You may say that this pertains more to graphic design than web development, but a large part of web development is presentation… Making everything pretty makes people stick around. But sometimes it can be tough to find the images or resources necessary to make your project really shine… Well, I’m here to help.
Now, I’m no plethora of resources… I see other websites that have lists containing hundreds of websites that provide resources. I’ve decided to drill it down into the top four that I’ve used and enjoyed, or heard good things about from others. If you want to dig around yourself, go find one of the articles that offer hundreds… Chances are, you’ll end up with the sites that I list, or sites similar to them. I’m just here to help you save time.
Now, I’m not organizing these in any particular order… These are just five resources that I love, and think everyone should know about. So… Check ‘em out!
Deviantart
If you don’t know about Deviantart, you’ve been missing out. Not only is it an amazing art community, but it’s a fantastic resource. There are categories for just about everything… Just make sure you check the license that the resources are under, and let the artist know that you’re using their work. They like to know.
Sprixi
Sprixi is a fantastic resource for finding free-to-use images. Your results are always relevant, and it’s easy to help the website develop to be even better. Check out my full analysis of the service in a recent article, here.
iStockphoto
Need some snazzy stock images to complete your latest project? Don’t feel like digging through all the crap you get when you search for free images, to find the few quality images of the bunch? iStockphoto has got you covered. With a large library and relatively cheap prices, you won’t break your budget, and your project will look that much better.
Not to mention, the images are royalty-free… Once you pay for it, you can use it without paying them anything more, no matter how many views it gets. Plus, there are a bunch of different pay plans, so whether you want to pay by the image or for a subscription, there’s a plan for you.
Without paying them any money, you can still browse their collection of stock images, but all of the previews have a watermark, as seen below.
Free Photoshop Patterns
Sometimes you don’t need fancy stock imagery… You just need a simple pattern to fill the void. Look no further than Free Photoshop Patterns. This website’s got a clean, straightforward design, and has a good bit of nice patterns. Just find the one you want, download it, open it in Photoshop, and do as you wish. No sign-up or payment required. Doesn’t get much easier than that.
