Marn asked recently, Melissa asked months ago, and Sandpiper asked via The Homeschool Lounge about using art in blogging. Since it is a reoccurring question, I decided to answer it here. I hope my link tour adds some creative beauty to your memories.
The Studio of Corot, or Young woman seated before an Easel, 1868-70
Here are the resources I use:
If an image is copyrighted you will not be allowed to copy it.
While preparing this post, I noticed Art Renewal Center forbids copying their images for websites. I found their site through Wikipedia: Public domain image resources. That is not an excuse, but a reminder to check for yourself.
Images may be used for personal or educational use.
AllPosters.com has a free service that allows you to blog an image. After you find a print you like, scroll down to the link that says, Blog This Image. This gives you the code to insert into your blog. No uploading required. Be sure to read their terms.
I haven’t used this yet, but I plan to. Much of the photography has a Creative Commons license. For more information, I recommend A Complete Guide to Finding and Using Incredible Flickr Images.
Is your blog on WordPress? Photo Dropper plugin allows you to quickly find and place Flickr images into your posts. I don’t remember where I first saw this plugin, but Dana of Principled Discovery recommended it to me, too.
Update: Heather mentioned that when using Creative Commons you need to give attribution. The article I linked to discusses this further, and the Photo Dropper plugin does it automatically. Attribution, a link back to the image author or site, is a perfect way to say thank you even if not expressly requested.
Sites I use less frequently, but are worth mentioning:
Nice collection for browsing. Liam requests usage credit.
I find this site more difficult to navigate, but there are a lot of nice vintage illustrations here.
Free to download and use. All clip art is in the public domain.
This is not a source for images, but it is a simple way to resize large files.
Do you use artwork in your blog? What are your favorite places to find illustrations? I know pictures of the kids are nice!
Related posts:
16 Comments
Let’s see. Where do I get my great images? HA!
I like the Microsoft Office clip art available online. They have tons of stuff and I can usually find something…but not art.
Dana,
Thanks for the tip!
Isn’t individuality wonderful? I thoroughly enjoy hunting for artwork. It’s my treat after the work of writing. And your posts are actually longer than five paragraphs! :) (I think that is my maximum.)
I am not sur if this is the right place to post this but I have just stared a totally cost free graphics site at
http://www.freegraphicscentre.com
There are thousands of free graphics including photos, illustrations, fractals and much more.
they really are completely free )no catches) and woudl be great for schools / education or even commercial work
Hi Renae,
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! Yours is beautiful - I’ve enjoyed browsing around here. :) Thanks for the links to copywright-free art. This is something I’ve wanted to use more, but I’ve had a hard time finding things. Thanks again!
Blessings,
Shannon
You are so good to pull all that together for us. :) Blessings!
Thanks, Renae! I need to bookmark this post! I most often post my own photographs, but there are many times when I need a specific work of art.
John,
Thanks for the link. I check it out more later, but it appears to be a nice site, especially for someone who doesn’t want to set up a Flickr account.
Shannon,
I’m glad you enjoyed your visit. I enjoyed your blog, as well. I could tell you like art. ;)
Melissa and Jennifer,
You’re welcome!
Thanks so much for sharing these links. I’ve used the Creative Commons site but not the others. This will be fun!
Have a great weekend :)
Still having fun….posted about your post here: http://barbaramfrank.blogspot.com/2008/04/post-300.html
Thanks again!
Thanks for the awesome resources, Renae! I do not use enough images in my blogs. The only ones I do use, usually, are photos that I took. I love to see blogs (such as yours) that make good use of art.
Thanks Renae. I often just post without any pictures and it looks so much nicer to add something :) I will look through the links and start trying some of them out!
Just FYI–Creative Commons by nature expects you to give credit where credit is due. As an artist myself who uses Creative Commons for a lot of my stuff that is very important.
Heather,
Thanks for pointing that out. The article I linked to discusses the different licenses on Creative Commons. I haven’t used it yet, but the WordPress plugin automatically gives attribution.
Well, just today I’ve used some of these resources. A timely article, and I have to get the next carnival ready for COFL and will be scouring again… :-)
This is a great article on copyright info:
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
Jennifer in OR,
Thanks. I’m glad to help. :)
Melinda,
Thank you very much for adding the article, since I didn’t discuss copyrights. It is especially an issue on the internet, but almost impossible to deal with.