Broderbunds ClickArt Collection

[datcat]

Are any of you familiar with ClickArt 750,000. I'm not and I was wondering if there is much in it that would be usefull for vinyl work and what the value of the software is. If you haven't seen my other thread here it is
http://signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2089

As stated in that thread, you can get the Print Shop Delux for free or use some of the promo codes to get the Clickart for around $19. I think I'd be better off with the discounted ClickArt if it's very usefull rather than the Print Shop for free. I'm tempted to get PS even if I don't get the ClickArt just because it's free. Hope you guys can use this.

 

[Fred Weiss]

I have both and don't use either.

 

[OldPaint]

a better program if you want cheap...is PRINT ARTIST. in its printing section it has a COLORING BOOK mode of print. all you do is find the graphic you want put it on a page, printi it in coloring book mode, scan into a trace program and VECTOR GRAPHIC is done.

 

[keptquiet]

i have the clickart 750000 and, imo, it has some pretty good clipart, but the huge drawback is its not vinyl ready. 90 percent of its vector artwork. when using something from this book, a lot of the clipart you have to take it into flexi or illustrtor or wherever and do some combining and welding of colors, and removal of stuff to get a cuttable object. its no big deal if you know how to do it, and only takes a couple minutes.

 

[bullseye000]

I have an older version here we inherited it when we bought out another company. Not much of use to me either. Anything I've ever used from it I've also had to work over in Illustrator.

 

[Fred Weiss]

What we've found is that most of these collections including Click-Art or images that cover the same range and are of the same quality are what make up most of what you get with a subscription to Clipart.com.

So at today's prices one can get most of what's on Clipart.com for less than the cost of a one year subscription (currently $169.00). But will you use it and if you do will you be using your time efficiently? Probably not. That's why we continue to fork over to Clipart.com .... they have it all keyworded in their search engine and I can find anything I want, browse the selection and download it in less time than I could even locate a category in ClickArt or Art Explosion or Print Artist. I figure at least one hour a week gets saved and we often close a sale by quickly locating a clipart image the client likes. So 52 hours a year saved (169 / 52 = 3.25 an hour). Hmmmmm now can I get a better return on my time than $3.25 per hour?

For those lacking a print and cut system, disregard the above comments. You need vinyl-ready clipart which most of this stuff is not.

 

[HSG]

Art Explosion made by nova development isn't too bad. It's mostly vector. Sometimes you do have to spend a lot of time searching to find an image. Some of them are not listed in the obvious places, but they are good for when you need a graphic of something and don't want to draw it or clean it up yourself. I do a lot of fund raising
low cost signs for the local hospital and when you need a graphic for 'basket bingo' in a hurry it's been quite handy.

HSG

 

[Marlene]

I use and like Art Explosion. I don't use the clip art as is, only parts and pieces to start a graphic. Attached is a logo I designed from a shape in Art Explosion. It's one that I changed very little from it's original form. It's for a company that sells screws and stuff like that. I turned it into a philps head with the swishes showing movement. Did the sign, magnetcis and all there paper products. used vivid blue, silver metallic and slate metallic for the sign and mags. Art Explosion had alot of screws & nuts and bolt graphics, but I stayed away from that because it looks too clip arty.

 

[Ocean Designs]

Got an unopened copy of Click Art from the Goodwill Store (strange I know) for only $6.00. Most of it was ok, but never saw the need or use for it. Ended up giving the CDs to my son. I have found that the clip art included in my MS Office Suite was far more useful, odd enough.

Dat, if you would like an endless source of inexpensive clip art, I might suggest you local grocery store toy isle. I use many of my sons's cheaper coloring books. The lines are usually thicker in the cheap ones, which make it easier to scan and vectorize in my software. I forgot exactly where I learned this from, may have been in one of these forums or even at the NBM show. Where ever it was, they seem to work great.

Best part is my son gets an large supply of coloring books Perhaps, I am creating the next Picasso?

Vince

PS- Dat, Surf's up when are you coming to Cali??

 

[jimdes]

I use clickart and love it. I usually find what I need in one location in less than ten minutes and can clean it up real well in about another ten. It would take a lot of CDs of "vinyl ready" artwork to come up with a collection this large and I would spend a lot of time changing CDs and combing through the collections to get to what I need or like. The Million Image Club for the extra twenty bucks is well worth it too.