Where can I get images for use in design?

Barbara Ellen Andrews · 02-03-10, 07:10 AM

Hi everyone - I'm fairly new to the cUp site but I'm loving every minute! I've got a few cards on the site but I'm really looking forward to having a go a designing (got a copy of PSP 8 on its way to me -

) but I am not sure where to source images I can use to make sheets (due to copyright, etc).

Can anyone give me some good websites to try please?

Cheers
Barb

Helen Williams · 02-03-10, 07:36 AM

Hiya

You can find Designer resources in the designer resource section on Craftsuprint.....

Craftsuprint Clipart for Commercial use.....

Cheryl Sesler has her own license which you buy and then use her clipart for designing....

There are many more which i am sure someone else can tell you about, i haven't used any others yet...

Helen

Carol Clarke · 02-03-10, 08:06 AM

Hi Barb and the best of luck with designing sheets. Other than suggesting CUP designer Resources and the CUP clip art website I can't help with sourcing graphics though as I draw all my own

Alison Sloan · 02-03-10, 01:21 PM

Hi Barb,

Trina Clark at Digi Scrap Kits does lots of clipart at reasonable prices that can be used here. You must pick the 'Exclusive Use' stuff though.

www.digiscrapkits.com

Alison

Jolis DeAngelis · 02-03-10, 04:07 PM

You can google "free graphics" and get some results, just be sure to read their TOU (Terms of Use) before you use them to make sure you can use them for commercial purposes.

Helen Williams · 02-03-10, 05:36 PM

Hiya

I love trina clarks stuff, went to the website, but is there a specific section for exclusive?

Many thanks
Helen

Alison Sloan · 02-03-10, 07:30 PM

Sorry Helen, Wrong information, as Trina Clark owns the DigiScrapKit web site, all her stuff can be used for CU, in other sites she displays her work, there can be different catagories of use.

Alison

Vicki Avcin · 02-03-10, 11:51 PM

Always read the fine print of where ever you go.
Some sites will have quite clearly displayed the Terms of Use/FAQ on sites others dont display it quite so prominently.

The first rule of copyright is....If you don't know who the artist/creator/photographer is DONT USE IT.
A lot of people think because its 'on the net' that its OK to use. Well its not. Everything is copyright therefore copyright law applies.

If you don't know who created it then you cant find out whether it can be used or not.

Some places require you to purchase a licence before using their work commercially. Other places might have CU OK on them which means after downloading them or purchasing them you can us to make a derivitive work and then sell.

In nearly all cases you cannot just put up the image and resell it. Most things require you to make a derivitive work from the image and sell that.
(Derivitive work means you cannot extract the original image and resell/use)

Also there is usually either a Licence info or a Read Me in with files. So read that carefully to make sure you don't breach any copyright laws or usage requirements.

I make all my own work from scratch but I have studied copyright law and we teach the basics of it in my forum.

You may see things that state can be used under the Fair Use Act. This means that institutions like schools, colleges, Universities etc......registered teaching facilities....can use it. It does not mean its usable by anyone.

Stock Free images can be used but read the Terms of Use there too as there can be conditions on those and sometimes you need to purchase a licence from the site in order to have use of the images as the original creator/owner/photographer has signed the right to those images to the site itself, there fore they control how and who can use them.

And if you have to purchase an image from somewhere it doesn't mean you then own the image.....the copyright will still belong to either the creator or photographer or someone who has purchased the rights to the image. You are only purchasing a licence to use the image.

Places like Walt Disney, Looney Tunes etc images cannot be used without a commercial licence being purchased.
You may see things also that say.....Personal Use only......things with that on it cannot be used for a monetry gain.

Photos of Celebrities should not be used. The copyright belongs to the celebrity, or in some cases the celeb signs the rights over to the photographer.

You also need to look and see if the creator of the image allows any kind of manipulation of the image also. ei..chopping parts off or recolouring.

There is a lot involved in Copyright Law. So only use images that you know 100% the creator and their TOU.

Hope that helps you to know what to look for when looking for items to use.

Annelies Brown · 03-03-10, 01:09 AM

You can buy certain books. One series I know of is the Design Source Book Series. You are permitted to reproduce up to 15 of the individual designs for any single graphic or craft project without the prior permission of the Publishers. The publisher is Search Press Ltd. You can get these books in Hobbycraft. There are all types of subjects from Traditional Japanese Designs to Classic Border Designs. There are approx 25 in the series. The price of one book is £4.95. They only have approx. 32 pages.

They are great if you are just starting out. Hope this helps.

Annelies

Barbara Ellen Andrews · 03-03-10, 05:09 AM

Thanks everyone for the great advice!

I had researched the basics of the copyright laws and it is frustrating when looking for images in the "public domain" that you cannot totally rely on them being completely copyright free.

Unfortunately some sites simply state their images are public domain but you have to take their word for it! Often they don't identify the original owner and they assume that because of this there is no basis for a copyright claim .... buzzzz .... wrong answer! There is no proof that the owner has indeed released their work.

Also a lot of images are listed for "personal use" and cannot be used commercially such as here, even in modified form. So getting started on a shoestring is really hard without purchasing licences, etc!

Even using images from books that allow a certain number of reproductions would still be a minefield. As the image is reproduced here multiple times by other users it would far exceed the original intent of the book publisher. Sheesh - I can't win!!

But, always wanting to do the right thing I guess I'd be safer purchasing some stuff first then once my confidence with PSP grows I can start designing my own artwork!

So again, thank you everyone for getting me on track and I'll check out the leads you've given me!

(Mind you if there are any more suggestions I'd still love to hear them

)

Cheers
Barb

Site Navigation

Help & Info

Copyright