How to Make a Watermark Brush in Affinity Photo

In this guide we will show you how to make a watermark brush in Affinity Photo. You can use this brush as a semi-transparent mark across your images or a signature in a corner. However you choose to use this brush, it will certainly make watermarking images a whole lot easier.

We will be using a modern font duo called Fadelyn and this lovely Autumn mockup photo from the Plus Hub. Not a Plus Member yet? Then sign up for a free 30 day Gold Plus Membership trial today!

Step 1 - Create PNG for Watermark

For this tutorial we will be making an Image Brush. This will allow us to use an image with set colors. You won’t be able to change the color of the brush once created. But, you can add designs as well as individual colors while creating the brush.

In order to create the watermark, we first need to make a PNG image with a transparent background.

Create a New Document

Open Affinity Photo then click New Document. In the document properties change the Document units to Pixels.

Next, use 1800px for Page width and Page height, then set DPI to 300. Make sure that under the Color profile, Transparent Background is ticked. Now click Create.

Try not to make the PNG image too large as this can cause issues. When creating an overly large brush, the software can start to slow down.

Use the Text Tool

On the left side panel you will find the Text Tool. Depending on which tool was used last, it may show as a capital “A” or a “T” inside a box. We will be using the Artistic Text Tool.

With the tool selected, change the font in the Font Family top left. Now, type out your text. We used the letter “D” for the first part of our watermark.

We want to create two text layers. So make sure to click away from the text object once done to leave text edit mode.

Click back on the Artistic Text Tool, change the font to Fadelyn Script and type out “B”.

Add Color to Text

We want to add color to the letter “D” but keep the letter “B” black. Click on the letter “D” to select, then go to the Color Panel on the right hand side. If the Color Panel is not visible, go to View > Studio > Color.

Choose a color from the Color Panel. Next, select both of the layers in the Layers Panel. Do this by selecting one layer, then hold Ctrl + click on the second layer. We then resized the watermark image.

With both layers selected, click + drag to reposition in the center. The red and green guidelines tell you when the text is centered.

Save as a PNG File

Now we can save our watermark image as a PNG file. Go to File > Export and in the Export Window select PNG. Then, click Create. Give your brush a name, choose a location to save to and click Save.

You can also save this file as an Affinity File to edit later on. Click on File > Save As, name your file and save it.

Step 2 - Create an Image Brush

You can now close the PNG file that you just created. Open a file you want to add the watermark to.

Add a New Image Brush

On the right hand side click on the Brushes Panel. If you don’t see this panel go to View > Studio > Brushes. Click on the drop down menu and choose Basic. This is where your brush will be saved.

On the far right click on the burger menu and select New Image Brush.

In the new window, locate where your PNG is stored and click to open. Once added, scroll down to the bottom of the Basic brush category to find your brush.

Edit the Watermark Brush

Before we can use the brush, we need to edit a few settings. To access the Brush Settings, double click on the brush under the Brush Panel. Alternatively click on More in the top toolbar.

As you can see, the brush looks a bit of a mess. Make sure you are in the General panel of the Brush Settings.

Now, adjust the Spacing to 200% and also change the Size to 100px. The sliders can be moved or the value typed in to make things easier. Click on Close to apply the changes.

Use the Watermark Brush

Your watermark brush is ready to use. On the left side panel, click on the Paint Brush Tool. If needed, click on the small white arrow to open the painting tools.

On the top toolbar you can adjust the Brush Size, Opacity, Flow and Hardness. We reduced the Opacity to 50% and increased the brush size. For quick access, use the keyboard shortcuts [ and ] to increase or decrease the brush size.

As you move your cursor over the image, you will see a preview of the brush. All you need to do is click once to “paint” in your watermark.

Since this is an Image Brush, it retains all the color of the PNG image. Keep in mind, you won’t be able to change the color of this type of brush once created.

The great thing about Image Brushes is that you can add customized designs in color. This is especially useful when using the brush to sign your images.

Wow, you have just created your own customized watermark brush in Affinity Photo! You can quickly add a watermark or even sign your photos with just a single click. Use this brush to add your own unique style and help customers identify your brand at a glance.