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Visual Arts

A research guide and resource for the visual arts at NSU.

Color Picker Tools

“When you have wit of your own, it's a pleasure to credit other people for theirs.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

Can I Use That?

When using materials created by someone else, always make sure you are not infringing on their rights. This page contains a selection of online sites where you can find free-to-use materials for your projects - you should still check for any use restrictions for items you use.

In addition to legal rights, there are also ethical considerations about using other people's work.

  • Even if it is not required to give attribution to the original creator, it is considered good practice.
  • Even if you're not legally required to pay for using the work, should you anyway?
  • Are you sampling from culturally sensitive material?

Read more about copyright and ethical considerations on the Citizen DJ Copyright Guide.

For more information on usage rights, visit the Campus Guide to Copyright created by the Copyright Clearance Center. This guide was created to help students, instructors, faculty, and staff of U.S. based colleges and universities by offering background information about U.S. copyright law. 


"Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression. In copyright law, there are a lot of different types of works, including paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog posts, movies, architectural works, plays, and so much more!" - U.S. Copyright Office

Image Resources

Music and Sound Effects

"The vast majority of music that you're familiar with is subject to copyright. Artists want to protect their music and be sure that they're getting paid whenever it gets used. And rightfully so! They put in a lot of hard work to create some of your favorite songs."

- Free Music for Podcasts