Microstock
(A.K.A. CLIP ART)
Microstock (Also Known As Clip Art) is an entire industry of Cartoonists and Illustrators, sitting in studios, mostly at their homes, drawing, digitizing (inputting them into a computer) and reproducing their illustrations to sell to Advertising Agencies, Graphic Design firms and small businesses, to enhance publications, textiles (clothing, like tee shirts, etc.) and other print media and products. Here are some of my favorites:
Microstock (Also Known As Clip Art) is an entire industry of Cartoonists and Illustrators, sitting in studios, mostly at their homes, drawing, digitizing (inputting them into a computer) and reproducing their illustrations to sell to Advertising Agencies, Graphic Design firms and small businesses, to enhance publications, textiles (clothing, like tee shirts, etc.) and other print media and products. Here are some of my favorites:
- ToonClips.com by Ron Leishman. I "met" Ron years ago, online, when I began seeing his clip art all over the place (back in 2001, I had a large volume of Clip Art on CDs, and his 'toons were on nearly every page of the 600+ page volume). I found his website shortly afterwards and subscribed to his service, toon-a-day.com, (for 10 cents a day for a year, I received a cartoon delivered via email every day). This was one of the main factors that caused me to return to school in 2003, to earn a Teaching Credential in Art and a Masters in Education.
- Cory Thoman is another whose business model intrigued me, when I stumbled across a website called, "IllustrationInfo.com" (note that this link is to a now defunct website, viewed via "the Wayback Machine" archive).