BACKGROUND IMAGES - Let us know where you get yours

[hidden]

In my humble opinion, if you have a few minutes to spare, you SHOULD spend them wandering through Trudy's BACKGROUND images!  These can be worked into ANY website builder program with ease.

She has taken parts of master works from DaVinci and others, transformed them into interesting and creative backgrounds for your websites! Offering more than 2500 of them, you will surely find something to fit your taste!   Each has a thumbnail that when clicked displays a whole page using that background so you can see how the tiled image would look.

[hidden]

Thanks for the kind words. I should probably point out that, although a lot of the backgrounds are made from artwork, most of them aren't - although they all start out from some picture or photo. As far as your request for some Monet, that's certainly a possibility. I'd put a moratorium on starting with any new artists until after I got the site redone (which isn't finished yet, by any means), although I've added some new pages to existing artists. 

The site I use the most for images is pics.am, formerly called the Ultimate Image Archive. Rather than charging per download, they have a small membership fee. The main reason I use that site is that it has a huge selection of fine art pictures. Because they deal only in copyright-free images, you won't find some of the most recent artists - no Jackson Pollock or Andy Warhol, for example. They also have wonderful sections for flowers, the seasons, animals, etc. Images I use for greeting cards are from that site, too; hopefully in the future I'll be able to use some of my own photos for that, but we're not there yet.

The site where I got all of my backgrounds before I had Paint Shop, and still get some occasionally now, is GRsites.com. And, although I make some of my own buttons, arrows, and dividing lines, I still get most of them from that site, mainly because I haven't gotten good enough at transparency to show it in public - my arrows are always on rectangular buttons.

I'll mention that the guy who has GRsites.com doesn't make the things he has on his site; he collects them from other places. I'll never match the 10,000 graphics he has available, but his "largest collection of free background textures on the internet" currently numbers 5,742 and I'm closing in with over 3,200. That's also the site I think of when I try to work out convenient navigation. One thing that I find annoying there is that after you click on one thumbnail and view its tiled page, then you have to go back to the page of thumbnails, click on another one to view its tiled page, then go back to the thumbnails... which is the reason I've made it possible to browse through an entire page of thumbnails without having to go back.

For anyone who doesn't have a graphics program, and who wants simple "image" buttons instead of flash, CSB5, etc., the button maker at GRsites.com is very good.

[hidden]

In my humble opinion, if you have a few minutes to spare, you SHOULD spend them wandering through Trudy's BACKGROUND images!  These can be worked into ANY website builder program with ease.

She has taken parts of master works from DaVinci and others, transformed them into interesting and creative backgrounds for your websites! Offering more than 2500 of them, you will surely find something to fit your taste!   Each has a thumbnail that when clicked displays a whole page using that background so you can see how the tiled image would look.

Thanks, great backgrounds!

[hidden]

HI Trudy - me again - My question for you is, where do you find the royalty free images to start your work with the Masters paintings from? I used to have several sites bookmarked on my older computer but the last time I looked I only found one and it was a page that had changed and the links it held were gone.

I had been making I love Van Gogh items at that time and found a site that was hosted by one of the museums for copyright free art. Searching these terms I am not finding that site but others that are not copyright free. I know they are out there as I have visited them I have to be sure what I use isn't copyrighted because my creations from them will be for sale. I want to put the source reference on the items so there are no copyright issues. I think generally if you are not selling them they don't care or bother with it but in this case I don't need the Van Gogh foundation coming after me!!  Because after all --- I love Van Gogh lol I don't do what you do - but turn tiny snippets of color pixel chips into my own patterns - and maybe a distinguishable pattern like a star or something - so no worries I'm not competing!! lol I have already put the ones I made on some products and would like to continue that line in the near future.

If you could steer me back in the right direction that would be appreciated. I have the complete works of Van Gogh book but I think taking from that would be stealing and I am not sure which ones are copyright free. Not all of them are of that I am sure.

Thanks again for any help.

[hidden]

I get all the images from pics.am; there are links to it on my website. When I started using the site, it was called the Ultimate Image Archive. It's changed hands, but still seems to be pretty much the same. - The reason I mention that is the "copyright free" information used to be easier to spot than it is now. I still tend to trust the copyright status, though, because of things that aren't there, such as any artwork by Pollock, Warhol, even most Chagalls. I put art.com or amazon.com links to any of the art I use that's available to buy, and it was interesting that although I found over 400 links to for-sale copies of Chagall works, I found absolutely no overlap between those and the Chagall art that I found on pics.am. That would seem to be a pretty strange coincidence if they weren't paying any attention to legalities. The only living artist I know of whose work they have apparently sends it in himself. I own a number of books with his cover art, and many of the images on pics.am seem to be alternate versions of the same art - possibly "trial runs" that didn't get used.

