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Free Art Resources

Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 1:50 am
by dustin
I think it would be useful to post up a sticky with some free art resources people can use in their maps.

I'm not an artist, so if you guys know some good links, please post them here. Likewise, if any of you want to release some mountain/forest images with permission for others to use them that would be excellent for the community.

The List:

Wikimedia Commons is a large collection of public domain or freely licensed images collected by the Wikipedia people.

Flickr advanced search lets you specify to search for images with a license that allow you to modify and build on them.

Google Earth / Google Maps. The Google logo AND the source of the data (eg DigitalEarth 2006 or 2007 NAVTEQ) must remain, HOWEVER they can be moved to a more convenient spot on the screen.

Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 5:35 pm
by Ricklionhart
Two other very useful resources:

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MAP COLLECTION
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

"Most of the maps scanned by the University of Texas Libraries and served from the web site are in the public domain. No permissions are needed to copy them. You may download them and use them as you wish." Full copyright statement can be viewed here at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/usage_statement.html?maps=yes

REINER'S TILESETS
http://reinerstileset.4players.de/

"All the graphics and meshes are freeware. Even for commercial Games… You can modify my graphics in every needed way to fit it to your needs…" Full copyright clearance can be viewed at http://reinerstileset.4players.de/englisch.htm

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 3:04 pm
by mbauer
Here are some links to free textures. Granted these are usually used for 3D modelling, but they also come in handy for graphic design and map making:

http://www.cgtextures.com/
http://www.pixelperfectdigital.com/free_stock_photos/
http://www.texturewarehouse.com/gallery/index.php
http://www.imageafter.com/index.php
http://www.mayang.com/textures/

Here's a free stock photo site:

http://www.burningwell.org/

The National Archives is a useful place to find "mood photos," or as El Toro like to call them "ghosts." The site is pretty difficult to navigate (hint use the subject index) but there is a wealth of free resources there.

http://www.archives.gov/

If you aren't totally broke you can get some pretty good stuff here for pretty cheap. Usually the smallest 1 credit image is more than adequate for Lux maps (which comes out to a little more than 1$).

http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php

And then of course there's the Anti-holy archives:

Free Lux Map Graphics (They are lossless images so give it time to load)

If any other map makers would like to make some of their graphics available I'd be happy to add them to that site.

SIC SEMPER TYRANIS!
MB

Nicubunu

Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 6:47 am
by yi3artist
I came across Nicubunu's RPG Map Clipart and found it invaluable:
http://clipart.nicubunu.ro/?gallery=rpg_map

Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:29 am
by Enokrad
very nice.
thanks yi3

Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 2:53 pm
by mbauer
For space maps NASA is an awesome resource.

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 3:06 am
by Enokrad
World Digital Library

it contains a huge amount of historical maps and more.

A Followup

Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 2:21 am
by yi3artist
mbauer wrote:For space maps NASA is an awesome resource.
A followup link for space backgrounds:
HubbleSite

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:55 pm
by Enokrad
Lots of clipart such as mountains buildings etc.

http://www.clker.com/

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 4:56 pm
by mbauer
This is a good site to find quick terrain maps (usually used for foregrounds).

http://seamless.usgs.gov/