Free Graphics & Photos For Your Labels

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gregger

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I'm a graphic designer, photographer and college professor who has been brewing as a hobby for only the last 2 years or so. I want to share with you my free and non-copyrighted resources for graphics and photos that I've been using in commercial and educational applications for years so you can use them on your labels.

You guys create great labels here both from scratch, and found images online. This is where my heart aches... I've noticed that some very cool designs/drawings/photos that appear on labels here can be found with a simple Google or Yahoo image search. In fact, I've searched and found some of the exact graphics.

This is where ethics is an issue for us designers. Someone created that cool digital drawing you found, someone traveled to the wilderness to take that photo, and someone paid for the paint and paint brushes to make that painting you are using as a background on your label. A majority of those images I am sure are made by the designers as a way of paying their bills - it's our livelihood and career. If I didn't say anything, I'd be like the armed off duty cop who sees a purse snatcher and turns a blind eye.

In any event, on behalf of all artists out there who spend hours and hours in front of our computer, behind our camera, or holding a paint brush, we would love to let you use our creations - most times for free - but please please please be ethical and check with us, ask us, or let us see what you've made with our creations. Sometimes we charge $, sometimes we won't, sometimes it is impossible for us to ever know you take it. Nonetheless, we love flattery, we hate thievery. A simple polite email inquiry to us is all it usually takes.

A few of the resources I've gathered over the years are below. They are all free to use. In a few instances you may be required to supply an email or log in. A few require knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, Gimp or other similar design programs.

Free Photography
freedigitalphotos.net - lower quality photos are free.
Flickr Creative Commons - photographers who understand that sometimes there needs to be an alternative to full copyrights.
Stock.Xchng - must be a user. Most photographers just want to see your finished design, the rest don't care.
123rf.com - Not free, but great photos at a very cheap price. (thanks HawksGirl)


Free Vector Drawings and Graphics
vector4free.com
vecteezy.com
qvectors.com
all-silhouettes.com - Thousands of silhouettes of everything you can think of.
vectorstock.com (Thanks HawksGirl)

Free Fonts
1001freefonts.com
dafont.com
urbanfonts.com

Other Free Resources:
DeviantArt - Lots of GREAT stuff here, but not everything is meant to be free. Please email the artist, they'll love you. Most of the time, they'll let you use their artwork for free.
Microsoft Office Clip Art - requires Office. Just insert graphic into Word (for example). Then copy and paste into your design program of choice.
Textures - free textures like wood grain, cracked cement, dry mud/dirt, etc.

I could look at labels designed and posted on HBT for hours, so any questions you have about the software, file formats, or anything, I'd be more than willing to answer. If you would like to find an image but can't, I'll help you search... anything to help lower the probability of you using another artist's image without permission. Thanks for reading. :)

Free Software Programs:
Adobe Software Trials (30 days Only): Photoshop, Illustrator,
Corel Software Trials (30 days Only): PaintShop Photo Pro, Painter,
Gimp
Paint.Net (PC Only)
Inkscape


From user SilentAutumn

...I'd also like to mention the Wiki Commons image site as a great, great resource for some amazing images. Sometimes the posters want some kind of credit, but usually don't.

The National Archives have some great photos too. But it's hard to navigate and they're still in the process of digitizing a lot of media. You have to go to "Digital Copies" tab, then under the Advanced Search, only check "Photographs and other Graphic Materials". Otherwise you'll get some confusing results.

Photobucket has recently released some nice editing options for images with their free accounts.

And even Photoshop will let you make a some decent edits with their free accounts.
 
Somebody spends time to run the homebrewtalk website. Somebody pays for the hosting service. This website seems also to be entirely based upon a web php script package that someone has written. Do you know whether this is free open source software or not? How much time have you spent finding out if this php package is free? If the author is asking for donations, have you given any? Have you payed your premium membership fees to this forum to compensate the owners for their hard work? No? Then bite me.
 
