Stock illustrations (often called stock photographs) used by creative

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

s as a method of

visual communication Visual communication is the use of visual elements to convey ideas and information which include (but are not limited to) signs, typography, drawing, graphic design, illustration, industrial design, advertising, animation, and electronic resourc ...

. They are found in reports,

news media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc. History Some of the fir ...

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

, and

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

s. They are abundant and available

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

through several

stock art Stock photography is the supply of photographs that are often licensed for specific uses. The stock photo industry, which began to gain hold in the 1920s, has established models including traditional macrostock photography, midstock photography, ...

agencies, many of which sell both photographs and illustrations. Today stock photos can be purchased through a subscription and downloaded from a stock photography distributor's Website or purchased as a CD-ROM collection. Buying stock art is convenient for those who are looking for high-quality

image An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...

s without spending too much time and spending only what their budgets allow. Stock images (that includes stock photography, vectors, and illustrations) have many perks for businesses and digital market, but the main, most immediate and evident benefits are the time and money savings.{{Cite web, url=https://www.stockphotosecrets.com/questions-answers/what-are-stock-images.html, title=What are Stock Images? One of the Best Image Resources Explained > Stock Photo Secrets, last=April 17, first=Reply Tugmy cart, last2=Pm, first2=2018 at 3:16, date=2016-09-07, website=Stock Photo Secrets, language=en-US, access-date=2019-06-27

Types

Stock illustrations fall into two main categories:

royalty free Royalty-free (RF) material subject to copyright or other intellectual property rights may be used without the need to pay royalties or license fees for each use, per each copy or volume sold or some time period of use or sales. Computer standards ...

and

rights managed Rights Managed, or RM, in photography and the stock photo industry, refers to a copyright license which, if purchased by a user, allows the one-time use of the photo as specified by the license. If the user wants to use the photo for other uses a ...

. The choice between royalty free or rights managed illustrations depends on buyers' needs. For instance, royalty-free

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

s may be used many times with few restrictions and for multiple projects, e.g. annual

report A report is a document or a statement that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are usually given in the form of written documen ...

brochure A brochure is an promotional document primarily used to introduce a company, organization, products, or services and inform prospective customers or members of the public of the benefits. Although, initially, a paper document that can be folded ...

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

s, and

s, for one flat fee. That is because the pricing of a royalty-free illustration is determined by the size of the illustration and not its specific use. Illustration sizes vary from the low resolution that are suitable for the

web Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created by ...

high resolution Image resolution is the level of detail of an image. The term applies to digital images, film images, and other types of images. "Higher resolution" means more image detail. Image resolution can be measured in various ways. Resolution quantifies ...

vector graphics Vector graphics are a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector displ ...

images that are suitable for

printed Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and Printmaking, images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabon ...

media. Rights-managed illustrations may benefit those who need exclusive use of images. Unlike royalty-free stock illustrations, prices for rights-managed illustrations are determined by the medium where the illustrations will appear such as the web or printed media, distribution, and the duration for which the image will be used. While many stock art agencies sell both photos and illustrations, some sell only illustrations. The following companies sell only illustrations, but that list is neither definitive nor complete: Ikon Images, Illustration Works, Laughing Stock, Stock Illustration Source, ImageZoo, and Ecliptic Stock Illustrations. Ikon Images and Laughing Stock sell only rights-managed images. Illustration Works and Stock Illustration Source sell both rights-managed and royalty-free images, while ImageZoo and Ecliptic Stock Illustrations are two of the many illustration companies that specialize in royalty-free illustrations. The two companies that have been in business longest are Illustration Works and Stock Illustration Source. Illustration Works established the first searchable online internet site in 1996 and brought stock illustrations to the digital market that was emerging for stock images.

References

category:Illustration category:Graphic design

Types

See also

References