I’ve been getting into using Illustrator a lot more and learning how to make nice vector graphic logos and such for my clients.

However, I am finding that recreating the wheel… or say a rose…. is very time consuming.  I’ve found some stuff online, but still, it does take a long time to search out the proper rose bud or toaster or car or whatever….  to use in a compiliation for a logo or whatever task I need.

SO I went to my favorite shopping store…. Ebay… and I bought up two HUGE clip art collections for next to nuthing!

The first one I was a little disappointed in….  it seems to imply that the DVD had like bazillion clipart pieces on it..   Yippeee!   And it only cost me like $15.

Problem is… they are all online!    You actually got a one year subscription for their website and it’s a pretty nice place and they have all sorts of things from photos to vector art to type fonts and sounds, web animations and all that stuff… pretty cool.  And another year subscription is only like $23.   I figure that is one hour of my time a year.   I think that’s not a bad deal.   If I can save one hour of having to recreate something simple, with their membership…  not a bad deal.

The second set though, was a little more cooler….  it’s actually like 28 cds worth of stuff… not online, no membership club, just a ton of cds and all.

It’s a Master Clips Art Explosion collection and it’s really pretty good.   Only drawback is that it’s Windows based… and I am a Mac gal.   We do have a token Sony Vaio in the house, so I’ll just have to use it when I need to go clip art shopping!   Actually I think that the CDs might work on the Mac, I just won’t be able to use their interactive catalog system them…   of course, I haven’t tried that yet, but I will!

Again, got all these on Ebay for $20.

So my graphic arts tip of the day is to remember that saving time makes more time for you to bill for your talents…  Remember to occasionally look into time saving tools and software that will help to build your business.  And remember to look to places like Ebay for gently used goodies….  sure is a good deal!