Watermark Remover – C version & Windows executable
May-2020
I managed to write a C version of the program to remove watermarks, and I compiled it into an executable for Windows.
It still lack convenience, but I guess it gets the job done, and it is already good news.
There is, of course, still a need for extracted watermarks to perform the un-watermarking, but the C version for that is not ready yet, so one still has to cope with the Python script. Once the C version of that other program is done, the watermark manipulation kit “Release That Watermark!” will become more seriously interesting for use in the scanlation community, since standalone executables for Windows will be available and work with almost just a double-click.
However, I am still not sure if I will also make a C version of the additional tools, and of all the watermark extraction methods. C programs take much longer to do than Python scripts, and I will likely choose to focus on the essential programs (which are 2-sample watermark extraction and watermark removal), while the Python scripts may remain tools of choice for experimenting and finer manipulation. But most scanlators dealing with watermarks will probably just need to get rid of watermarks fast and without too much of a hassle, and that is what the C version is intended to make possible.
The C version (source code + standalone executable for Windows) is available here:
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/qkxpmudgvszm4/ReleaseThatWatermark!
hey! could you post a video of how to use it? im so confused lol
Hmm, I’m not experienced at all in doing videos… I’ll try and make tutorials on this blog, and to illustrate them with examples.
If you have Windows, you should probably start with the executable version.
The overall idea:
Basically, if you want to un-watermark a picture, you first need to reconstruct the watermark as a translucent image, or to get it by pther means (I can send you a few watermarks I’ve already reconstructed). Then, you can use the reconstructed translucent watermark to un-watermark raws for example.
1) Watermark reconstruction
Put in a folder the executable “WatermarkTwoSampleExtractor.exe”, the text file “ConfigurationWatermark extractor” and two images with the watermark on a uniform background (for example on a white background and on a black background). Then, open the configuration file, and suit the settings to the images (file names, background colors, position of the watermarks in the images), then save the file. Then, double-click the executable.
It should create the reconstructed watermark in the folder. You may have to try several different position settings to find the perfect alignment of the two source watermarked images.
2) Un-watermarking
Put in a folder the executable “WatermarkRemover.exe”, the text file “ConfigurationWatermarkRemover”, the image to un-watermark and the reconstructed watermark.
The idea is the roughly the same as for reconstruction: you suit the configuration file to the files you’re working on and the position of the watermark in the image, then you save it and you double-click the executable, and the un-watermarked image is created in the folder.
If you un-watermark an image with a lot of very bright areas and you have hard time finding the best position settings, then consider to enable the settings for additional calibration output. That’s an additional created image that draws a box around the un-watermarked area in the image.
I’ve created a new post with a few tutorials. I’ll try and add couple of real-world examples soon too:
https://firemark.mangadex.com/2020/07/01/tutorials-for-releasethatwatermark/