Create exactly the image you need with these free images for graphic designers. Use these images for illustration, collages and marketing. I created this alien landscape with images from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Get your creative juices flowing!
Every client assumes you have a limitless library of images for them to choose among. That’s not true, so you have to have your own resources for free images.
Library of Congress
Pictured is an old Popeye animation by Paramount Studios, 1936. To view the entire movie, click here.
To view the entire collection, click here and view by gallery, list, grid, or slideshow. You can modify your search by title or date, if you already know what you want.
Once you find the free images you want, download them and choose GIF, JPG, or TIF. Select TIF if you are working on a print project.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Shown above is “Arcadian Landscape” by Bartholomeus Breenbergh, 1630.
LACMA is the largest art museum in the western Untied States and they have made tens of thousands public domain images available online. Go to to LACMA Collections, enter your keywords in the search field (top-center) and select “show public domain images only.” The left sidebar shows categories by artist (13,000 unknown artists!), classification (prints, sculpture, etc.), curatorial area (Asian, Egyptian, etc.), chronology (back to 10,000 BC!) or location. Find the image you want, click on “Download Image” from the menu just below the image and choose PowerPoint Quality or Publication Quality.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
Pictured is “Pandora,” by Odilon Redon. This painting was created in 1914, just as World War I was getting underway. The Met’s curators think that the myth of Pandora opening her box that unleashed all evils upon the world may have been particularly poignant to the artist that year.
The Met has public domain images of artwork going back 10,000 years! Click here to view the entire collection of copyright-free images. Make sure you have “Open Access” selected, then refine your search by object/material, geographic location, date/era, or department (Arms & Armor, American Wing, etc.).
When you find the free images you need, click on on them to view a complete description of the artwork and artist. The download arrow is underneath the image on the right. You don’t get to pick a download size.
United States National Archives
Above is a photo of a Frenchman crying as German soldiers march down the street in Paris, on June 14, 1940.
Photos curated by the federal government are made available to the general public. You will enjoy their Flickr site best, but you can find much more on their website.
From the Flickr pages, locate the image you want and click on the down arrow on the bottom left corner. A pop-up menu allows you to pick the size you want.
Unfortunately, their website does not have a photo grid to peruse, so use the search field to find your image. Don’t know what you want? Try selecting “Search Tips” from the sidebar at left or choose “Getting Started” from the Research Guides at the bottom.
I found it helpful to click on the “Most Requested” list on the right-hand sidebar. I clicked on “World War II” and found a marvelous photo grid with famous photos and never-seen-before photos, too.
In the World War II section, there is a new left sidebar which lists wars from 1812 to Vietnam, and many other fascinating things. Some images have a download arrow, but others need you to right-click or control-click to download.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Those gorgeous yellow flowers are actually yellow oyster mushrooms, Pleurotus citrinopileatus.
The USDA has a gallery of 6,500 images, but only the Featured Images are copyright-free. All they ask is that you give them the photo credit. A list of download sizes will appear below the photo.
Don’t see what you want amongst the “Featured Images”? Use the search field or peruse the photo grid for the category you need. If the image you want is copyrighted, email ([email protected]) or call 301-504-1606 for more information.
The British Library
Shown above is Alnwick Castle, painted in 1866, famous as the inspiration for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter Series.
The British Library has over a million images on Flickr for anyone to explore and re-use. Browse the photo grid to find the category you want. Beware that clicking on the download arrow on the category thumbnail causes all of the images in that category to download. Once you find the image you want, click on the download arrow in the bottom right corner of the image and a pop-up menu will allow you to choose the size you need. Below each image are links to download the entire book the image came from, to see all the other images in that same book, or to browse other books published that same year. Cool!
New York Public Library
“Bahrâm Chûbînah kills the dragon that has devoured the daughter of the Khâqân of Chîn, calligraphy by Darvîsh ‘Abdî, 1616.
180,000 digital images are available with no restrictions and no permissions required because they are in the public domain. Click here to find the tools you’ll need for searching by keyword, collection, visualization, or database with complete instructions on how to use each.
I was curious about the visualization technique, so I clicked on it and was surprised to find a mosaic of tiny thumbnails! I randomly clicked on one and here it is, shown above.
Once you have chosen an image, click on it and it will open in a new web page with all your download option underneath. I was pleased to discover that choosing “Original” downloaded an image that was 300 dpi at poster size. Very useful!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I am a graphic designer who does a lot of Photoshop work for my customers. Please take a look at my other tutorials and resources.
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Delete Backgrounds Quickly in Photoshop: Color Range Method
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Eliminate Backgrounds Fast in Photoshop with Combo Tools
Awesome Photo Mockups In 2 Easy Steps
Creating A Photo Mockup From Scratch
17 Free DIY Resources for Graphic Designers
By Martha Ridgeway, Graphic Designer