The main reason why people use illustrations is to add style and personality to business documents or websites. However, it can be really time-consuming to create an illustration from scratch, and that’s where stock illustrations or royalty free illustrations will come in handy for you.
With royalty free illustrations, you can easily use designs with high quality that are from some of the best graphics designers in the world and use these designs in different ways. But the big question lies in where one can get these royalty free illustrations, how to use them, and how to choose the best illustration.
Royalty free illustration websites – illustAC
You can get royalty free illustrations from websites that offer stock illustrations. However, one thing to note about these websites is that not all of them offer illustrations with a royalty-free license. Therefore, one of the first things that you should check when getting a royalty free illustration is the type of license it has.
To maximize royalty free illustrations, you need a robust website or library. You’ll also need a library where you can easily find royalty free illustrations based on style, use, and other factors. No one would want to be caught up in a web of dozens of illustrations. That is why most illustration sites today have a search option that makes it easier for users to find the royalty free illustration they are looking for.
Choosing Royalty Free Illustrations
There are a couple of things you need to consider when choosing stock illustrations or royalty free illustrations, and this includes the following:
License of the illustration
Cost and budget
Illustration style
Use or function of the illustration
The license of the illustration
In other to ensure that the stock illustration you choose is a royalty free illustration, one of the most important factors to consider is the type of license it comes with. It’s usually tempting to just download any free stock illustration you find and use on your project, especially since they don’t usually have any strict license. However, it’s important to always check the type of license that the illustration has.
When choosing illustration websites, it’s advisable to choose one that has a royalty free illustration license or a commercial license. Another important consideration to make is to ensure that you find illustrations that you can edit to suit your need.
Cost and Budget
Another important thing that you’ll need to consider is the financial aspect of the website you choose. Not every designer has enough financial resources, which is why it’s best to work with a budget when choosing the site. It’s important to ensure that the site you choose is affordable.
If you use illustrations only once in a while, it’s advisable that you only buy them as the need arises. In most cases, stock illustrations usually cost a few dollars, so you need to check this beforehand. Another thing to note is that when you decide to buy stock illustrations, you may need to be paying a monthly subscription fee for such illustrations. With that, you’ll also need to check whether the website offers any discount for the illustrations.
Illustration Styles
Another important thing to consider is the style of the illustration you choose. This is important because you need to ensure that it perfectly matches your brand’s aesthetic and voice. There are so many types of illustration styles, but the most common are grotesque, minimalist, monochromatic, flat, and simple. You can choose any of these styles according to your preference. Another important thing to ensure is that the illustration site that you choose has different illustration styles available to increase your options.
Use or Function of the Illustration
The way you decide to use an illustration completely depends on your imagination. However, there are a few common ways to use these illustrations, and they include the following:
Templates
One of the most useful tools for every designer, irrespective of their skill level, is templates. Even for someone who can create emails, banner ads, websites, business cards, and more from scratch will agree that a template makes everything easier and time-saving.
For example, using a banner template will save time because you only need to select the desired style and template and edit accordingly. There are so many types of illustration templates, and they are all designed to make design work easier and faster.
Background illustrations
Backgrounds are also important when it comes to design because it basically pulls everything into a single piece and improves the aesthetics of the design. With a stock illustration background, you can add more visuals to your design and also make it extra special.
Illustrated backgrounds also improve the texture of a design, and they are also available in different styles and sizes.
Icons
Illustrated icons are not left out of this, and they can be applied in so many ways. Illustrated icons can be used on brochures, business cards, and even on websites. Illustration websites offer these icons in the form of icon sets, and they are also available in different styles. It’s very common for businesses and websites to use these icons in their design, and they only need to align these icons with their motives.
crayon icons illustACfruit icons illustAC
Data visualization and infographics
One of the most common uses of illustrations in design is for data visualization and infographics. Illustration websites offer different elements to help designers to reduce their turnaround time when designing infographics.
Product Mock-ups
In general, it’s always great to use product images, but this will not always be possible, and you’ll need to get illustrations from websites to help you create mock-ups that you can use for your products. You can easily use the stock illustration of a blank screen to mock up an app or a website. This is a lot better than using screenshots of your app or mobile site. It will also help to create a better setting with your views.