Ummm. yeah. I don't think you read all I said since I wasn't bashing anyone like you've bashed me... but geez bud you don't have to make it personal, I'm here to help while increasing awareness. We don't need uncalled for comments. Try not to post anything irrational, it doesn't help, in fact, I'll assume you are having a terrible day and didn't mean it. Apology accepted. And otherwise, it isn't a relatable circumstance you are referring to. It's actually kind of silly.

Please enjoy the resources I gave. I'm happy for now being a new brewer with restrictions on what I could use on this site. Like most consumers, I'll pay when the time comes that I'm ready to take advantage of the full product.

I've done the whole design and development job you are referring to. Someone pays me and my team to create it, or get a template and make minimal adjustments to it, then give them the site for them to run without knowledge of programming & development... yes it can be done as long as maintenance or updates to software isn't needed. They place ads and come up with levels of membership in order to make it profitable. Memberships and ads keep the site going.

I do pay for copyrights/ask permission/pay for one time use/locate rights free versions or I make my designs myself. Thanks for your "input".
 
Have you payed your premium membership fees to this forum to compensate the owners for their hard work? No? Then bite me.

You don't have a premium membership either, so the pot shouldn't call the kettle black.

The guy was just saying that it bothers him when people use copyrighted graphics, so instead of complaining about it he gave links to resources for free graphics.

No need to be a dick about it.
 
riromero said:
Somebody spends time to run the homebrewtalk website. Somebody pays for the hosting service. This website seems also to be entirely based upon a web php script package that someone has written. Do you know whether this is free open source software or not? How much time have you spent finding out if this php package is free? If the author is asking for donations, have you given any? Have you payed your premium membership fees to this forum to compensate the owners for their hard work? No? Then bite me.

Horrible analogy and attitude. Lame.

He wasn't criticizing hbt.

However, most people lifting Google images are doing so in a non commercial capacity so no one is really getting ripped off.
 
However, most people lifting Google images are doing so in a non commercial capacity so no one is really getting ripped off.

This was going to be my point. I'm a sometime designer and author as well, so I can certainly appreciate intellectual property, but if we're talking about personal, non-profit use I'm not sure it's that big of an issue, is it? If a commercial brewery was ripping off somebody's design that would be a different story. In this day and age, if you are publishing illustrations, photographs, or paintings online without watermarking or otherwise protecting them then you are just inviting this kind of thing.

Edit: that being said, making an effort to get permission is always a good idea.
 
greggor, these are excellent resources. And of course people should be encouraged to use these if possible. But your statement criticising the usage of copyrighted material for these labels is a little overzealous.

The people here are not making these labels for commercial usage; they are (usually) not professional designers and don't know the intricacies of copyright law (heck I don't really fully understand it). The labels are for their own personal use. They get no financial benefit by using them, and artists are not really losing money financially from their use.

If resources like google images weren't around to get the images from, then they would do what people did before the internet... copy the images from books or magazines. People have been using copyrighted material like that for ages and nobody had a problem until recently. The line between infringement and fair use is a little grey, but since the labels are for non-comercial use and do not negatively "effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work," it certainly gives some protection for this usage.
 
However, most people lifting Google images are doing so in a non commercial capacity so no one is really getting ripped off.

You're absolutely right (so are you holden), but there are some very "stick-up-their-rear" kind of designers who will charge every chance they get for every little thing, regardless of application. Those are the folks who believe they are getting ripped off even when you aren't making money off their work.

...it certainly gives some protection for this usage.
You're right. Which is exactly why we are perfectly happy with knowing what you use it for. It flatters us that you would use our work.

Most other artists out there share my mentality... We DO care if you use our work, and we'd love to see how you use it. We only charge or ask for $ if we think it's worth it (for example, if you're a big magazine, website, corporation, or other company seeking profitable business). Like I said, we love flattery and usually would just like to know. The dark side of it? What I don't know won't hurt me.

But your statement criticising the usage of copyrighted material for these labels is a little overzealous.
I re-read it, you're right. Take what I said, then imagine me saying it with less attitude/zeal. Tone it down another notch or two, and that's what I meant. Didn't mean to sound to A-Holey :eek:
 
I would be happy to share my home brew profits with those artists that contribute to my labels. Right now though, I am running a deficit.:D I will say that I do, in most cases, use non-copyright material. In my business, however, I am an active subscriber to iStock and pay for those tools that I use to earn a living, without exception.
 
