Whether you’re an absolute beginner hoping to learn the basics of photo editing or are ready for a journey through Virtual Reality, there are many FREE and low-cost creative assets available online to help you on your way. Here are our favourite sites!
Sites offering freebies every month
Part of the Envato network, a small number of multimedia assets is made available for free every month. We’ll be spotlighting these freebies in our ‘deals’ posts at the start of each month. Here are examples from recent months (Tap to view a larger image):
With monthly freebies and a library of project files for you to download, create a free account now!
Also have a look at mixkit.com, a feeder site for Videohive which offers its own collection of freebies. Finally, aeguys.com offers 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 that 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 for Envato, you can sign up for an additional promised freebie every month!
Our favourite site for free photographic images:
You may need to ‘dodge’ the paid options, but as long as you credit the author, many of these professional images are yours for zero outlay. We’ve used Unsplash many times sourcing images for blog content and online courses…
Our favourite site for free video clips:
Looking for a looping abstract background or a short stock video clip? This is the place! For video clips select the ‘videos’ dropdown when you search. Pixabay also offers a selection of still images.
Free sound and music
Make sure you read the license conditions before use 🙂 We’ll be using Free Music Archive during our video editing, elearning and VR explainer series!
Illustrations and artwork
Another site which feeds the Shutterstock universe, Freepik provide numerous templates and assets for Adobe Illustrator. Fill yer boots!
PNG transparent images
Pronounced ‘ping’, png is an image format that supports transparency and is therefore useful for logos and montages where you don’t want a coloured background getting in the way.
Icons
We like the flat style. If you’re mocking up a website or looking for icons for your next video project it’s a good place to start.
Retro games 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 indispensable!
Gaming assets
If you’ll be joining us for our Unity explainers, or just want to see the delights in store for an aspiring game designer, take a closer look…
Unity is one of the most popular game development platforms and is free to use (until you start making 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 a few of the Unity assets we’ve been working with in recent months:
Also featuring free assets, GDM is another popular marketplace for creators everywhere! A great way to support gaming assets creators:
3d-printable assets
If there’s even a slight chance you’ll be venturing into the world of 3d printing this year, check this site out now! Simple 3d objects can also be a brilliant resource for blocking out games:
WE hope you’ve found this HOT list useful!
