Thank you for this awesome tutorial! So easy!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’m so glad it was helpful for you!
JChapman says
I cant Figure this out for th life of me ….IDK Why mine dont have the some of the features
Tanya Uzan says
Hi!
I found you on Pinterest. Thanks for the tutorial! I post so many pictures and needed this. So easy too!
Always hugs,
Tanya
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad you found me Tanya! Have a great weekend!
Kelly says
Hi, Trish,
A Facebook friend shared this tutorial with me when I asked if anyone knew how to create a watermark in PicMonkey. Boy, am I glad she did! Your tutorial was clear and easy. Thank you so much for publishing it! I now have a watermark for my pictures – my first post will be up tomorrow!
XO
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That is just awesome Kelly! Thank you!
Charity says
I manage my daughter’s modeling and now shoot many of her photos….I started using picmonkey and needed to watermark the photos but didn’t know how. Thank you so much for this!!! I have two photos going into Just Kids Magazine and needed them watermarked immediately! This was a perfect tutorial!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s awesome Charity! So glad you found me 🙂
Stephanie says
Super Super Super useful 🙂 Thanks so much. Really learned alot here 🙂
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Oh that’s awesome Stephanie! So glad you stopped by!
annie hearts says
What a great tutorial! I used it and now I have a pretty watermark for my DIY blogging photos!
Thanks!!
Annie XO
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yay! That’s wonderful to hear Annie! Thanks for stopping by!
Kerri, A Pop of Pretty says
Thanks so much for sharing this!! I’ve been wondering how to do this, and your tutorial worked perfectly! ~ Kerri, A Pop of Pretty Blog
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Awesome Kerri! Thanks for stopping by!
Cindy says
Thank you so much. Now I don’t feel so apprehensive about putting my artwork in my Etsy shop. I really appreciate it, you made that very easy.
cindy
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome Cindy! So glad you stopped by 🙂
Bianca Mcneace says
Thank you so much!! This looks so much more professional!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome! I’m glad you gave it a try!
Shelly@Life on Sale says
Trish- Thank you so much for posting this! Your tutorial was so easy to follow. I just created a watermark for my blog and updated all of the photos in my last post. I love the way it turned out, thanks again!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’m so glad it helped Shelly! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Stephanie says
Thank you for sharing this step-by-step!! And for pinning it too!! It was so easy to follow and I can’t wait to start watermarking my photos for my blog 🙂
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yay! Thanks for letting me know Stephanie! Have a great weekend!
karen says
Thank you for a fabulous tutorial! I have almost made exactly what I want–but missed a step someplace–the background is white! How do i get it to be clear/transparent except for the words? THANK YOU so much!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Check out Step 2 Karen – that should fix it! Have a great weekend!
karen says
THANK YOU Trish! Somehow I managed to skip that part 🙂 Got it now and I love it!! You rock 🙂
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yay! So glad Karen!
Kinga says
It’s great!!! Thank you very much! I searched so long for something like this!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’m so glad it was helpful to you! Have a great weekend!
Elsa says
Thanks a lot! You saved my day! I really appreciate.
Rebecca says
Thank you for this amazingly simple tutorial! Everything was so easy to understand. I appreciate that.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’m so glad you found it helpful Rebecca!
Danielle Warren says
Thank you sooo much for sharing! I’ve been tryin to figure out how to do this forever!
Stopping by from TT&J Wrap Up Party!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome Danielle! I figured if I wanted to do it others must too 🙂 Hope you’re having a lovely weekend!
Marcy @ day2day SuperMom says
Yeah! I’ve been wondering how to make a watermark! You are AWESOME! Thanks for sharing this great tutorial (found ya on Tatertots & Jello party!) PINNING and making one tomorrow! =)
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Awesome Marcy! I’m so glad you stopped by!
Gina says
I just went over to PicMonkey, followed your tutorial and it worked! Thank you so much!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yay! Thanks for giving it a try Gina!
Jenn says
Thanks so much for the tutorial Trish! I’ve always wondered how to do that! Pinned!
Jenn xo
Rita says
Thank you! I am going to give this a try.
lisa@cookingwithcurls says
OMG…you are awesome!!! I also do not have Photoshop, and have been trying to find a way to do this…and here you are 🙂 Thank you so much!
Helen @ Blue Eyed Beauty Blog says
Reading this was a duh moment for me since I’ve done this for collages but never thought to save the transparent background for other things! Totally opened up a whole new world for my blog design ideas!!
Helen
Blue Eyed Beauty Blog
Exercise Encouragement Group Blog
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I have those all the time 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Helen!
Emily @ My Love for Words says
I’ve just recently started using Picmonkey and can’t wait to give this a shot. Thanks for the tutorial.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You’re so welcome Emily!
