Digitizing your own designs can be great fun and a rewarding hobby. But unless you are an artist as well as a digitizer, finding clip art that can be used legally for embroidery designs is the first and most important step in the process.
There are many sources for free clip art that can be downloaded from the internet. Whether or not they are royalty free and can be used for digitizing depends on the copyright statements found on the web sites containing the art work. Normally copyright statements and right to use information is posted in a prominent location. Unless you are certain usage rights use have been granted, it would be best to look elsewhere. Penalties for copyright violations can be substantial. It isn't worth taking the chance.
So, where do you go to find legal clip art to digitize? Actually there are many sources available if you know where to look. On the world wide web various artists offer clip art for sale that is very reasonably priced. They offer generic clip art, which is the least expensive, as well as higher priced semi-exclusive or exclusive clip art. Here are a few examples of quality clip art web sites.
There are many other web sources, but these three offer some of the highest quality clip art available. Not all clip art is well suited for digitizing, but these artists understand the concept of thread art and create their clip art accordingly. Much of the art we use for our designs comes from these sources.
Another good clip art source is publications. Dover offers a wide range of books containing royalty free clip art that you can use for digitizing. Dover books can be found in most better book stores as well as ordered online - Dover Publications.
A third source, and perhaps one of the best, is a talented friend or relative that is quite adept with pen and ink. If they are willing to draw for you at little or no charge your clip art supply could be endless.
You might also contact students at a nearby art school to see if any are interested in supplying you with original art work for a nominal fee. It not only helps them improve their talents, but puts a few extra dollars into their pockets. We all know college students are in constant need of money.
No matter what source you choose, be sure to read and fully understand all copyright issues associated with the art work. Be aware of any and all licensing information each artist provides. Understanding these rights ahead of time will prevent copyright disputes from ever becoming an issue with your designs. If in doubt contact the artist directly to ask questions.
Obtaining written copies of the license granted to you would be ideal, but many artists do not issue written licenses. At the very least you should ask the artist to explain how this information is maintained should a question arise in the future.
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