Getting Started on Resource Creation
I’ve been making my own resources for years now but only just got started with my Teachers Pay Teachers store as a seller. The intention on the platform is that people make and sell original resources to make the lives of users easier. The perfect time and money saver.
Great clipart, borders, backgrounds and fonts are all you need to get started with resource creation but where do you go so you waste as little time as possible getting ahead with your goals?
Thankfully, there is already some beautiful and very professional looking work on offer so yo won’t have to start from scratch. Unfortunately, it can be overwhelming to see all the amazing resources out there and still feel like you have a chance.
On the upside, everyone has had to start from somewhere and my journey, and maybe yours, is just beginning. There is a lot to learn so where do we focus first?
To make attractive resources or product covers it really helps to have the expertise of a whole bunch of artists on board. In this post I’ll be sharing about how I got started collecting clipart, fonts, borders, backgrounds and papers.
Some artists’ work is offered free on their TPT or other websites. Giving away freebies is a way for creators to showcase the quality of their work and link you to other products in their shop that you may like and then buy.
Some of the sellers on TPT have been building up their bodies of design for some time and so offer amazing graphics completely free of charge and that’s where I started.
Where I Sourced Graphic Elements to Make TPT and Other Resources
I began by searching for clipart by going to the TPT website, choosing ‘browse’ and setting the ‘price’ option to ‘free’. This brings up all applicable freebies on TPT.
There is a LOT to look through and it can take hours so to save you some time, I thought it would be most helpful to show you some of the great artists I’m using by categorising them in this post based on what I downloaded from them or who has been a contributor in some way to resources I’ve created.
I really appreciate the work that they’ve shared for no cost and I hope this post will give you some ideas of creators to look up, support or get started with.
Some creators are prolific and create multiple resource types, like borders and frames and clipart so could be in several categories but there’s no use repeating myself so I’ll just put them in one section each.
I’ve hyperlinked their logos so if you’re interested in checking out their stores on TPT, you can click on any to open them in a new page to come back to.
Top Tip
Once you get started searching and downloading, the pile of files can get overwhelming so, when you download something, my advice is to create a folder on your device from the start, call it something like ‘credit logos’.
Then, as you download graphics or fonts, save each artist’s logo into the folder. My credits folder has clipart, fonts, borders/frames and backgrounds within it to help me keep it all orderly.
I also have made individual folders to ‘shelve’ my online finds like fonts in to. It’s what works for me as I save time on searching for things. Typical teacher!
Using this tip means you won’t have to double handle your downloads looking for credit logos and you’ll be able to easily give credit to those who made something you’re using.
Clipart
Where would TPT and other resources be without the talent of clipart artists? Probably not in the cute category most of them seem to fit in!
I wouldn’t be able to make my TPT resources look as good without the talent of many artists. My favourite clipart downloads so far have come from the following incredible creators:
Papers & Backgrounds
Papers and other backgrounds can really make resources stand out. Try adding one of these elements to a worksheet or page of text to see the impact it can have. They add interest and brighten things up.
Several wonderful artists have made a range of coloured backgrounds. Also available are cute frames in thousands of shapes and sizes.
You can layer these to give your products a more inviting, branded or professional look.
Take a look at the following TPT sellers if you’re keen on these graphics…
Red Pepper Paper’s is an amazing store and she’s now offering so many of her resources for free in support of ‘Music For Matthew’. You should definitely look her up to get inspiration for your designs and support Autism Awareness too.
Borders & Frames
Adding borders to your designs really defines your work better. I find them especially useful for cover designs. If you want a variety of options, start with these creators…
Photos
For a range of real images for backgrounds, slide shows, worksheets or other uses, check out these shops for stock photos:
Fonts
I’ve spent hours on sites looking for and downloading fonts that appealed to me and I thought would be great for my resource creation.
On most font sites you can filter for font types, which helps you focus on just the styles you like. Everyone’s different in taste so I’ve listed a range of sites below to get you started.
It’s important to note that while many fonts can be downloaded for free, they can be for personal use only which means you can’t make and sell a resource using that font.
You must buy the appropriate licences from sellers to use their work or make sure when you download from free sources, that they have offered their font ‘free for commercial use’. You can filter some sites for the commercially free ones only.
Some font sites that I’ve used or found several of my fonts on include:
www.fromthepond.com
1001fontsfree.com
fontspace.com
dafont.com
fontsc.com.
KP Fonts also have some really appealing fonts which you can access through their TPT store.
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Other
I hope you’ve found some great ideas in this post that you can act on right away. A special thanks to all my TPT contributors so far.
If you want to read about how I got started with my store and made all my graphics for free head here.
I’d love you to check out My Time & Money Savers TPT Store by clicking here or on my logo below.
Please pin below to share the love.
Thanks!
Meagan
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