Gregger agree with you and don't think you sounded "A-Holey". I've got some good friends from college that are graphic deigners so I can understand. Thanks for the resources.

BTW: Know of any good pics/drawings of two boys beating on each other, a la the three stooges?
 
I re-read it, you're right. Take what I said, then imagine me saying it with less attitude/zeal. Tone it down another notch or two, and that's what I meant. Didn't mean to sound to A-Holey :eek:

Oh, I didn't think you sounded A-Holey.

(And like jsb, I always pay for the material I use in my website designs).
 
Admittedly, this is one of the most passionate threads in the label forum, though! :)
 
Horrible analogy and attitude. Lame.

Agreed with this as well.


As someone who deals with design production as well I can say I appreciate the OPs post. I also agree with the posts stating that the logos created are for personal use and not commercial. So lets change the direction of this post, shall we?

The OP posted a wonderful list of resources for free images for us all to use. Google images is nice and all, but you really don't get access to great images that can be used for design. The links posted will. So when looking for good images for your kick-ass logo designs, check those links on the first post for a larger variety of design friendly images.

Personally I use istock for most of my designs. A few dollars goes a long way to stellar and easy to work with art.

Thanks to greggor for the post.
 
For the sake of argument....

Lame analogy? We’ll let’s see... I spend hours and hours in front of the computer writing php software packages just like the artists. I make these packages available on the Internet just like the artists and stipulate that if you like the code and find it useful then send me a paypal donation. If someone builds a website using my code but doesn’t pay, you might make the case that they’re unethical; I personally don’t care. What about users of that website? Are they supposed to track down the Intellectual Property holders of the original resource and make sure they’ve been compensated? I use Google to find images and copy those images directly from Google’s search page. Am I supposed to track down the IP holders of the resource and make sure they’ve been compensated? Exactly the same situation.
 
Greggor,

Nice resources. As a photographer, I am honored when somebody wants to use my pictures for work such as these. When asked, I almost always give permission. However, I do ask that the resultant works are not posted on the internet where they will be picked up by sites like Google Images, and then can get used illegally by other people.

I think the advise given at the end of the Fair Use explination that Holden linked to is always the best was to proceed.

Get permission. If you cannot get permission, don't use it, unless it is clear that "fair use" would apply. If they line is "grey", it is not clear, therefore, don't use it.

It is hard for any of us to determine what would effect the potential market or value of the copyrighted work. As an example, I remember reading a post on here where an image of Jiminy Cricket was photoshoped to show him holding a beer. I thought it was a funny image. Unfortunately, it confused the little girl that saw it over my shoulder to the point where I had to explain to her that it was just a funny picture somebody made, and Jiminy Cricket probably does not drink beer. That image can be considered damaging to the copyright holder (Disney). When that image gets picked up by Google Images, does it then make it fair game for everybody else to use?

The internet is still the "wild west" when it comes to enforcement of copyright.

:mug:
 
For the sake of argument....

Lame analogy? We’ll let’s see... I spend hours and hours in front of the computer writing php software packages just like the artists. I make these packages available on the Internet just like the artists and stipulate that if you like the code and find it useful then send me a paypal donation. If someone builds a website using my code but doesn’t pay, you might make the case that they’re unethical; I personally don’t care. What about users of that website? Are they supposed to track down the Intellectual Property holders of the original resource and make sure they’ve been compensated? I use Google to find images and copy those images directly from Google’s search page. Am I supposed to track down the IP holders of the resource and make sure they’ve been compensated? Exactly the same situation.

Let's change the analogy a bit...

You spent hours in front of the computer writing software, and instead of making it available for free (like your original analogy or the sites that Greggor listed), you decided to sell the software. Somebody purchased that software. In turn, the person that purchased the software that you created decided to put it on the internet in such a way that anybody could download it. A third person uses a search engine to find and download your program. That is fine, correct? I don't think so.

