How to Find Public Domain Clipart For Your Articles

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By Lynn W
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Find Public Domain Clipart For Your Articles

I have been asked about where I find all of my clip art. Well, here is an article to share the places that I use, plus a couple more that are really good sources that I haven't used yet but plan to in the future. The main thing about using clip art is make sure you read the terms thoroughly and follow them.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Computer with internet

Step 1

First Place!

WPClipart has an extensive collection of royalty free clip art which can be used for both personal and commercial purposes and no strings attached. So far this is the best site I have found like this. Here is the URL: http://www.wpclipart.com/
Step 2

PhotoBucket is another great place to find pictures, but you have to be super careful using this site. The terms of use say that you can pretty much use the pictures on the site for about anything. (http://photobucket.com/terms especially read #6 and http://photobucket.com/copyright for more information) The catch of course, is you are relying on the person who uploaded the photo, to have the right to upload it, so use common sense. Many people do not know or understand how Photo Bucket is suppose to be used and they upload copyrighted material. With that in mind, I usually use the site for stuff like pictures of food and stuff, things that probably aren't copyrighted. Don't use any photos that look questionable or that are obvious trade mark infringements. Here is the URL: http://photobucket.com/
Step 3

Karen Whimsy is another good resource of clip art, that are in the public domain. All she asks for is a link back to her site. Here is the URL: http://karenswhimsy.com/
Step 4

Flickr is another good resource, but it can be a little more tricky to use. Not all photos on Flickr are public domain and many have restrictions on use, so learn the symbols used so you don't get in trouble using the wrong thing. Make sure you use only photos that can be used for commercial purposes. Here is the URL: http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

Comments

NuttyMomma said

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on 1/30/2009 Thanks for all the sources. This was very helpful.

writeitout said

on 1/25/2009 I'm always looking for new ways to find clip art, thanks for sharing 5*

Smireles said

on 1/21/2009 Thanks for the sources on clip art. I am always looking for clips or images.

TomCom said

on 1/19/2009 I got where I hardly ever bother looking for clip-art anymore. I draw most of my own illustrations. With that said, I just bookmarked the wpclipart.com page for future reference. Thanks!