Public Domain Art Resources

# What is public domain art? Creative works not protected by copyright are considered "public domain." They exist in what we call the commons, the space that belongs to everyone, they're free to enjoy, share, and build on without restriction. The challenge is knowing what is and isn't in the public domain. Every country has different laws and copyrights with their own stipulations, restrictions, and timelines. In other words: Public domain belongs to everyone, but not everyone equally or all at once—and that's why your source for public domain art is more important than ever. ## How do I determine what's in the public domain? Anything made before 1870 is probably good to go. Works made prior to 1870 pre-date modern copyright laws that extend rights beyond the average lifespan of its creators, their estates, and corporate owners. This is what the Pubic Domain Review suggests regarding copyright: * a term which lasts for 70 years after the creator’s death (relevant in UK, Canada, most of the EU, and South America); * a term which lasts for 50 years after the creator’s death (relevant to most of Africa and Asia); * a term which lasts for 95 years after the publication of a film or book, including any artworks featured within (relevant solely to the United States). The above guidelines are pretty simple, but the reality is more complicated, especially in the US where corporations have the power to buy, sell, and own a work for however long they "maintain" ownership. If you want a robust rundown on copyright law, digital copies, and flowcharts (who doesn't love a flow chart?), check out the Public Domain Review for more. ## Creative Commons v. Pubic Domain? It's surprisingly difficult getting your work into the public domain. The reason is a little counter-intuitive. In most countries, the moment you make something you automatically have rights to its ownership—and yet, those same authorities do not easily certify your surrender of them. That's where Creative Commons comes in. It's an international non-profit with a standardized list of licenses you can use in place of Public Domain. Here's what to look out for when browsing work in the Public Domain and Creative Commons. #### Creative Commons Licenses The following licenses are arranged from most to least permissive. You can find current language and deeds on the Creative Commons website. I highly recommend using their exact language as a creator. ****CC0**** This is the stand-in for Public Domain. Credit does not have to be given. No limits on usage. ****CC BY**** Credit must be given to the creator. ****CC BY-SA**** Credit must be given to the creator. Adaptations must be shared under the same terms. ****CC BY-ND**** Credit must be given to the creator. No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted. ****CC BY-NC**** Credit must be given to the creator. Only non-commercial use of the work is permitted.* ****CC BY-NC-SA**** Credit must be given to the creator. Only non-commercial use of the work is permitted. Adaptations must be shared under the same terms. ****CC BY-NC-ND**** Credit must be given to the creator. Only non-commercial use of the work is permitted. No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted. *Commercial use means anything used for commercial advantage or monetary compensation. * * * # Where to find Public Domain Art. There are lots of places you can find art in the public domain and creative commons. You can find a particularly long list on the Public Domain Review's sources. If you want the most robust selection—just go there. * * * # Aggregators ### Internet Archive Great for unexpected and contemporary sources. The real strength of the Internet Archive is its library of music, movies, and non-art files. **Score: 10/10** ### E-Manuscripta If you want public domain text, letters, sheet music, or maps—this might be the best resource. It's also well documented and organized. **Score 10/10** ### Paris Musées The collection here is vast and covers the entire world. It's not just French. It's also well-marked and organized with download links. Highly recommend. **Score: 10/10** ### Wikimedia Commons Everyone knows Wikimedia. The strength of this aggregator is that it's easy to use. Rights are (generally) easy to look up and understand. **Score: 9/10** ### Curationist This is a new aggregator with a pretty solid interface. I like all the metadata it looks for and tries to collate. That saves time, headaches, and uncertainty. **Score 9/10** ### Flickr: The Commons Flikr is great for archival photographs. It's got gems. However, it loses some points for its groups-based organization and lack of easy to look-up licenses. **Score: 5/10** * * * # Providers ### British Library Massive catalog. Easy to navigate. Quick and convenient to look up. It's famous for a reason and a great place to look for public domain maps, illustrations, and artwork. Check out its digital collections for public domain resources. ### New York Public Library Just like its British cousin, the New York Public Library is vast. The best place to look is in the section titled research. The online collections there have everything from maps to archival photography. ### National Gallery of Art Over 60,000 images available for download with lots of filters, easy to reference licenses, and open sourced data backed up on Github. This is a great resource for old paintings, prints, and photography. ### Rijks Museum It feels like everyone working in indie rpgs already knows about the Rijks Museum. The best part of Rijks are its images which are fully scanned and often massive—perfect for print projects. Look for the CC0 license. ### The Met New York's premier museum has a solid online collection. Here's an underused hack—use the photographs of their sculptures and other artifacts and adapt them for your art. Look for the CC0 license. ### The Art Institute of Chicago Thousands of artworks that you can filter for public domain. The Art Institute of Chicago is particularly rich with public domain paintings, portraits, and landscapes from early 20th century artists. ### Cleveland Museum of Art Why is Cleveland's collection so good? I'll never know. It's huge, diverse, and it's easy to navigate. Just click on open source and you'll find paintings, sculpture, and jewelry from all over the world. ### Science History Institute You'd think the Science History Institute's digital collection would be solely medical-related, but that's where you're wrong. Search for copyright free images and you'll find postage stamps, periodicals, and even advertisements. ### Old Book Illustrations If you're in the market for woodcuts, lino prints, and sketches from the old books, particularly Victorian-era books, this website is a great place to start. It's relatively easy to search, but it's easy to get lost. Use your bookmark function. ### Prelinger Archives If you're looking for films, commercials, and other early 20th century to contemporary video assets, the Prelinger Archives are the best. I particularly love the old b-roll and b-movie footage. * * * # Last notes on public domain art. You can find public domain art everywhere, but confirming its accuracy will always be a challenge. Even when the work _is_ in the public domain, companies will still try to claim ownership (Looking at you Getty). Always do the following: * Confirm that the image you're using is public domain or creative commons. * Look for a double confirmation through aggregators like Wikimedia. * Be prepared to change your work if you get a copyright strike. Thanks for reading this far. If you have a source online that you like, drop me a line on social or share it in the comments below. I used to have a version of this list on my old website, and I'm finally adding it again. See you on the next one, until then, I'll keep exploring. * * * Explorers Design_is a production of Clayton Notestine. If you liked this article, please consider liking, sharing, and subscribing._

