“making the darkness conscious” – click image to enlarge

Using images created by others for background, embellishment or focal images in your own work can be appealing to artists and crafters. Some do not have the time or skill required to create the images or the look they want in their work.  Some find themselves spellbound by an image they wish to use as the basis of their own work.

I use background textures created by other artists for all of these reasons. The journal page pictured here uses a background created by Deviant Art user Sophie-Y, which I printed at home and then embellished with torn paper scraps, washi tape and a handwritten quote.

DeviantArt.com is a treasure trove of artwork by artists of all skill levels. In browsing the various categories of art, you will discover one called “Resources & Stock Images” that can be useful for finding art and images that many owners are happy to let you use in your own work. The subcategories of “Textures“, “Stock Images” and “Clipart” are likely to be most useful to artists and crafters.

Often the owner of the artwork will include comments with each work that indicate if you can use it in your own work along with any requirements and rules that go along with using it. Be sure to check for the owner’s rules on each image. If in doubt, you should contact the owner to find out if it is okay to use their work and what their rules for use are.

See more of my collage work.