collage resources

collage image resources

I'll add to this list as it expands. For now, I get my images from the following sources:

  • Photos that I take (not professionally or with any knowledge of the form - just when I'm out and about)

  • The amazing folks at Vault Editions, who compile hundreds of antique drawings, diagrams, woodcuts and so much more for artists to use

  • Those selfless geniuses who provide their work to Unsplash

  • Good Will and thrift stores: I just recently bought some great kids science books about space and anatomy, a textbook on dental surgery, and some National Geographics for a few dollars

  • Scrap Creative Resuse in Portland

digital collage: software and platforms

I'm not terribly skilled with the industry standard design software like Photoshop and Illustrator. I use them occasionally to realize specific visions I have for some images, but I usually lean on clunkier but more simplistic tools:

  • Canva: The online tool known for marketing templates also has a fairly powerful set of tools that are effective for collaging: A huge selection of filters for photos and illustrations; a background remover (which is, at times, finnicky); the ability to duplicate pages within a single project so you can track drafts efficiently, and a lot more.

    • It's free to use, although the subscription does provide a HUGE variety of photos and illustrations right within the platform.

    • Downside: You cannot work in layers, so have fun if you have some tweaks you want to make on an element placed underneath a large number of other material.

  • Adobe Creative Cloud Express: Very similar to Canva, with different strengths and weaknesses. Most of the tools available are the same as in Canva (including what's available with the free versions versus the paid version).

    • Downsides: Only one page per project--if you want to have a record of drafts during your process, you'll need to make a separate project each time. Also, they only allow a certain number of elements per page - I want to say it's 30 or 50. If you're a digital artist that likes to use a bunch of tiny pieces, that gets very frustrating.

    • But! Layers. Much easier to navigate through different parts of the project to refine.