VISIWIG | Visuals for busy designers
Online tool for creating quick patterns, textures, and icons. The images created with Visiwig are free for personal and commercial use.
Blog posts
Vectr - Free Online Vector Graphics Editor
Free tool for creating vector graphics with a desktop and cloud version
60 Free Outline Icon Sets Perfect for Contemporary Designs – Design School
Free icon sets. Some of these are very specific (Christmas and New Years), but several large sets are included that would work for elearning
How to Make Social Media Banners in Photoshop - GraphicStock BlogGraphicStock Blog
Sizes for different platforms and quick directions on how to create banners
Sites with High Quality Photos You Can Use for Free | CSS-Tricks
Free photos. This list includes a number of sites I haven't seen elsewhere. Many of these just share a few photos each week, and you'd have to be pretty creative to use them for most corporate e-learning. This isn't just typical stock photos.
Depositphotos
Stock photos, videos, and vector images
ChartTool - create nice looking charts with Image Charts!
Google Image Chart Editor beta tool for creating charts. Start from a gallery, enter the data, and adjust the variables. Creates html code for the charts (not a link to an image--the code to create the chart.
NounProject
Black and white icons with ability to search. Some are public domain, some creative commons, so check the license for each one before downloading.
Design Comics :: Characters and Scenes for Storyboarding & Design
Free characters and office scenes that can be used for e-learning. Different expressions and poses for conversations. The license information is conflicting; it's labeled CC-public domain, but requests attribution so it should really be CC-By.
10 eLearning Freebies: Instructional Design and eLearning: Tips, Advice and Reviews
Free templates, sound effects, graphics, and more
Icon Search Engine | Iconfinder
Hundreds of icon sets. Check licenses; some are Creative Commons, some are free for commercial use, some are personal use only
PosteRazor - Make your own poster!
Open source project for printing images on multiple sheets of paper, making your own posters.
Visual Design for Instructional Multimedia
Online book about visual design for multimedia. The content is a bit old (originally written in 1996), but the principles of layout and color are still relevant.
Adobe - Photoshop Custom Shapes
Download custom shapes from the Photoshop Exchange
Free Photoshop Shapes Downloads
Free vector shapes for Photoshop
Picnik - edit photos the easy way, online in your browser
Online application for editing photos and other images. Basic tools available with a free account.
Composition and Design Principles
Principles of visual design with tips for teaching them to children
Seven Elements of Visual Art
Seven elements of visuals: line, shape, form, space, value, texture, color
40 Beautiful Free Icon Sets - Six Revisions
Free icons for web design or elearning design. Note that not all can be used for commercial applications--check the individual licenses.
Create Custom Characters for Your E-Learning Scenarios - The Rapid eLearning Blog
Tips on breaking apart and combining parts of clip art to create appropriate characters for e-learning, even if you aren't artistic enough to draw them yourself.
ArtRage 2
Painting program, free and paid versions, with great looking brushes and tools. Paint blends with other colors and has texture like actual paint.
Image * After
Free images and textures for personal or commercial use