Susan says
Thank you so much for the watermark tutorial… I now have a new one!
Susan
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s awesome Susan!
Rachel says
You’re a rock star! This is going to save me so much time! Thank you for a very pertinent and easy to follow tutorial.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad to have helped!
gail says
great tutorial! I use ippicy…. I’ll need to try picmonkey
gail
kelly thompson says
very great- thanks so much!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So welcome Kelly!
Kristy says
Just did this in no time flat!!! Thank you! Brilliant….easy….and going to be such a time saver, not to mention how nice it looks. THANK YOU again for sharing and making it so simple to follow!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are welcome Kristy! So happy to make your life a little easier 🙂
sandy says
I’ve been using picMonkey for quite some time
and did not think to do this… Thanks so
much for the heads up and this will be my
evening project…
Happy Spring
sandy
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Awesome Sandy! Thanks for visiting!
Melissa @ Keep Calm and Decorate says
This is a gret tutorial! I just love PicMonkey and this seems simple enough and looks so professional .
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
PicMonkey is awesome 🙂 Very simple Melissa and you can’t customize to your heart’s content!
Heather @ The Unsophisticated Kitchen says
This is something I have been wondering about for awhile now! Thanks so much for taking the guess work out of it!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome Heather!
Lisa @hooplapalooza says
holy schmoly!!! the tute i have been searching for for a year has ARRIVED thanks to YOU! :>D
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So welcome Lisa! I’m glad to have been a help 🙂
Alison Wood says
Very helpful! Thanks so much!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So welcome Alison 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
MaytagNMom says
Great tutorial- and who doesn’t LOVE Picmonkey- even with a silly name, it’s the best freebie tool in town!
Thank you for sharing with the rest of us! Always great to see creative minds at work. 🙂
Visiting from Catch As Catch Can @ My Repurposed Life linky party
Smiles,
Suz @MaytagNMom
NW Illinois
Link To My Party Project This Week
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks for stopping by!
Sharon says
Thank you for this wonderful tutorial! I’ve pinned it and now I’m off to read your other blogging tutorials.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’m so glad you found it helpful Sharon!
Jocie@TheBetterHalf says
Great tutorial! love all those screen shots. last time I tried pic monkey it was soooo slow i couldn’t handle it. Has it sped up at all?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I haven’t ever had any problems with speed. Maybe give it another try?
Erika@BeBookBound says
This has been wonderful! I’ve spent the last several minutes creating a watermark and your instructions were as easy as could be. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to use my watermark!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Awesome Erika! So easy right? Thank you for stopping by and letting me know!
Made From Pinterest says
Thanks for this wonderful tip. I am sure I will get use out of right away!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s wonderful! Thanks for stopping by!
Carolyn says
Very clever! Thanks so much! I’m so happy to get rid of the ugly generic watermark I’ve been using.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome Carolyn! Glad you found this useful 🙂
S. @ The Captivating Life says
You’re a genius! Thanks so much for this. I’m so sick of typing out my blog name on EVERY picture. Gah. This is going to save so much time!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Hehe! I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Mrs. Tucker says
Pinned! Thanks.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks for the pin!
Brenda says
Hello! I’m just getting started with blogging. Thank you so very much for this great tutorial! Your site is amazing!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Welcome to the blogging world Brenda! Thank you so much for your sweet comment!
Charlene@A Pinch of Joy says
Another reason to love PicMonkey! Thanks so much for the great information! Pinned!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Charlene! PicMonkey to the rescue!
Valarie says
Thank you so much! This is exactly what I have been trying to figure out on my own and I have been stumped!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad I could help out Valarie! Thanks for visiting!
Amy* says
I wish I could hug you right through the computer screen! Your tutorial will no doubt save me countless hours of tedium wasted by MANUALLY adding watermarks to each individual picture in my photo heavy tutorials :). Happy Dance ensues as I skip away to create a new watermark.
Thank you thank you!
Amy*
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Hugging you right back Amy! Have fun!
Danni@SiloHillFarm says
Thank you! I make my own everytime…never thought of doing it this way and saving it!! You are so smart! Thanks for sharing this idea!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad to help Danni! It’s been saving me lots of time 🙂
Carrie says
Thank you! I was wondering how to do this.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So welcome Carrie!
Krista says
That is AWESOME!! Thanks for sharing!!
Krista
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You’re so welcome Krista!
Michelle Muckala says
Great tutorial!! Thanks so much 🙂
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks for stopping by Michelle!
Lori @ A Bright and Beautiful Life says
Thanks for the great tutorial.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome Lori!
Lisa says
I just finished making my own watermark using your tutorial. Thanks for this!
