The Ultimate Collection of Tried and True (Mostly) Free Graphic & Web Design Resources

Let's skip right to the meat of the matter. Below you'll find a list of my 50 favorite resources for royalty-free stock photos, illustrations, art, icons, and color palettes for web designers, graphic designers, artists, and creatives. Not all content on each platform below is free but all are free to use and have at least some free resources.

Stock Photos:

1. Unsplash: A vast collection of high-resolution, free-to-use photos contributed by a global community of photographers.

2. Pexels: Offers a wide range of high-quality stock photos and videos that can be used for personal and commercial projects.

3. Pixabay: Provides a diverse collection of free images, illustrations, vectors, and videos, all released under Creative Commons CC0.

4. Burst by Shopify: Offers free stock photos related to business, fashion, technology, and more, suitable for e-commerce and entrepreneurial projects.

5. Reshot: Showcases a handpicked collection of unique and authentic photos contributed by talented photographers, all available for free.

6. Gratisography: Features quirky and unconventional stock photos by photographer Ryan McGuire, offering a refreshing alternative to traditional stock imagery.

7. StockSnap: Curates a selection of high-quality stock photos with a user-friendly search function for easy browsing.

8. Negative Space: Provides a growing collection of free stock photos spanning various categories, all available for personal and commercial use.

9. Kaboompics: Offers a wide range of high-resolution photos, including lifestyle, food, architecture, and more, with a handy color search feature.

10. Rawpixel: Presents a mix of free and premium stock photos, illustrations, vectors, and mockups, featuring diverse and inclusive content.

Illustrations:

1. Freepik: Offers a vast collection of vector illustrations, icons, and PSD files, along with editable templates for graphic design projects.

2. Undraw: Provides a library of open-source illustrations, covering a wide range of topics and easily customizable to match your brand.

3. DrawKit: Features beautifully hand-drawn vector illustrations that can be used in both personal and commercial projects.

4. ManyPixels Illustrations: Presents a library of stylish and modern illustrations suitable for websites, apps, and marketing materials.

5. Ouch! by Icons8: Offers a library of customizable vector illustrations in a wide range of styles and themes.

6. Humaaans: Provides mix-and-match vector illustrations of people in different poses and styles, allowing you to create custom scenes.

7. Open Peeps: Offers a library of hand-drawn customizable illustrations of people, perfect for adding a human touch to your designs.

8. Absurd.Design: Showcases a collection of abstract and surreal illustrations that can bring a unique and artistic flair to your projects.

9. Lukaszadam Illustrations: Features a diverse set of charming and whimsical illustrations created by designer Lukasz Adam.

10. Mixkit Illustrations: Provides a collection of free, high-quality illustrations suitable for various design projects.

Art and Graphics:

1. DeviantArt: An online community of artists showcasing their work, offering a wide range of artistic styles and mediums.

2. ArtStation: Showcases the work of professional artists, including concept art, 3D models, and illustrations, providing inspiration for various design projects.

3. Dribbble: A platform for designers to showcase their work, featuring a diverse range of design projects, including UI/UX, branding, and illustrations.

4. Behance: An online platform for creative professionals to showcase their work, including graphic design, photography, illustration, and more.

5. Adobe Stock: Offers a vast library of royalty-free stock photos, illustrations, vectors, videos, and templates, integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud applications.

6. DesignCuts: Provides bundles of premium design resources, including fonts, graphics, textures, and templates, at discounted prices.

7. Creative Market: An online marketplace for design assets, featuring a wide range of fonts, graphics, templates, and themes.

8. Designspiration: A design-focused platform that provides inspiration across various design disciplines, including graphic design, web design, and typography.

9. The Noun Project: Offers a vast collection of icons and symbols created by designers from around the world, available for personal and commercial use.

10. 1001 Free Downloads: Provides a collection of free design resources, including icons, vectors, fonts, and mockups.

Icons:

1. Flaticon: A comprehensive library of free and premium icons, available in various formats and styles, suitable for different design projects.

2. Iconfinder: Offers a wide selection of high-quality icons, both free and premium, in different styles and formats.

3. Icons8: Provides a vast collection of icons, including flat icons, line icons, and glyph icons, available for personal and commercial use.

4. Font Awesome: A popular icon library that offers a wide range of scalable vector icons, with both free and premium options.

5. Remix Icon: Presents a vast collection of open-source icons designed to be customizable and easily integrated into various design projects.

6. Feather Icons: A collection of beautifully designed, open-source icons that are lightweight and customizable for your design needs.

7. Material Icons: Google's official icon set, offering a comprehensive collection of icons that follow the Material Design guidelines.

8. Streamline Icons: A library of customizable vector icons available in multiple styles, suitable for web, mobile, and print design projects.

9. LineIcons: Provides a collection of line icons covering a wide range of categories, available in various formats for both personal and commercial use.

10. Nucleo: Offers a collection of highly customizable vector icons, including a handy icon manager and integrations with design tools.

Color Palettes:

1. Coolors: A color scheme generator that allows you to explore, create, and customize harmonious color palettes for your designs.

2. Color Hunt: Presents a curated collection of color palettes voted on by the community, making it easy to discover unique color combinations.

3. Adobe Color: An online tool that helps you create, explore, and save color palettes based on color theory and popular trends.

4. Happy Hues: Showcases beautiful color palettes inspired by real websites, offering a source of inspiration for your own design projects.

5. Material Design Color Tool: Google's official color tool for Material Design, providing guidance on color selection and generating color palettes.

6. Paletton: A color scheme designer that allows you to create and preview color combinations using various color models.

7. ColorSpace: Offers a range of color palettes and tools, including gradients, patterns, and color converters, to aid in your design process.

8. Canva Color Palette Generator: An online tool that generates color palettes from uploaded images, helping you extract colors for your designs.

9. Flat UI Colors: Presents a collection of vibrant and flat color palettes suitable for modern and minimalist design styles.

10. ColorDrop by Dropsource: Provides a curated selection of color palettes with a focus on mobile app design, offering inspiration for your projects.

I'd love to hear your favorites to add to the list!