The site went from being completely free to charging a relatively inexpensive membership fee (you can still browse thumbnails for free). I'm not sure what the status of that is now.

[hidden]

Thanks! I will keep that in mind - I didn't remember seeing that link at your site. I am going to continue to look for the free sites for a while - ( having just mentioned how much I hate signing up for anything lol) I know the one I used the most was a museum site and unfortunately my memory is horrible and I forget what type the others were.

I love this though there is one man who has taken hundreds of copyright free art - from such sites - and made a cd that he sells of it how's that for enterprise! And the funny thing is - he is all up in arms on his site about someome in europe that he thinks stole his images and are using them on their own CD. He is suing them.

 

[hidden]

Here's a little collection I have on the site, http://www.freepims.com/id43.html

[hidden]

Thanks, freepims - That's quite a collection. It's interesting just to see how the different sites do things. BTW, you need to change the link to David Pye's Collection 

[hidden]

Thanks, freepims - That's quite a collection. It's interesting just to see how the different sites do things. BTW, you need to change the link to David Pye's Collection 

thanks I probably need to check the whole site...

[hidden]

Sweet! Freepims  Thanks

[hidden]

Don't forget to look around the house and yard for backgrounds
with a scanner or camera you can get lots of material
scan a paper towel or a piece of cloth or crumpled paper, gold foil wrapper from a candy bar, a leaf.
Take a picture of a wood desktop and so forth.
Then crop and or blur.

I used the wood looking formica on my desk to use to make a wood texture banner.

[hidden]

Turtle, you must have been following me around my house doing EXACTLY that! 
Over the years, I have used bark, concrete, textiles and floral images made from synthetic floral arrangements and real flowers in MANY of my layered images! Blurring or fading them really help create depth.  Your HOME can be a wonderful source of material! 

Made a jewelry website header that so greatly pleased the owner that she wanted the gloved hands and cloth that were in the main image to appear in other photos on the site.  She was surprised and a bit disappointed to find that the gloves were a plastic pomander in the shape of ladies gloved hands and were actually only 4 inches long and the cloth beneath them does not exist in any form. It is a blurred shot of the same floral arrangement shown in the image, slightly recolored and stretched, edged with a graphic to simulate lace!...Illusion and presentation from the most BASIC elements.

[hidden]

I came uppn this technique out of sheer laziness lol - But using it gave me some good ideas - one for example is that I use rainbows a lot and cut snips for really subtle colors and color graduations and have made a whole rainbow series of things 

water is another big one for me and sky - I really like the elements and colors of nature

but it might be anything like you said .. it was just so easy to pull up an existing photo on the comptuer and find some part of it to use rather than go searching the image sites

good idea to recommend 

but I have to ask .. Sam what is a plastic pomander?

[hidden]

One of my favorite "games" is to open up a random picture - the more mundane the better - and see what I can do with it (not talking "artist" pictures, here, just ones I've copied to my computer for various reasons). With most of my backgrounds, I couldn't even tell you now which ones came from what picture. In my "old" system before I started using the databases, I could trace the background back to the original image by its file name, and even then would sometimes think "Huh - How'd I do that?" With the backgrounds based on artist works, I try to change the image as little as possible so the artist's work still shows through, but on all the other backgrounds, anything goes.

I've only had a digital camera since last summer and haven't done too much with it yet, but I have gotten some interesting backgrounds from black cat hair , to say  nothing of the yellow phone book on the floor behind the black cat, etc. I got the camera specifically to take on my trip to Oxford last August so I could post pics on my (Tolkien) website without worrying about copyright, and I've done a collection of backgrounds from those photos. It's one of the collections I was holding onto in case I decided to sell it, but I'll probably be adding it to my (graphics) website, as I think I've dropped the idea of trying to make any money from that endeavor.

ETA: Back on the subject of the previous paragraph, another of the collections I've been saving has 100 backgrounds all made from one photo of the flame on a gas stove burner. Gorgeous colors (not my own photo)! When I put that collection on the site, I'll have to add the original photo.

[hidden]

but I have to ask .. Sam what is a plastic pomander?

From MSN encarta:
1. aromatic mixture: a mixture of aromatic substances enclosed in a sachet, ball, or other container, kept near stored clothes or in a room to impart a pleasant smell
2. pomander container: a container for a pomander, usually a lidded pottery bowl with holes

The pomander that I have came from my grandmother, in the shape of ladies gloved hands, made of a plastic material. The holes that allow the scent to escape are in the lacey edge of the glove.  It is filled with a lovely mixture of lavendar and other spices and smells so nice. The true color of the gloves is lavender (surprise!) and is only 4" long. It hangs in a linen closet by the attached loop.  When it no longer smells nice you refill with your own scented pomander.



