Clip Art Press

101 Ways to Use Clipart – Not Your Average Pictures

What do you think of when you think of clip art? Do you picture the black and white sketches from the “olden days” like many people do? Black and white, colorful, animated, large or small, clip art has evolved to become a highly useful tool in many areas, for many purposes. From the playful to the practical, below is a short list of ways this versatile art form can come in handy:

1. Children’s coloring & window art project – Black and white clip art comes in especially handy for keeping children happy and occupied. Choosing appropriate clip art for the occasion – birthdays or Valentine’s Day parties, for instance – is easy. Once you find what you’re looking for, print it out and start a coloring party! When the pictures have been finished, you can spray them down with lacquer and turn them into window art for the kids to take home.
2. Learning tools for teachers that students love – Clip art mixed with any paint or document program can make an excellent learning tool for pre-kindergarten and higher. Match your choice to your current lesson plan, add titles or appropriate text with either a paint program or document reader like Microsoft Word, save and print. For instance, a black and white tepee that can be colored might complement a lesson on Native Americans.
3. Website design – Clip art is much more than it used to be. You can choose simple creations to enhance your website design, partial templates (such as navigation menus only) or complete website templates. In fact, those that want to design their own website – or even professional designers with not enough time on their hands to design every aspect – can use clip art to build a beautiful, dynamic website.
4. Stencils – Many people use wall and decorative art to enhance their homes. However, one decorative stencil can cost as much as $100 if not more. Clip art, on the other hand, is an inexpensive way to create fantastic wall and molding decorations. Simply choose your clip art, print it out and transfer it to stiff cardboard or fairly thin plastic (plastic is preferable). Cut out the design and you have a beautiful stencil for wall art.
5. Print collateral – While clip art can come in handy at home or school, it really shines in business applications. Print collateral, such as brochures, pamphlets, business letterheads and envelopes, is an excellent example. Whether the clip art is an enhancement or part of the overall design, today’s choices can turn a drab layout into a work of art. (The Graphics Factory has over 3,000 images in our clip art for business category.)

Other Ideas

Just for fun, we decided to see if we really could come up with 101 ways to use clip art. Here goes:

1. T-shirt printing
2. PowerPoint illustrations
3. Hand-made greeting cards
4. Scrap-booking projects
5. Signs
6. Website widgets
7. As glass etching designs
8. As metal ornaments, either stamped or sandblasted
9. Signature stamps
10. Potatoes stamps for kids
11. To make your emails stand out
12. Enhancements for eNewsletters
13. Art projects
14. Visual cues in reports
15. As frame decorations for pictures
16. Creating birthday stickers
17. Creating homemade party decorations
18. Decoration on promotional material (mugs, mousepads, etc)
19. On flyers
20. Enhancements for magazine articles
21. Ads
22. Business cards
23. Website template packages
24. Theme designs
25. Website widgets
26. Window transparencies
27. Creating ornaments
28. 3D cutout designs
29. 3D background scenes
30. Invitations
31. Holiday decorations
32. Bookmarks
33. Catalogs
34. Research projects
35. Illustrations
36. Calendars
37. Wallpaper
38. Coloring pages
39. CD Collections
40. Baby showers
41. Screensavers
42. Animated banner ads
43. Embroidery designs
44. Create knitting patterns
45. Create cross-stitch patterns
46. Table decorations
47. Placemats
48. Sun catchers
49. Temporary tattoos
50. Permanent tattoos
51. Labels
52. Kids’ activity sheets
53. Key chains
54. Creating custom avatars
55. Cookie cutters
56. Appliqué designs
57. Iron-on templates

Keep in mind that not all of these are possible with other places that sell clip art, due to licensing issues. All of Graphics Factory clip art is available for commercial use.

Well, we’ve made quite a dent in the 101 ways, but there are plenty more ways to use clip art and we’d love to hear yours. What have you used clip art for? 

Tips on Downloading Clip Art, Graphics, and Photos

Tips on Downloading Clip Art, Graphics, and Photos

Locating and purchasing the exact clip art, graphic or photo you need is just half the battle. The next step is to actually download it to your Mac or PC in a format that’s compatible with your system.

Most people use PC or Macs, so that’s the protocol we’re going to go through here. There are more then a few browsers to choose from however, so if you’re using one not listed here, your best bet is to click the browser’s “help” button, and the system will walk you through it.

First, it’s important to have a folder to save your images to. There are probably a few already set up under headings like “My Documents,” “My photos,” “My music,” “My downloads” and the like. Or, you can create your own folder and call it DOWNLOADS. Pay attention where this folder is created in your system – you’ll need to head back there to retrieve the files after they’re downloaded.

