Whether you’re here to learn basic photo editing skills or are ready to go all-in with Virtual Reality, we know where to go for the best freebies! Some are ‘always free’ while other sites offer monthly freebies once you’ve set up a free account – Best to start now then!
Sites offering monthly freebies
Part of the Envato network, a small number of multimedia assets is made available for free every month. We’ll be spotlighting this site in a later post. Each month usually brings a free stock photo, free soundtrack, free 3d model, free WordPress or html template and a free motion graphics template.
With various monthly freebies and a library of creative project files for you to download, get your email in to them now!
Also have a look at mixkit.com, a feeder site for videohive with its own collection of permanent freebies. Finally, aeguys.com provide truly free After Effects templates including slideshows, intro stings, lower thirds and more!
Specializing in keeping you up to date with all things digitally awesome, have a look at their freebies list for the latest arrivals which can be anything from free 3d objects to a free trial of the latest software. (Note this site may be reported as ‘insecure’ in some browsers).
As part of the stock behemoth that is shutterstock, rocketstock has a nice collection of freebies for PhotoShop, After Effects and more. As with Envato, you can sign up for an additional promised freebie every month!
Our favourite site for free photographic images:
As long as you credit the author, these professionally-taken pictures are yours for zero outlay. We’ve used Unsplash many times while sourcing images for mock-ups, blog content and online courses-Why are you waiting?
Our favourite site for free short video clips:
Looking for a looping abstract background or a short stock video clip? This is the place! For video clips make sure you select ‘videos’ when you search. Pixabay also offers a selection of images.
Free sound and music:
Make sure you read the license conditions before use 🙂
Illustrations and artwork:
Another site which feeds Shutterstock, there have numerous templates and assets for Adobe Illustrator. Fill your boots!
PNG transparent images:
If png is new to you, it’s usually pronounced ‘ping’ and is an image format which supports transparency. Png images are therefore useful for logos and montages where you don’t want a solid colour background.
Icons:
We like the flat style. If you’re mocking up a website or looking for icons for your next video project try here.
Retro gaming artwork and scans:
A true treasure trove of original artwork and scans from the gaming greats of yesteryear. If you’re even slightly Inclined to go retro with your creations this year this site will be indispensible to you.
Gaming assets:
If you’ll be on board for our Unity workflows or just want to see what delights are in store for an aspiring game designer, take a closer look…
Unity is one of the most popular game development platforms, and if this is news to you you’ll also be surprised to find its free to use (until you start making serious money with it). The Unity asset store is an expansive collection of quality assets to help with everything from VR implementation to collections of game-ready 3d models Watch for sales every couple of months.
Here are just a few of the Unity assets we’ve been working with in recent months:
Also featuring plenty of free assets, another much-loved marketplace for games creators everywhere! A great way to support gaming assets creators with regular discounts and packs 🙂
3d printable resources:
If theres even a small chance you’ll be venturing into the world of 3d printing this year, check it out now! Bear in mind simple 3d objects can also be a brilliant resource for blocking out games.
We’ll update this list over time – You’re welcome 🙂
