Clip Art Basics

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The web offers a variety of graphics to enhance your web pages, presentations, or classroom Worksheets. From animated graphics to design elements (bars, bullets, and buttons), you are sure to find a few goodies on the Internet to create the perfect project!

Some web sites offer a variety of graphics (JPEGs, GIFs, and animated GIFs) organized by category. Others provide sets of graphics that include backgrounds, bars, buttons, and bullets based on a theme or color palette. Not all graphics will work on all backgrounds. Several graphics will work only on specific colors (white, black. etc.), while transparent GIFs will work on any color. You will need to take some cruise time to find those graphics that meet your needs.

If you are designing a web site, be sure to avoid copyrighted images and opt for “free” images that are often called “public domain”! Take a moment to read each site’s “Terms of Usage”. Some sites will allow you to use their clip art without restrictions, while others require you to include a link to their page in exchange for the art.

To get clip art, design elements, and animated gifs from the Internet:
(1) Open Netscape Communicator or other web browser.
(2) Go to a clip art site, such as those listed on the Clip Art Links page of The Science Spot or use search engines.
(3) Browse through the graphics to find the perfect picture.
For IBM users - Click the right mouse button on the image you want. Choose “Save Image as...” from the menu. In the Save window, find your web files folder where you wish to save your clip. You may rename your clip at this time. Click the SAVE button. Your clip is saved and ready to use for your web page.
For MAC users - Click and hold the mouse button on the image you want. Choose “Save Image as ...” (or similar choice) from the menu. In the Save window, find your web files folder where you wish to save your clip. You may rename your clip at this time. Click the SAVE button. Your clip is saved and ready to use for your web page.

NOTE ABOUT BACKGROUNDS:
For IBM users - To choose a background image, right click on the page background and select “Save Background Image as ...”. In the “Save” window, find your web files folder where you wish to save your clip. You may rename your clip at this time. Click the “Save button. Your background is saved and ready to use for your web page.

For MAC users - Wait until the page is loaded, then go to VIEW - PAGE INFO. Click on the link for the page background, then choose SAVE AS under the FILE menu. In the “Save” window, find your web files folder where you wish to save your clip. You may rename your clip at this time. Click the “Save button. Your background is saved and ready to use for your web page.

Techie Tip: Web Design & Graphics
Limit your graphics to a few of your favorites.
Use graphics to accent your page and focus visitors on the important areas.
The more graphics you add, the longer it will take for your page to load. If the loading time for your site is too long, visitors may not hang around long enough to cruise through your site.

T. Trimpe 1999