public domain content

Badger

2011-10-09T06:11:00.001-07:00

Public domain badger photo

Flowers

2011-10-09T06:07:00.001-07:00

Flowers still life, copyright free image

Landscape, Pond

2011-10-09T05:59:00.001-07:00

Australian shepherd photo

2009-06-13T04:29:00.001-07:00

Public domain Dog photo - Australian Shepherd

Chipmunks - public domain images

2009-06-13T04:18:00.000-07:00

chipmunk public domain photos

Wildlife photos - public domain

2009-06-12T05:44:00.000-07:00

Public domain wildlife photos.

Here are some more animal photos in the public domain. I'm going to use them as art reference material for a series of watercolor ACEOs (miniature paintings) that I sell on ebay and also some of them to base illustrations on for a bilingual childrens book I'm working on. It's ever so hard to get wild animals to pose for a painting.

They are all public domain, you don't have to but a link would be appreciated if you use them.

Raccoon photo

Elephant public domain photo

Puppy public domain photo

Kestrel photo (I found this today but I now remember seeing it in an art reference book about watercolor painting years ago)

Bald eagle public domain photo

Blackpoll warbler public domain photo

Brown bear resting

Public domain giraffe photo

Selling books using public domain content

2009-06-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

There are many books which have been self published with purely public domain content such as classic literature, fairy tales and poetry compilations. A good source for this is http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page . All you need is some good PDF creation software. I use Open Office writer which has security features for the document and I find it easy to use for book layout.
There are a few self publishing sites you can find doing a quick Google search. Lulu.com is one and https://www.createspace.com/ .

Since it is becoming popular to repackage material with an expired copyright make sure the product is up to standard, properly layed out and any illustrations are in the right order. I suggest reading the book reviews at amazon and see where other people went wrong to make your product stand out.

Below are two reviews on different versions of 'Grimm fairy tales' by different people. If you create a good version by putting in a little time and effort it will be around earning you royalties for years.

A good review: The collection of fairy tales in this book is just amazing!
I grew up reading this book, an older version of it which was a gift from my brother which unfortunately got misplaced when we moved. I bought this version specially for my daughter and I am sure she will love the tales as much as I do. I love the vocabulary and illustrations that the author has used in this book. Read it! It's fun!!

And a bad one: The Grimm fairy tales are probably some of the best loved and most well-known fairy tales of all time. This little book however does not do them justice. The best thing about this book is the glossy front cover. Other than that there are no illustrations inside the book, the text is packed tightly into the pages and the stories have been edited so you don't even get an official Grimm versions. If you are on a budget or looking for something compact and don't mind the above, then this book is fine. If however you are looking for something more satisfying that has full versions of the stories and is illustrated too, I would very highly recommend 'The Annotated Brothers Grimm' which is a much more substantial hardback book that I think will be appreciated by adults and children alike. The book also includes a very interesting introduction by Maria Tatar who over the years has carried out much research on fairy tales and therefore provides an authoritative voice on the subject.

Another option is for website content where your visitor will read online and have the option to download a printable version. Lots of pages with some unintrusive advertising which could offer a hard copy from an affiliate or PDF readers is a good idea.

Creating a PDF ebook is a nice addition for a website, it could contain mash ups or extracts relevant to your niche. Letting the visitor download for free and give them resale rights as long as the book is not altered is free advertising as they give away or sell the book with your link :)

I thought I'd include the following for you to take a look at, its just one example as there are many different ones, of what can be done writing a derivative with a creative slant.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!

An example on another product

Shakespearean Insults Mug

For designing products including mugs, tshirts, greeting cards, books, stickers and a variety of other merchandise CafePress is easy to use, it's free and you can download templates for all items.
Shop or Create What's On Your Mind at CafePress

Public domain cat images

2009-06-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

Vintage image comment

2009-06-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a vintage image that someone turned into a comment. I found it on photobucket so I've got no idea who posted it and there's lots like this on there.

Just an example of things you can do with public domain images, It wouldnt be good to make a nice comment from just any photo and be chased by an angry photographer!

2009-06-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

A public domain drawing of cats

A large clear owl photo

2009-06-07T16:20:00.001-07:00

Public domain owl photo

Link to image http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=2393&large=1
Terms on the website are:

License:
This image is public domain. You may use this picture for any purpose, including commercial. If you do use it, please consider linking back to us. If you are going to redistribute this image online, a hyperlink to this particular page is mandatory.
Note:
If you intend to use an image you find here for commercial use, please be aware that no model release was obtained and pictures featuring products or property should be used with care.

Animal photos - public domain

2009-06-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

A cats eye, nice and detailed and great for some art reference I need for a painting

These images are from http://wpclipart.com/ and don't appear to have any restrictions.

Public domain vintage images

2009-06-07T15:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some copyright free vintage public domain images, that's right no restrictions so feel free to use them as you please. I found a site with more like this, I'll post the link next time I see it.