The Best Balloon Clipart Resources

Researching balloon clipart on the web can be a tedious task. Sure, you get tons of results when you google for it, but when you click through to the sites they often refer you to yet another site, or it takes ages to find out what the graphics cost and how you can use them.

Because I know how frustrating this can be, I have taken the time to do the research for you. Not only will you find advice about the different copyright and usage rights ("free" does not necessarily mean "without cost"), but also a selection of sites where you'll get the perfect balloon clipart for your needs.

Balloon Clipart Example from iClipart.com

Clipart Licenses

First things first - what actually IS clipart? I best liked the definition from "Rainwater Press":

Illustrations, line drawings, pictures and other graphics that can be inserted in artwork or in a page layout, usually royalty-free. Before digital clip art, artwork from paper books was actually cut, or clipped, from the page and pasted onto the layout, thus the name clip art.

"Usually royalty-free" ... what the heck does that mean? Free to use for the royal family, and us poor normal folks have to pay for it? Well, no, everyone has to pay for the use of clipart, unless it is explicitly marked as being "public domain".

Royalty-free is a type of a license between the buyer and the seller, which normally allows the unlimited use of the clipart or any other content in the media defined in the license (e.g. websites, e-books, presentations).

Each licensing contract is different, so be sure to read the fine print before agreeing. Some may allow reselling of items that include that content, such as a t-shirt or calendar, and others do not. Never allowed, however, is the reselling of the graphic itself, or to offer the free download of it.

Clipart Formats

Balloon clipart comes in two types of file formats: as bitmap or vector graphics. 

Bitmaps or rasterized file formats (e.g. .jpg, .gif, .tiff) are limited in quality by their resolution, as their size is fixed at the time of their creation. So if you need to resize a bitmap image, for example to make it fit on a printout, you might get a blurry result.

Because of their small file size and their wide acceptance, bitmaps are ideal for online use or as thumbnails in printed publications.

If you need a high quality clipart for a printed publication or for merchandise, you should go with a vector graphic (e.g. .eps, .wmf, .svg). Because its data is geometrically defined, it can be scaled to any size without losing its crisp and clear looks. Besides, vector graphics are easier to edit than bitmaps. A drawback is that vector files are not as widely supported by software as pixel based images.

So, where do you go now for your perfect balloon clipart?

I have reviewed 7 of the best resources on the net, with the following questions in mind:

• How big is their selection of balloon clipart?
• How easily do I find what I am looking for (in other words, how good is their search function)?
• What are the license agreements?
• How do I buy the content and what does it cost?

Before you delve into the reviews, ask yourself two things:

1. Do I need just a single graphic, or do I have an ongoing need? This will define whether you are better off with paying per image or for a subscription.
   
   
2. Do I need the balloon clipart for personal or professional use? This will narrow down your search, as some of the resources are for the pro, and others for the hobby user.