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Great Book Covers '26 #1

# Playing a book by its cover. If the composition is considered and the elements compelling, great book covers come in all styles. From the grim dark to the art house, there's a treasure trove of inspiration out there. Below are examples, some old, some fresh—all great. A couple years ago, I wrote about the art of the book cover. This is a sequel of sorts. Let me know your favorites in the comments and on social media, like Bluesky and Instagram. If this ends up being popular, I'd love to make it a series featuring latest releases and trends. Anyway, enough with the preamble. Let's look at some book, zine, and pdf covers... Special announcement Explorers Design was nominated for Best Online Content in the Ennie Awards! I would love your vote July 10th – 19th! Learn more * * * Covers (left to right): The Box of Shadows, From Out of the Meat Pile, and Unheroic Feats. ## The Box of Shadows If I had a dollar for every metal album I couldn't read, I'd have enough money to buy more metal albums. Box of Shadows treads the line of legibility and comes out on top with a title that does double duty as a Heavy Metal handshake and a conceptual depiction of shadows bursting out like poisonous gore. **Takeaway:** Make your design elements perform multiple jobs. What can they do both literally and figuratively? ## From Out of the Meat Pile Johan Nohr is going to keep having a timeshare on this blog so long as he keeps designing great looking books, covers, and games. There's a playfulness here—classic Mörk Borg—with rounded letter forms and light texture. One of Mörk Borg's secret powers is its monsters—they make perfect centerpieces. **Takeaway:** What is your game's proverbial ape that you should be pointing at? Maybe they should be on the cover. It sounds obvious, but if you did your job right (and made them interesting) it'll work. ## Unheroic Feats There's a misconception by some that Mörk Borg, Cy_Borg, and other subculture. games are noisy—that's only _mostly_ true. Sometimes they're subdued despite all the blood and guts therein. Notice how the supplement's content, "feats" is in a bold yet clean typeface, and the Mörk Borg "unheroic" is painted. **Takeaway:** Art and design can signal the role and position of your work. What elements can you strip away and what elements can you enshrine? * * * Covers (left to right): Thieves of the Tome, Single Unique Power, and The Hullabaloo at Henhall. ## Thieves of the Tome It's a merry-go-round of color and freaky little dudes! Sometimes a great cover gives the eyes something to explore, and I love how this one rotates around the title without leading our eyes astray. When I first saw this cover, I examined every thief before drifting to the next one in line. **Takeaway:** Does your cover have characters? How are they interacting? Does the interaction lead the viewer where you want them to? ## Single Unique Power Tyler Crumrine has an entire series of games with the same style of cover. Despite that, they all feel distinct. Why? It’s the art composition. Notice how the eyes and hands of the characters guide ours. From the character mugging the viewer, to the punch that guides us to the title and back. Our eyes ricochet on this cover. **Takeaway:** Where do your character's eyes, faces, and hands point to? It's a common mistake to have them lead off the page—imagine if this art were reversed, would it work the same way? The answer is no. ## The Hullabaloo at Henhall Good covers tell a story. Great covers make us want to finish it. This goofy cover is a snapshot. In the first act, something (probably the chicken) trashed this place. Now we have a disembodied hand—a player's hand—reaching in. What happens next? We have to play to find out. **Takeaway:** If the cover's a snapshot, what happens next? The cover that suggests an interesting answer hits harder than the cover that doesn't. * * * Covers (left to right): Death Cut in Stone, Last Train to Bremen, and Salt, Spit & Silver. ## Death Cut in Stone Composition. Composition. Composition. A blood-soaked monochrome under a slash of horizon, forcing our eyes down a bleak landscape of graves. Normally, it's best practice to place titles near the top, but I like how this title puts us inside its world. If this zine were a normal size, the title might get covered up on the rack, but this is A6, so it's likely to live right in front, waiting for your eye to settle there. **Takeaway:** How does your format's size impact the way it's read? Where will your game live when it's put in the real world? ## Last Train to Bremen Sometimes mimicry make a cover great. The type, colors, and texture here resemble real-life matchbooks, flyers, and packaging from the early 20th century. Notice The Hellmouth; a real-life stage design used in moral and religious stories. It’s no accident it's being used here for a capsule game about damnation. **Takeaway:** What is your game in non-game terms? How has that thing been depicted before? What aesthetics will reinforce what your game