HOW TO: Find Stock Images

[crow.]

HT: FiND STOCK iMAGES ! overview Finding stock images can be a daunting task, especially if you've never looked before. This guide will give you the information you need to successfully find your own stock images while respecting copyright laws. Questions can be directed to crow.. copyright & creative commons Copyright is defined as being the property of, belonging to, an individual or group. Under copyright law, anything created by someone is automatically copyright to them, and cannot be copied, modified, or otherwise used without their permission. To use a copyrighted material is illegal and can result in very real and serious legal proceedings. That's where Creative Commons comes in. Creative Commons is a license that any material can be listed under, which gives permission for the material to be used by people who are not the owner, so long as certain conditions are met. In 99% of Creative Commons instances, the owner requires at least attribution, which means to state on/near the altered material who the original owner is. However, there are other conditions a material owner may put on a Creative Commons licensed work. These conditions are usually non-negotiable (you can always try to contact the owner and ask!), and must be met if you are to use their material. Example: If an owner has attribution and no commercial use as their conditions, then you must attribute the original work to them, and you may not use your alteration for monetary gain. deviantART.com A very common place for roleplayers to find stock images is deviantART.com. dA is a massive site that allows for all works of art to be submitted and displayed. However, in order to find stock that is not copyright, there are a few simply steps you need to follow. First, input what you are searching for into the search bar (such as: arctic wolf), and hit search. Don't start browsing those images just yet! Next, on the left hand side of the page, there are categories. Click on Resources & Stock Images. This will add a filter to your search so that only images that are posted under that category appear. Again on the left side of the page, click the Stock Images category. This will further refine your search to images that have been classified as stock by their owners. Now you can feel free to browse the images until you find one you like. Once you find one, there is one last step that you must take in order to use it. After you click on the image, you will be brought to the deviation's page. Beneath the picture itself is listed the owner, and the owner's notes about the image. Read the notes carefully. This is where most owners on dA will put their requirements for using their stock. Be sure to follow all of their rules if you want to use their picture(s). Congratulations! You've gotten stock image(s) from deviantART, and broken no laws! flickr.com Another common (though less common than dA) site for finding stock images is flickr.com. Flickr is a site that allows for videos and pictures to be submitted and displayed. However, to find stock that is under a Creative Commons license, there are a few steps you must take. First, enter what you are searching for in the search bar (example: dalmation), and search. Next, at the top right of the screen, just below the search bar, will be a link that says "Advanced Search." Click it. This will load another page with many options on how to filter your search. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and you will find a section that says "Creative Commons" on the left-hand side. Check the first box to filter your search for only images that are under a Creative Commons. Check the third box (not the second), if you intend to modify the picture(s) you find in any way. Then hit search. Now you can browse the pictures until you find something you like. However, there is one last step to make sure you meet all of the conditions for the Creative Commons license. Read the notes on the image for any rules the owner might've set out. Then, on the right hand side of the page, there will be small icons under/next to the Creative Commons icon (which is a circle with two c's in it). Hover over each icon to read what condition it represents. Be sure to meet all of the conditions. Congratulations! You've found stock on flickr, and haven't broken any laws! resources Along with dA and flickr, there are many more-obscure sites out there which have stock images for roleplayers like us to choose from. Below is a lists of what we have found so far. If you know of one and want it added here, feel free to contact crow. or Lionne, or post in the Contact The Staff Board, and we'll add it right away! Dawnthieves - thanks to @akela! A site that has a plethora of mainly wolf pictures, but also has some big cat images as well. The main page states that all images may be used for roleplay, but require attribution of the original photographer, and may not be used for commercial purposes. To find an image, hover over the Photographer tab at the top left of the site. Hover over a photographer's name, and the species that they have will appear. Click on the desired species. This will bring you to their albums. Simply click on an album and start browsing. Be sure to follow all owners' rules!