Blessings,
Lisa
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome Lisa!
Curtains in My Tree says
Thank you so much I am going to try this
Janice
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Great! Thanks for stopping by Janice!
Megin says
I just started using this today ~ thanks for the tips!
I found you today on Featherd Nest Friday’s Linky. I hope you can stop by my blog to say hello!
~ Megin of VMG206
http://www.vmg206.blogspot.com
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks for stopping by Megin! Have a great weekend!
Jeni says
I really need to subscribe to pic monkey! This is a great tutorial! I am going to pin it for later!
Terry says
Well done and extremely helpful. I have been wanting to do this for a long time…because of you, now I can. Thanks so much.
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says
I seriously need to sit down and create a water mark because I’m tired of typing every time I do a picture. This looks so easy to do too!!! Thank you for sharing!
Heather@ourcultivatedlife says
This was just what I was looking for! Thanks for a simple tutorial:)
Christine says
Thank you so much! I have been wondering the same thing, since I don’t have Photoshop either. Now following you via Facebook. (Psst, I found you via OPC’s, The Better Half’s Link Party.)
Carole says
Hi, Trish…thanks so much for the great lesson. I’ve been using PicMonkey for quite a while, but always used the text tools to brand each and every picture! Your way is a real time saver! It was great to meet you at Bloggy Boot Camp in Las Vegas and hope to run into you again at another blogging conference in the future. Take care and keep up the great work!
Vicky @ Mess For Less says
This is great advice and I can’t wait to try it. Just pinned!
Pam says
Trish…this is a great tutorial. I just began using Picmonkey. I have been using photobucket….but I like some of the features that you can do with Picmonkey. I just found your site via House of Hepworths link party. I’m a new follower, and can’t wait to look around. Please consider coming over and linking this up at my link party too. I know many of my readers that would benefit from this. Hope to see you there at The Patriotic Pam.
Pam
Sarah @ My Joy-Filled Life says
Thank you so much! I love picmonkey and use it for all my pictures as well!
This is so easy; I had been editing every picture and putting my blog name on it every time; what a pain! This makes it so much easier!!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad you found this helpful Sarah!
Holly Lefevre says
I so need this…I have the lamest watermarks ever! Thanks…pinned, Stumbled, shared!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
LOL! I think that’s a pretty common situation 🙂 Thanks for all the social media love!
Thalita @ The Learner Observer says
WOW! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I don’t think I ever would have thought of this, though I always find myself wondering when I would ever use my own overlays in PicMonkey!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are sooo welcome! Hope you’re having a great week!
Tammy @ A Walk in the Countryside says
Thanks Trish! This will come in handly!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Awesome Tammy! Thanks for stopping by!
Hilda @ From Overwhelmed To Organized says
Wow! That’s going to save me SO. MUCH. TIME!! Thank you so much for sharing this Trish. I knew there had to be a way to do it in PicMonkey but never thought of doing it this way. Do you do the same thing for the title on your pictures (i.e. Potato Herb Wheat Rolls)? Thanks again!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
For the titles I just use the existing overlay options – there’s so many of them! So glad you found this helpful Hilda!
Krysta - KrystaSteen.com says
This is EXACTLY what I needed! I have been trying to figure this out for days, lol! Thank you!! 🙂
Shannon {Cozy Country Living} says
I love it! It sounds like something I can actually do and I love Pic Monkey:). Thanks for the great tutorial. Those rolls look delicious by the way:)
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You totally can Shannon! Those rolls are tomorrow’s post 🙂
Mary from Mary Organizes says
Thank you SO MUCH for this – it is super helpful!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome Mary 🙂 I’m so glad it helped!
Kelly@ Here Comes the Sun says
I’ve been trying to figure this out forever! I’m redesigning my blog and want to use a logo instead of my url as the watermark. Now I know how to do it. Thanks so much for posting this.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome Kelly! I was trying to figure it out forever too 🙂 So glad it helped!
Jessi says
Thanks! Awesome tutorial!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad it helped Jessi!
Delanie says
Thanks so much! I love Picmonkey too! This will be super helpful as I usually open my images and just add text every single time. Huge Timesaver Thanks!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome! I was doing the same thing 🙂
Gloria @ Simply Gloria says
I LOVE Picmonkey! Thank you for the tutorial. You explained it very well. Can’t wait to do this!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you Gloria! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Rachel says
Thanks for sharing this! I’m going to create one right now. This will be so much easier than typing in my blog name on each picture.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Exactly! That was getting soooo old!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
Great post Trish!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks Dorothy!
Blair at The Seasoned Mom.com says
This was so helpful. Thank you!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome Blair 🙂
Jenn says
Thanks for the tutorial!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You’re welcome Jenn!