A common use of illustrations is for frames and borders, and this can be applied in so many ways. Whether it’s the simple outline of a banner or the floral borders of a flyer, there are so many ways that a design can benefit from frames and borders.
watercolor frames and borders illustACframes and borders illustAC
These are some of the common uses of illustrations, but there are many more. When choosing a royalty free illustration website, one of the key things that you need to ensure is that the illustrations provided by the website can serve all the functions above and even more. With that, you can be sure that you’ll easily find illustrations according to your preference.
Guide for Choosing Illustration Websites
If you are looking for a great website to find illustrations for any of the use above, there are different options for you to choose from. The big question is where you get these illustrations from. You can either decide to draw them yourself or hire a professional to draw the illustrations for you. Another option to consider is to utilize stock illustrations or royalty free illustrations. These are graphics, images, and illustrations that are offered online for use.
The main benefit of using stock illustration is that it will save you time and money. Using stock illustrations is a lot cheaper than hiring someone to create the illustrations for you. Another amazing reason to use stock illustrations is that they are available in every style that you could imagine. You only need to choose from these illustrations, and you won’t need to wait for an artist to get the job done for you.
There are so many benefits of using stock illustrations. However, there are still a few drawbacks, and this is the fact that there’s the potential for someone else to use the same illustration that you choose. This also means that there’s a possibility that your competitor will also use the same picture you choose.
One thing to always note is that stock illustrations are always a great way of adding style to any project. There are so many sites that you can use, and while some of these sites are free, there are others that are free but with a few limitations. Here are some examples:
Free Stock Illustration Websites
Here are some of the common free stock illustration websites that you might want to consider trying:
VectorCharacters: This is a website that offers different illustrated cartoon characters, graphics, emojis, and icons. They are available in different formats, and it’s an illustration website that offers free illustrations without attribution for every use. However, there are limited illustrations on the website
Pixabay: This is considered to be one of the big names in the illustration market because of the numerous options available. You’ll find multiple choices and a great filter on Pixabay, and there is no attribution for illustration uses. However, anybody can upload illustrations on the platform, and you’re likely to get low-quality illustrations.
Freepik: This is also a big name in the industry, and it offers a wide array of illustrations for people to use freely. However, there’s a need for attribution on Freepik, and the resource is open to different contributors from around the world.
Vecteezy: This is considered to be the largest website for vector graphics, and the vectors are free for both personal and commercial uses. However, the website does not have a good filter, and you’ll need to give attributions for uses.
Premium Stock Illustration Websites
Here are some of the common premium illustration websites that you might want to consider:
GraphicMama: This is a cartoon-style premium illustration website that’s worth checking for professional and high-quality designs. It’s also a platform where you can get royalty free illustrations. However, you should note that everything is in cartoon style.
Shutterstock: Another place you might want to consider for royalty free illustrations is on Shutterstock, which is one of the biggest illustrations and stock photo platforms in the world today. However, Shutterstock is quite expensive, and you might want to consider other options.
Adobe Stock: Adobe stock is also a big name, and with so many amazing features, in addition to the huge library that they offer. However, it’s also a pricey option, and there’s no option to buy images individually.
iStockPhoto: This is also a popular premium stock illustration website with great choices for people to use. It offers a premium search option, and images are added to the platform weekly. The major drawback is that iStockPhoto does not offer a free trial for users, and you can’t buy images individually on iStockPhoto.
Why Choose illustAC for Royalty Free Illustrations
We have listed a couple of free and premium stock illustration websites, but our top recommendation for you to try is illustAC; and here are some reasons why you should consider getting your royalty free illustrations on illustAC:
Less rights and copyright issues: When you choose illustAC, you only need to fulfill the requested criteria to avoid different issues. The guidelines from illustAC are not so strict, and you can easily follow these guidelines and also meet their terms and conditions.
Cost-Effective: Illustrations are representations of the imagination, and in some cases, you may need to pay a toke to the creator. On illustAC, the payment is very affordable compared to any of the platforms mentioned above.
Search Engine Optimization: Illustrations generally give views a better and more exciting digital experience, and it’s also a way to make a site respond and load faster. The illustrations you’ll find on illustAC are created with SEO in mind, and you can rest assured that they’ll come in handy for your website and use experience.
Royalty free illustration website illustAC
One fact that will never change is the fact that there will always be a wide variety of royalty free illustration websites that you can use. However, you need to know what you are seeking, as well as the type of illustration that’s ideal for you before choosing any of these websites. illustAC is a site that you can choose with the assurance that it will exceed your expectations.