My mom always told me two wrongs don't make a right. The person that first purchased the program is wrong for distributing it, but the person that downloaded it instead of buying it from you is also in the wrong.

Remember, there are legitimate reasons to use images that can be found on Google. But it is YOUR responsibility to make sure you are using them legally.
 
For the sake of argument....

Lame analogy? We’ll let’s see... I spend hours and hours in front of the computer writing php software packages just like the artists. I make these packages available on the Internet just like the artists and stipulate that if you like the code and find it useful then send me a paypal donation. If someone builds a website using my code but doesn’t pay, you might make the case that they’re unethical; I personally don’t care. What about users of that website? Are they supposed to track down the Intellectual Property holders of the original resource and make sure they’ve been compensated? I use Google to find images and copy those images directly from Google’s search page. Am I supposed to track down the IP holders of the resource and make sure they’ve been compensated? Exactly the same situation.

I viewed your first reply as a bit of a retort to the OP as if he was making a case against HBT and the admin personally. If one reads between the lines, it's almost as if you were saying "hey, you let us take your copyright images and we won't say anything about you posting on a forum that you haven't financially supported yet". I just find it to be a huge leap.

If you were just trying to suggest that tons of work across all industries are "borrowed" in a grey market kind of way so his point is invalid, I'd say the point has been missed.

By the way, yes, if you find an image on google and intend to use it in a commercial venture, it is your obligation to get permission or pay for the rights to use. If you can't find out who has those rights, you shouldn't use the image.

Again, this is really just an intellectual exercise because 99% of all the "borrowing" going on here is for giggles and no one is really going to be ripped off or defamed in any way if one homebrewer has an image on their home-consumed bottle of beer".
 
Did not intend for this to blow up like this. Maybe one or two thank yous, I could of done without the "bite me", and let it be. Hopefully a future HBT user will stumble across my links while looking at ideas for labels under this topic and find just what they need.

BTW: Know of any good pics/drawings of two boys beating on each other, a la the three stooges?

If you find a good photo that's more modern-ish, I don't mind photoshopping it a bit to make it look more mid-to-early 20th century-like. Also the photo you want is very unique, try looking at library sites or flickr accounts of museums/libraries. Most of them scan their old archives and post them on flickr accounts with no known copyrights, like the Library of Congress.

So I did some searching for your photo, didn't find anything that will make you say "THATS IT!" But I found some old photos that made me laugh...

2871181376_f792769129_o.jpg


4.jpg


6.jpg
 
If you find a good photo that's more modern-ish, I don't mind photoshopping it a bit to make it look more mid-to-early 20th century-like. Also the photo you want is very unique, try looking at library sites or flickr accounts of museums/libraries. Most of them scan their old archives and post them on flickr accounts with no known copyrights, like the Library of Congress.

So I did some searching for your photo, didn't find anything that will make you say "THATS IT!" But I found some old photos that made me laugh...

2871181376_f792769129_o.jpg


4.jpg


6.jpg

Thanks gregger for looking!
 
Thanks for the links to the OP, I have admittedly borrowed images from sites for my own use ( NOT COMMERCIAL ) and like Bobby M. I believe that 99% of people on here borrowing images are not using them for commercial endevours. Thanks again though for the links and next time I need an image I will have more resources at my disposal.
Cheers!!:mug:
 
Subscribed. I'm still much too busy trying to perfect my craft and replicate my process taste-wise to worry about fancy labels, but eventually it will be cool to get a little visual appeal going with my homebrews.

Cheers
 
I want to explain the source of my displeasure and anger at the original poster’s remarks...