already is? ## Salt, Spit & Silver Catholicism has given in me an inexplicable love for skeletons in finery. I left the church as soon as I could, but Id be lying if I said a gold-studded crossbow didn't get me excited. This is a great piece of art given the entire page to breathe. **Takeaway:** What are the visual shorthands that grab your audience? * * * Covers (left to right): Precious Things, Butterfly, and Plasmodics. ## Precious Things This cover's simple but varied collection of boxes and patterns gives us an abstract depiction of a cozy dragon's hoard. Notice how the muted colors reinforce the games promise by remaining quiet and understated. **Takeaway:** What do the colors say about the game? What's their tone? How loud are they? Sometimes the flashiest colors aren't right for your game. ## Butterfly Beautiful and delicate. This might be one of the most original—and gutsy—covers I've seen in rpgs. Butterfly is about artists, so naturally, we get a painterly cover of organic shapes, depth, and balance. Notice how even the World Champ Game Co logo is drawn. That's holistic attention to detail right there! **Takeaway:** What's the least obvious way to depict your game? Is there a metaphor, abstract or literal, that you can use to tell a story? ## Plasmodics Plasmodics is what Gamma World would look like if it was nuked in the microwave with cans of spray paint. It's a Qud-like game of weird mutant freaks in a fluorescent world of light and tie dye. This cover captures that bubbly energy and shocks it with commercial graphics. It really stands out in person. **Takeaway:** Color combinations are everything. Some vibrate off the page. Others settle in and blur. What makes the most sense for your game? * * * Covers (left to right): The Secret of the Night Market, Curious: Albrecht Manor, and Cabinet of Curiosities ## The Secrets of the Night Market When I think of real-life markets, I think of weird characters, fresh food, and random knick-knacks. This cover lays it out like a buffet. I love how Ryan uses color and shadow here to create drama. It puts us right in the scene, like we're sitting across the table, seeing the market through candlelight. **Takeaways:** What's in the foreground and what's in the background? What feels like the subject and what feels like the background? ## Curios: Albrecht Manor The magic of this cover is that it does two things: it introduces the game _and_ foreshadows how to play it. Curios is a epistolary horror mystery. It comes in a manilla envelope. During play, you do what the fictional characters do—with an object that feels like it came right from their world. **Takeaways:** All covers are introductions, but the best covers say and do multiple things, like convey tone, communicate themes, and foreshadow playstyle. ## Cabinet of Curiosities The biggest mistake new designers make is treating their title like an afterthought. Don't slap it on, make it an active participant, or do what Cabinet of Curiosities does and make it the star. I love the playful tilts and shakes in the typography. It looks like it's clattering around inside that cabinet. **Takeaways:** What elements can you borrow from the cover to make your type feel like it belongs? Consider shape, size, color, texture, and tone. * * * # What are some of your favorites? I would love to do this exercise again and explore new releases, but it's hard to do without help. Share your favorites. What covers do you think are some of the best out there? What is it about them that makes you excited. Let me know in the comments or on Bluesky. Until then, I'll keep exploring. * * * ## Additional Reading The Art of the RPG CoverHow to make your roleplaying game’s cover stand out (with examples).Explorers DesignClayton NotestineHow to Pick a Page SizeThere’s more to an rpg’s format than cost and page count.Explorers DesignClayton NotestineKilling Good Games with Bad TitlesHow to write a bad RPG title. And how to do the opposite.Explorers DesignClayton Notestine * * * Explorers Design_is a production of Clayton Notestine. If you liked this article, please consider liking, sharing, and subscribing._

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you are a kākāpō and it is your birthday! by Oru Games

A solo-journaling game where only you can throw the perfect birthday!

takataapui.itch.io

Donate to Help R. S. A. Garcia Pay for Cancer Expenses, organized by Arula Ratnakar

Hi everyone, I'm Rhonda, also known as R. S. A. Garcia, a speculative … Arula Ratnakar needs your support for Help R. S. A. Garcia Pay for Cancer Expenses

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Lock Dragon Stock art on RPG Trader

For all your Wizardly Padlocking needs

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Coming soon: The Road to Roseberry Faire Deluxe Hardback

Lud-in-the-Mist meets Stardust and Studio Ghibli in this cosy, cottagecore fairytale full of magic, whimsy and warmth!

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Great Book Covers '26 #1

Cover inspiration from across the tabletop rpg industry.

explorersdesign.com