For the website header, I used a better image, and split the hands (which is only a single piece) so the hands could HOLD a bracelet.

[hidden]

Ohhh pomander                 


I knew that 


Somehow the plastic gloves really threw my mind off I actually have a pomander lol but its fabric and doesn't refill

unless the refilling part is integral in which case I just have a beautiful old fashioned fabric heart filled with wonderful fragrances that I hang in my closet

wow that is some fancy photo editing you did then.. it sounds way cool

thanks I would have been googling it if you hadn't answered soon it would have driven me crazy


a short trip these days

[hidden]

Oh and TG I like that game too! lol & flames are an awesome source - hmmmm I have lots of dog hair around here ( thankfully) maybe I better get with that!

[hidden]

What a neat before and after Sam! Thanks for sharing - TG -- I want to see the fur ball backgrounds  nono jk! That kitty sounds so cute 

[hidden]

humm, you mean you can use something other then black?

but why?

(just trying to get my post numbers up  )

[hidden]

you mean besides white I assume?     

[hidden]

  You mean there is a color other than purple or green?

(even found a ring that looks like the colors of my website and am tempted to get this lavender and green jade set in sterling piece.  Doesn't it SHOUT SAMISITE?! )
 

[hidden]

Oh wow that is awsome ! yes yes get it!!! 

[hidden]

how about a big diamond? I think the colors and sparle would make a nice background, and since it's for your business operations, totally tax deductable, isn't it?
 

ah, maybe not?
Pat Jr.

[hidden]

Good heavens, people! We have to keep this thread on topic! (A few hairball backgrounds at the end of the sequence, for adverturous souls.)

[hidden]

OOOOH!   Purple and green hairballs!  YES!   Thank s Trudy for putting us back on the straight and narrow!

(But gotta say: I DID order that PURDY ring  !!! )

[hidden]

ahahahaha wtg Trudy! and wtg Sammy! Life is short ENJOY!

[hidden]

 
Got the ring.... LOVE IT!!!  So Purdy.  And my colors to a tee!     Will always make me think of samisite.com.

I have held a gift certificate since Christmas and considered a thousand times what to get with it (had to be jewelry since that's all the company sells) and tonight I finally decided to order a pair of earrings to go with the new ring. Even got them on sale for less than $25!    Can't wait to show them to the person that gave me the gift certificate...we've been friends since high school.

Sterling silver wire earrings: each earring has 2 green and 2 purple jade 7mm beads, 4 small freshwater pearls and sprinkled with 4 tourmalines, 1.25" long. Colors won't be exact match but close enough since my hand will not be at my ears. I have nothing similar to these silly and fun janglers! I expect to get a lot of use from ring and earrings!!!

[hidden]

Ohhh, you just had to do that, didn't you? [right-click-save ].

[hidden]

So much of my jewelry was taken last year I have been spooked about buying new pieces.  But these two really spoke to me and since they are SAMISITE colors, I could not resist them.   My pic was not right click save. My earring pic was a screen capture of a zoomable image and the ring pics were captured from a video. Since I bought the pieces, I captured the images for my insurance files. Last time I had a real hard time documenting my jewelry.  Now I try to document as I purchase.

[hidden]

No, I meant I right-click saved. .
A few preliminary results: http://www.frodolivesin.us/new/id39.htm . But that's about all I can fit into my temporary "gallery" there.

[hidden]

nice! I really like dangles ripple ...  good purchase Sam! and wow you've reminded me with hurricane season on us that especially now I should re-video our home and contents ... sigh!

[hidden]

Ok...back on topic.  Here are my backgrounds for these baubles.  I like the kaleidoscope ribbon.

[hidden]

Cool
Wanda,
I like both kaleidoscopes and  the dangles-ripple 

Sami very nice.

Good for you Sami, you deserve the jewelry since they made them in your colors 

[hidden]

Oooo -- I love that impressionistic one! 

[hidden]

I went a little wacko with the backgrounds. I usually make very simple, blendable colors. Probably only the kaleidoscopes are actually usable but the subjects lent themselves to some crazy textures and I just couldn't resist.

Back on budget...jewelry binge is over...Believe it or not, those pieces are the only ones I have ever had with the website colors, hence the major temptation.

[hidden]

Sammy - my fav was the first ear ring back ground woohoo very different. You go girl!

[hidden]

9 & 10 are my favorite. Good stuff! 

[hidden]

Got the earrings.... they are prettier in person!

[hidden]

and so where is the picture of you with your new ear rings and ring on? 

[hidden]

nope.     Rarely take them.  These are most recent (last November)....have no bangs or layers now, all grown out and trimmed just above my shoulders (imagine the earrings )