If you’re downloading from GraphicsFactory.com follow these steps:

1. Search graphicsfactory.com for your clip art images
   
2. Click on the small clip art image first to see the larger image
   
3. You can either click the green arrow to download the format you need or add the images to your download basket
   
4. A small menu will appear if you click the green arrow. Click on “Save Picture as.”
   
5. Browse to your DOWNLOADS folder to save your image there
   
6. Click “Save.”
   

If you’re downloading from google images follow these steps:

Internet Explorer (IE)

1. Click on the clip art first to see if a larger image is what you want
   
2. Place your cursor on the largest image available and right -click with the mouse
   
3. A small menu will appear. Click on “save picture as.”
   
4. Browse to your DOWNLOADS folder to place the image there.
   
5. Click “save.”
   
6. After it saves you can click “Open Folder” to go directly to the location you downloaded it to
   

Mac users should do this:

1. Roll the mouse over the clip art or photo you want
   
2. Click and hold the mouse button until a menu appears
   
3. A small menu will appear. Click on “save picture as.”
   
4. Make your selection from the menu
   

A note about downloading animated clip art:

You don’t have to do anything special to download animated images. Just place your cursor over the clip and follow the directions that apply to your browser. However, the animations can only be seen as they’re intended when viewed with a compatible browser or viewer. Animations will not play within PowerPoint in preview mode, you have to play the Presentation before the animation will move.

Retrieving Your Images

Retrieving saved images for later use is a little trickier. Open up whatever image editing system you have installed on your computer, and browse to the DOWNLOADS folder we talked about earlier. Click on the saved file to open. Chances are, the file will need to be cropped and sized if you intend to place it in a PowerPoint presentation, embed in a document or place on a web page. When editing your image, it’s important to remember that bigger files are more likely to gum up the works, especially for people who still use a dial-up connection (and yes there are still plenty in existence.)

It’s important to note that creators of clip art have gotten extremely savy since the advent of the Internet. After all, in 1998 how easy was it to come across a site with a picture you admire, right-click on the image, and squirrel away a copy of it for your own personal use? Nowadays technology has made that much more difficult, which is a good thing. Now sites include code that prohibit right-clicking and swiping. And clip art, graphics, and image sites will let you look at a complete thumbnail of an image, but when you click into the full-size version, you’re greeted with a giant watermark that would take hours to remove in programs like Photoshop. Once the image is purchased however, it can be downloaded watermark-free.

Happy Downloading!

How to Find Just the Right Clip Art and Graphics for Your Project

So you have a project that requires art, and you barely have enough artistic skill to complete a game of Hangman. Well, you’re in luck, because there’s a plethora of ready-made clip art and graphics just waiting for you on the web at graphicsfactory.com. These clip art images are copyright-safe and created by professional artists and can be downloaded and embedded in any project.

What kind of projects?

Family newsletters, homemade greeting cards, community bulletins – you name it. They’re categorized in a variety of ways, such as by “keyword” or “holiday.” These databases are easily searchable so you can quickly locate just the right piece of clip art you need.

Usually a thumbnail version of the clip art you want will pop up first. Then you can click on it and it will expand to a larger preview. This way you’ll get a better idea of how it will look on the page. The enlarged images will probably have a “watermark” on them, which will disappear after they’re purchased.

Holidays Keyword Ideas

Looking to dress something up for the holidays? There’s already a host of clip art and graphics available, and more is being created all the time. Here are just a few ways to illustrate your holiday-themed projects:

• New Year’s : Party hats and streamer clip art


• Valentine’s Day : Candy, hearts, “XOXO” images


• St. Patrick’s Day : Mugs of green beer, leprechauns, four-leaf clover clip art


• Easter : The Christian cross, decorated eggs clip art


• Fourth of July : Flags, fireworks clip art


• Halloween : Ghosts, pumpkins, witches, black cats, candy clip art


• Thanksgiving : Turkey (live), turkey (cooked), pilgrims, Indians, table laden with food clip art


• Christmas : Baby in a manger, angels, three wise men, Christmas tree, holly, carolers

Other Ideas

You can also use clip art and graphics to enhance your PowerPoint presentations, business cards and personal letterhead. There’s a variety of styles available, ranging from classic to contemporary to the truly comical.

For example, if you own a bakery, you should search graphicsfactory.com for bakery-themed images, such as a chef, baker, cook, rolling pin, baked bread, oven, etc. It’s important that the clip art you choose conveys who you are and what you do at once. So a person flicking through his Rolodex will be able to identify you immediately.

When searching for clip art it’s important to use common search terms like “kitten,” not “feline” or to be more specific “kitten and ball of string.” Once a list of potential clip art is pulled up, you should consider if the image fits your needs. Is it scalable? That is, if you need to enlarge it, will it become blurry and grainy? If you have to make it smaller, will you still be able to see all the detail?
Once you locate and purchase the clip art you want, it’s yours to use however and wherever you want, for as many times as you want, unless otherwise specified in the usage rights.

