Fun With Clip Art

Written by
Kyle Sherman
Published on
April 23, 2022 8:00:00 AM PDT April 23, 2022 8:00:00 AM PDTrd, April 23, 2022 8:00:00 AM PDT

More than a source of pre-made visuals, clip art can also inspire originality and creativity.

Any scrapbooker or make-by-hand artisan or graphic designer worth their weight in creations knows the power of clip art. Those graphics, illustrations and other little nothings you’re downloading can actually spark ideas and new artwork all your own.


History of Clip Art

In the relatively modern yet oh-so-long-ago age of drawing boards, T-squares and X-acto knives, graphic artists cut images from printed books and magazines by hand for use in other pieces to be published or printed. The artists drew physical page layouts by hand and pasted the clipped artwork on them with an adhesive like rubber cement, creating camera-ready artwork or advertisements. Hence the term “clip art” is born.


Eventually, the paste up procedure informed the tech wizards of today, who devised digital processes of creating advertisements and the like. With the invention of desktop publishing, clip art became widely available in a variety of content, file formats, illustration styles and licensing restrictions. Clip art can be used as-is or as a starting point for creating custom illustrations, logos or other artwork. Hence the ability of clip art to inspire new ideas.


Using Clip Art

At PlaqueMaker, you have access to over 40 categories of clip art from A to Z:


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● Agriculture

● Alphabet

● Americana

● Animals

● Architecture & Construction

● Arts & Crafts

● Babies & Kids

● Beauty & Fashion

● Business & Office

● Christmas

● Clock & Time

● Computers & Electronics

● Education & Schools

● Energy

● Fantasy & Science Fiction

● Film & Performance

● Flowers

● Food & Drink

● Gardening

● Government & Law

● Home & Repairs

● International Maps

● Landmarks & Tourism

● Leisure & Games

● Medical & Dental

● Military

● Money & Finance

● Motivational & Recognition

● People & Anatomy

● Realty

● Religious

● Seasons & Weather

● Space

● Sports

● Symbols & Shapes

● Tech & Media

● Transportation

● Trees & Plants

● United States Maps

● Video Games

● Weddings & Anniversaries


Free Customization & Personalization

There are hundreds of clip art images to choose from in these categories, expanding your options in designing your plaques, awards, trophies, signs and gifts. We include free customization and personalization on every order with one piece of free artwork; additional clip art selections incur a $10 art fee. Work with our customer service specialists by calling 866-880-9617 if you need help designing or have any questions at all.


Let your imagination run wild!