Rat In A Suit Productions

@ratinasuit.bsky.social

Just a humble fella making ttrpgs and wondering why we can't just have horse-sized rats. Check out the wonders I have created - https://rat-in-a-suit.itch.io/ And find other ways to watch what I am doing - https://ratinasuit.carrd.co/

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Bild

Where to get public domain art and how to use it.

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._

explorersdesign.com

Somehow, whenever I get serious about a project, I always end up gathering all my fragmented notes and ideas into a big doc and assembling a spreadsheet. Without these spreadsheets I feel I would end up forgetting all the important information about my projects and they would never get finished.

I have finally decided on my next project. This time it's something a bit different from my usual TTRPG work, as I'm currently making a spy-themed LARP for myself and my friends to play. Hopefully, it should all be finished and published by the end of August.

The charity bundle from #rpgbookclub has already surpassed it’s goal with over 2 months left! This Pay What You Want bundle features 45 titles, many of which were featured on the r/myrpg subreddit and includes full system core books, toolkits and supplements, mini campaigns...

Graphic - screen shot of itch page titled Indie charity bundle for Accessibility in TTRPGs! (PWYW!) Hosted by jobclassttrpg with content from 35 creators. Pay what you want for 45 items regularly ~$106. $1055.50 of $1000 raised. 105% of goal. 158 contributors. $6.68 average contribution. $50 top contribution. Offer ends in 2 months and 5 days. Background shows cover art of submissions.

I have finally got around to submitting my solo games to the Solo RPG List. The Solo RPG List is a great resource and if you are looking for something new to play it is really helpful. Anyway, go check it out

SoloRPGList@solorpglist.com · last mo.

New to the #SoloRPG List: Ice, Snow, and the Quest for Salvation by @ratinasuit.bsky.social A grim solo journaling TTRPG about the golden age of polar exploration. LINKY: solorpglist.com/search.php?i...

Cover for the solo journaling game TTRPG: Ice, Snow and the Quest for Salvation. Old line art drawing of a ship with sails unfurled, banners flapping and rigging all visible on the ocean

Hey I am in this bundle. Both "We are the land" and "Ice Snow and the Quest for Salvation" which I wrote as well as 45 ish other indie ttrpgs. Go check it out.

Jobclassttrpg@forthesect.bsky.social · last mo.

Our charity bundle is finally live! itch.io/b/3605/indie... Its PWYW, supporting a braille dice/gen accessibility charity Please repost this or make a post of your own with the following hashtags! We need to come together as a community if we want to make this a success! #rpgbookclub #dotsrpg

A screenshot of an itch page showing this user donated 10$ to obtain their charity bundle.

🚨 The numbers are in... 🎲 252 creators 📚 261 products 💰 $1,100+ USD in value Hundreds of creators have come together to share their work, support the community, and celebrate Free RPG Day in style. 🌟 Recommend and add to your wishlist. This is going to be epic. ❤️ rpg-trader.com/products/102...

Free RPG Day 2026 Bundle on RPG Trader

Over $1,000 worth of digital and print content from more than 250 creators all across the RPG Trader community.

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I had the joy of watching the stage adaptation "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" the other night. It was a great, bleak noir styled piece with some excellent stagecraft and acting. It reminded me how much I enjoy the stories of John le Carré. I have to reread a bunch of his books soon.

Had my first player death in my Delta Green campaign last night. It was interesting trying to figure out what would happen when they drove a pickup into an extra dimensional beastie. I went with them getting squished as the creature stopped them, but the truck kept moving. It was a great session.

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