There’s been a gradual erosion of our rights with regards to creative content, primarily driven by the behemoth content providers (the music and motion picture industry primarily) in response to the Internet and subsequent information revolution. They have used money to buy political influence and to have laws passed that favor restriction of content over the rights of individuals who purchase and/or view that content. The retroactive extension of copyrights from 50 to 75 years simply to protect Disney’s Snow White franchise is a perfect example. There are many others. But that wasn’t enough to solve the problems of these corporate stakeholders. With the proliferation of illegal file-sharing, they realized that legal measures weren’t enough, They also had to change what ordinary people considered to be ethical use of content, not just the law. One of the main approaches is to cast movie and music piracy as stealing money from the pockets of hardworking individual artists. Of course why not go overboard and not just address illegal content piracy, but gain even greater control over the use of their products. So now, no fair using anything created by others in any way unless you pay or have explicit permission. You will get YouTube takedown notices from Columbia Records if the video of your toddler dancing includes Columbia produced music playing in the background. Fact is, this type of borrowing and modification of content hasn’t traditionally been considered unethical regardless of whether it was used commercially or not. The often cited example is Mickey Mouse’s debut in “Steamboat Willie” is obviously a variation of Buster Keaton’s “Steamboat Bill”. Andy Warhol made a lot more money on his Campbell Soup lithographs than the poor guy who designed the cans in the first place. In today’s environment, that type of artistic creativity would be litigated away. The irony is, perhaps this stricter interpretation of fair use will end up hurting the hardworking individual artists more than helping.

So it’s irksome to me, to say the least, to hear someone uncritically parroting this propaganda in the context of the activity taking place in this label sub-forum. Borrowing elements of content from others and incorporating it into an entirely new design is perfectly ethical and fair use. Furthermore, if an artist wishes to be compensated there are plenty of simple ways to protect their work, via watermarks, cryptography, etc. Ethics aside, the legality of doing this is far from settled either; there’s a reason why the RIAA sues the distributors of illegal content rather than the consumers. These are complex issues, with the Lawrence Lessigs of the world at one extreme and the RIAA/MPAA on the other and I don’t have all the answers. But neither am I willing to uncritically accept the views of either side. I’ve posted my share of label designs here because of the great commentary and feedback. I find this to be a fantastic resource. Now I have to look over my shoulder each time because the volunteer “cop” is watching to point out violations of the RIAA/MPAA fair use fantasy? That’s what brought the attitude.
 
Ethics and legalese aside, I think that a collection of free source images and free creation tools would make a GREAT sticky for this subforum.

I used to know people who would brag about downloading "the latest xxxxxx program" that should have cost them $1000 but warez'd it...and I never understood it. When there are FREE resources available that do everything that you need them to do, why not support and utilize them?

Who, outside of graphics designers, really needs Photoshop when GIMP and Inkscape are available? Many people seem to get so tied up on the idea that the price tag of something is a hallmark of quality that they tend to overlook other options. Even when I was a windows user, I'd always look for a free utility to do what I wanted, be it a partition manager, antivirus, backup utility, registry cleaner, or whatever. And you know what? Most of the time, these programs worked BETTER because they weren't loaded with tons of bloat (*ahem*, excuse me, "features") that I didn't need.

In any case, thank you greggor for the links. I've bookmarked this thread and will definitely be utilizing the resources in the future.
 
In any case, thank you greggor for the links. I've bookmarked this thread and will definitely be utilizing the resources in the future.

Thank you and you're welcome! That, in essence, is all I was looking to accomplish. In fact, I can come up with a much more comprehensive list. Just as long as there aren't irrelevant ramblings about big corporations, RIAA/MPAA, Disney, You Tube, Columbia Records... Those arguments are great but can be saved for another topic. I'm just happy to help HBT and my fellow graphic artists who are in-touch with the public in this economy, which is why I say most of us will be THRILLED to let you use our property for free with a smile. We love flattery. Irrationality, put-downs, and attitudes can go elsewhere.

And don't worry I do intend on giving back to HBT, just as soon as I have the disposable income!
 
As a professor of art as well, I would ask what about "appropriation"? You can look back to Duchamp....and all the way up to Warhol. Come on, step down off the soap box, this is a site about beer, seriously?
But....You've convinced me OP, I'm never stealing again. I'm also driving the speed limit from now on, I will not talk on the phone while driving, and I will not smoke in a restricted area......oh I have stop downloading illegal music as well. Thanks for pointing me on the path to rightousness.

Saved....V
 
Thanks for pointing me on the path to rightousness.

