The latest scourge with AI is protecting one's images with invisible watermarks. Relatively easy to do using DCT, DWT and/or SVD (stable diffusion nonsense), but for the most part only works for RGB JPEG images (and if you don't care about bandwidth). It's not easy for (in my case) indexed PNG images. An aside; this is a thing because you might want to (1) keep your images from maybe be training material for AI, and (2) protect the ownership of your images in a way that robbers can't say, Hey, it ain't got your name on it.

With stable diffusion, basically you're taking an image and changing the pixel values in a way that's imperceptible to the eye but not to AI and while at it, hiding an invisible watermark; it essentially tricks AI into thinking the image was AI generated. To do this it breaks the image into 8x8 blocks and quantitizes them, similar to how jpeg compression works. The problem with this (in regards to index images) is that it must be saved as RGB in order to work; to appear AI generated and to survive even basic attacks. Cut to the chase; stable diffusion and index color doesn't work. However, invisible watermarking can.

Sidebar; mentioned above are attacks of an image. By attacks, I mean, methods to destroy invisible watermarks. Typical, or likely, attacks involve resaving the image in different file formats (ie: png to jpeg, jpeg to jpeg with a different compression quality), resizing or cropping the image, grayscaling, etc. Basically, some form of entropy.

The tricks to getting index color invisible watermarking to work is hiding it in fake jpeg 8x8 pixels blocks, or in the case of the webp format, fake 16x16 pixel blocks. It's also best to place the watermarks at coordinates divisible by eight (for jpeg) or 16 (for webp). If done correctly, an indexed PNG image can easily survive jpeg and webp attacks.

Finally adding ComicInfo.xml to my comics CBR file. It'll begin with RSA issue #17 due this Fall. May take awhile before I update past issues. Also updating the NFO file included with each issue. Together, these two should provide enough info. Both are created when I run the php script that creates the CBR file. Debating whether to waste my time updating to Comic Vine.

Slight delay with RSA #16. Dislocated the thumb on my drawing hand, so inking is a little difficult right now. Also had to tear my laptop to pieces.

Was wondering why my laptop lid wouldn't shut anymore -- batts were swollen and ready to explode. NBD. Luckily had a replacement ready to go. Just had to tear the laptop down to the ground.

It's always sumthin.

This website has been live since May 22, 1998 -- soon to be 25 years old. Originally started by Sgt. Yuck, and then after securing the IP, I took over in 2002. A lot of sites have come and gone since then, but not SNART!

Thumbnail to finish...

I posted this video 15 years ago on YouTube, and it currently has over 20K views. Weird! Especially since it was shot with a super crappy camera @ 240p. Yoiks.

Dang! I cranked out three whole issues of RSA this year -- SO SHUT UP!

The most issues I've done (per volume) is 15 in Volume 3. I don't count 1 through 9 because they were reprints. Volume 6 was 16 issues, but they were only 10 pages per, so don't count either. I'm now working on writing issue 16 of Volume 8, so I'll break that record. Not that I'm pushing quantity thing. Quality is paramount! Ja!

I've got the idea for the story for #16, and it's a killer. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll probably stop reading and just look at the pictures. You big dummies.

On my website, if you scroll to the bottom and click the More Comics Here link, you'll find comic collections of all of my stuff. You're welcome, ya bunch cheap bastards.

And just to repeat... The file format has changed from PDF to CBR. Moving to a more popular digital comic standard seemed more appropriate. The files are also less complex and easier to create on my end.

There's plenty of comic book reading apps out there. All of them read cbz, cbr and pdf file formats. Search on Google or start here. Personally, I use YACReader on my desktop and Panels on my iPhone. Most of the time, I'm reading on my iPad 1 (yeah, over 12 years old) using an ancient version of CloudReaders.