Thanks to the abundance of quality clip art and graphics available at graphicsfactory.com, even the most artistically-challenged person can now produce a stellar-looking project.

Turning Online Clip Art Images Into Wall Art

Let’s all take a moment to look at our walls. Walls in our office, hallway, bedroom, kitchen, family room, heck even the laundry room. Aside from the occasional light switch plate, are your walls pretty much bare? The sad fact is that many walls go neglected because wall art is either expensive, so inexpensive it looks cheap, or simply not the right design for the homeowner. Stop the wall abuse! Stop walking around your home or office like a drone because you have no art to liven things up! With the abundance of free and inexpensive web graphics you can now create your own wall art that looks like it cost a pretty penny. Start an art revolution in your home and free your walls from their boredom.
Artwork is not just for the discriminating collector, enthused investor or crafty creator, it is also for the freelancer who works at home and is sick of bare walls, the half-drunk college student who needs posters to cover damage to apartment walls, and anyone who simply wants more color and interest in a room.

So, what are we talking about here? Are you suggesting you print out some clip art on your laser printer and tack one up on every wall? Interesting, but no. You must think “clip art” and beyond, seek out art prints, posters, paintings, images of framed prints abstract, impressionist, children’s art, figures, sketches, landscapes, photographs, art deco, old ads, old record albums, movie posters, pop art, vintage maps, seascapes, vintage, modern, still life, and classical images-just to name a few. If you can find copyright-free or royalty-free images, then you can use those images to create art for your walls.
The copyright on many vintage art prints has expired, which means if you find an image online (try a google.com image search) on a domain free of copyright restriction you can use that image. It is important to know that while the classic painting may no longer be protected by copyright, the digital image of the picture may be. Be sure to check with the website owner for permission if you have doubts. Libraries, museums, and art organizations are a good place to start. To give you an example of what you might find, the original WPA (Works Progress Administration) posters that were commissioned from 1936-1940 are a great way to decorate and most of the images are available online for free. You can easily download these bold, graphically hypnotizing images, email them to the local copy store, and create an instant poster. These posters are interesting enough and don’t need fancy frames. A $7 clear poster frame will do just fine. Reproductions of these prints sell for $30 to $200! And the originals? Forget-about-it!

Old Prints

Old books have old prints and decorative block text. Old children’s books have old children’s prints. Old historical books have old maps, See were we are going? Many books– images and all–are online for public use. If you find one without copyright restriction by the site owner, you can download images of maps, decorative borders, pictures and prints. You can create framed prints, posters, or use vintage designs as borders in a room. A huge design trend (as seen in all the decorating magazines and even Crate and Barrel’s catalog) is to frame portraits of varying sizes from old books. The originals are etchings from old books (1800-1825), usually of the monarchy or aristocracy. You don’t even have to download these images, just print them out on beige paper to give it an aged look. Go to garage sales, flea markets, thrift and dollar stores and buy wood frames in varying sizes to match your prints. Paint the frames the same color (such as brown or black) and add your new “aged” pictures. Group them on your wall over a bed or dresser. Expensive look-low cost. You can take this grouping concept, and use old prints of animals, pictures from old children’s books, images of vintage playing cards, covers of old books, you name it!

Vinyl Wall Decorations

Use simple images cut from vinyl to make wall decorations, which can then be perfectly integrated into your interior like painted art, and they’re removable. The picture to the right is an example of vinyl clipart intergrated into the interior design. Imagine how much it would of cost to have a professional artist paint this image on your wall. The cost involved when using vinyl would be about $20 for the decoration and you can apply it yourself or hire a professional. Either way it would be allot cheaper then having to hire a professional painter. See some fantastic samples from vinyl wall art.

Now for the grand finale: turning an online image into a work of art on canvas. This can be done easily and inexpensively. Find your desired image and then go to the local art or craft store and buy a canvas of the same size. You will also need some spray adhesive and acrylic gel. These items are very inexpensive. The first step is to lightly spray the adhesive on the back of the printed image and attach it to the canvas. If you need to realign the picture, gently peel the paper up and reattach. Next, use a soft brush to gently cover the image with the acrylic gel. This will add a polish to the image that makes it seem painted on the canvas. You can also create those lumps and bumps we often see on oil paintings. When the gel dries you can frame and hang your new picture!
Will you ever look at web graphics and clip art the same way now that you know how to use them offline? Use these ideas not only to decorate your home or office, but to redecorate inexpensively and often! You can even create gifts, or create a new business doing this for other people.

Have a creative day!

Robert Gillen

http://www.graphicsfactory.com

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