Saved....V

That wasn't my mission for starting the thread. Use your own sound judgment and be ethical voodoo, that's all. The artist would love to know you like their work and would like to know if someone uses it on their labels. Never said don't do it, heck I was't even complaining, I even said I'll help, just please be ethical. That's what a decent person would do. Artists understand it's only home brewed beer with labels to be shared amongst a small group of friends, which is why I said they'll happily give you their blessing with no charge. Try to avoid borrowing without asking though if you have a good heart.

Am I coming off a certain way? Why are people being so sarcastic and irrational about this? I really don't understand the cynicism.
 
I don't see why people are making such a big deal out of this whole thing. If nothing else it adds more places to get better pictures. I, for one, thank you very much for the resources.
 
Somebody spends time to run the homebrewtalk website. Somebody pays for the hosting service. This website seems also to be entirely based upon a web php script package that someone has written. Do you know whether this is free open source software or not? How much time have you spent finding out if this php package is free? If the author is asking for donations, have you given any? Have you payed your premium membership fees to this forum to compensate the owners for their hard work? No? Then bite me.

I display their ads. Thanks.
 
Somebody spends time to run the homebrewtalk website. Somebody pays for the hosting service. This website seems also to be entirely based upon a web php script package that someone has written. Do you know whether this is free open source software or not? How much time have you spent finding out if this php package is free? If the author is asking for donations, have you given any? Have you payed your premium membership fees to this forum to compensate the owners for their hard work? No? Then bite me.

What a dickhead thing to say. You are sponging here yourself. I agree with what the OP has posted. Using someone else's work without approval is theft. He has given some great FREE resources to use. All he asked is that you respect someone's work.

I PAID for my logo. Josh at Brew Brand Creative does amazing work. He gives good deals to members here and is a site supporter and a big help in this forum. Shameless plug there for you Josh.:D
 
the ethics debate on intellectual property rights gets tiring. For people like the OP and WhiskySix, it should be fairly reasonable why they support strong IPR's with regard to artists work etc... that being said it's not the only ethical standard, and for most of humanity's history has not even been an enforced standard. It's not as clear cut as "it's just theft"; certainly the blatant use of other peoples work to make money without giving them any mentioned credit is considered bad, but the manipulation and appropriation of other work into yours is a stickier matter.

If I take a shot from a movie, posterize it in photoshop, map it to vectors and create my own image that incorporates it, am I stealing? Legally perhaps, but ethically it's more complex than that.
 
I deleted my original reply because what I had written was a little too mean spirited for Burro, whom I assume was speaking of a previous post I had made to Gregger, a fellow art professor. Who, I am sure, would get my "obscure references". So Burro, unless you can add something to the discussion, please don't post. Although, I understand if my "deep intellectual argument with obscure references" was a little over your head.


V
 
Nah, just a bit pretentious. That's all.

Oh and I wasn't actually singling you out. But obviously you felt that shoe fit.
 
Am I the only one who noticed this?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f46/villainy-new-label-216105/

From post 7:

Ha ha ha ha ha... I wish I had the talent too. But this (like all my labels) was just assembled from components found (stolen) from the Internet.

The villain guy:
http://jgmmad.deviantart.com/art/The-Villain-124856176

The border:
http://studiom6.deviantart.com/art/Tribal-Corners-Line-Brushes-88730960

The background:
http://shadowh3.deviantart.com/art/Wall-Texture-73682375

The font:
http://www.dafont.com/blood-crow.font

All put together with the Gimp.

That's how all of his labels were made (he makes a new thread for each one). Why the bad blood to the OP when he's, to me anyway, offering the same kind of resources you use to make your labels?
 
and I'll add a thanks to the OP!

I was looking for a new place for fonts.

:rockin:
:mug:

You are very welcome sir!

The main difference from using google to search for any and all images on the internet is some of the graphics/photos you find may not be intended for you to use freely.

The links I provided contain photos and graphics that you can use with wreckless abandon. My labels were made by using these same free fonts and graphic sites.

photo-1.jpg


BTW all, I added software programs to the original post. And the photo above was my cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla stout. The cinnamon finish was delicious. It's all gone now. :(
 
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