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Visual Literacy and Plagiarism

A guide to visual literacy and plagiarism for the Ringling College community.

Finding Public Domain and Creative Commons Images via Google Images

How to Find Public Domain & Creative Commons Images for Use

  1. Open Google Image Search - www.images.google.com
  2. Search for an image you would like to use
  3. Now you will limit your images to only ones labeled for re-use.
    1. First select ‘tools’ under the search bar

google image search bar

  1. Then open ‘Usage Right’ and select ‘labeled for reuse.’ 

image on how to find images for reuse

  1. Find a picture from Wikimedia Commons or Flickr, as these typically work best if you need different pixel sizes.  These two sites are well-known for offering Creative Commons & Public Domain images, others can be misleading.

image pointing out wikimedia commons

 

 

  1. Once you have gone to Wikimedia Commons or Flickr for an image, you should see different pixel sizes.  You can select the size you need.

 

image pointing out where to look for image size in pixels

  1. This should take you directly to a view of the image.  Save the image to your computer.
  2. Be sure to add proper caption & citation for the image for your use.