How To Build a Web Site with Free Stuff 2: Graphics
November 15, 1999
In
Part 1
we overviewed the reasons why people would offer free stuff,
and why you might want it. We also looked at some free tools
for creating
HTML.
In this part, we extensively overview ways to obtain
or create graphics, ranging from clip art sources, through
online services that create graphics, to programs that you
can download or build, for designing or generating graphics.
"Graphics"
refers to a wide range of images in digital form, such as
arrows, buttons, bars, icons, animated GIFs, scanned artwork,
and photographs.
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Introduction
For many people, web design = graphics.
But, this is no more than one half or one third of the story -
for the rest, see
Web Design - More than Meets the Eye.
Nevertheless,
good graphics and page design can grab the viewer's attention,
and may well make the difference between being bookmarked,
and being forgotten -
even if your content is brilliant.
Some of today's page designs are truly stunning;
few of us have the talent to spontaneously produce such
designs,but by studying the HTML code (View Source)
we can learn the techniques that went into their construction.
Conditions of Usage
Since the earliest days of the web, people have made
some of their graphics available for free - sometimes subject
to certain restrictions, such as being only for personal,
non-commercial sites, or in return for a link back. A large
number of collections have been assembled, created from what
was available at other sites on the net, plus perhaps a
number of the site author's own creations.
You'll typically find a disclaimer at such sites, like this:
"I collected these images from all over the net, and as
far as I know, they are all freely available for your use.
If you spot any that shouldn't be here, please let me know"
.
What this really means is that some of the images might
not have been intended for copying; furthermore,
some of these collections were assembled from other
collections, and any conditions on the images' usage - if
ever they were noticed - get diluted by each person's
re-statement of the conditions of usage.
The end result is that you can't be sure if images found in
collections are really available to use as you wish,
unless they were created by the site owner and they offer a
clear statement of usage conditions.
A typical set of usage conditions is that the images are free
for use on non-commercial sites in return for credit and/or
a link back; a few sites allow commercial use also. Check for
specific conditions.
Contents:
Some Reasons to Not Use the Web...
Clip Art and Arrows, Buttons, Animated GIFs, etc...
Image Search Engines
Art, Pictures, and Photographs
Banners and Banner generators
Miscellanea
Conclusion and Acknowledgments
Conclusion
How To Build a Web Site with Free Stuff Table of Contents
Some Reasons to Not Use the Web...
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