Tutorial: How to Find Copyright-Free Reference Images

ams

Well-known member
Messages
1,591
If I want to select a reference image from a group of images, I can use a free image site.

For this example, I will search for an image of a shell.

I will use Pixabay to search for a copyright-free image.

When I click on the link (https://pixabay.com/), it comes right up with the search box. In the search box, I'm going to type shell and click the magnifying glass icon to the left of the search word.

Note: There will be some "Sponsored Images" displayed at the top of the page. To use an image from this group, I would have to pay. I will skip down to the "Free Images" section.

I see several possible free images that I like, so I could stop right here. Click on the image, then click the Free Download button.

If I decide I would like to look further, I can try another search in the search box (near the top of the page). For example, maybe I like the idea of drawing a turtle which I saw as one of the images that came up when I searched for shell but would like to see what other turtle references there might be. I would try another search for turtle.

I may also see an image for an eggshell and decide to view other egg images.

If I search for egg, there may be some images that don't have any shell in them at all. For example, there might be some cooked eggs or some chickens. That's not a problem. If I found myself drawn to use a chicken reference, I would just explain how I got there. (Which came first the chicken or the egg?)

Pixabay isn't the only site that offers free images. Here are some other sites I have used. Just be sure you only use copyright-free images.

https://morguefile.com/

https://unsplash.com/

https://pxhere.com/

https://www.pexels.com/

Note: Google is NOT a good source to use to find images since it will mix copyrighted images in with copyright-free images.

Have fun!
 
Anne, a wealth of fabulous info! Thank you so much for this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ams
Most of my reference pictures have come from pixabay and pexels.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ams
Back
Top