These microstock sites are highly recommended!

dreamstime

www.istockphoto.com">iStockphoto

fotolia

shutterstock

What about Illustrations?

Illustration is an extremely lucrative area for microstock. There are two types of illustrations being marketed, vector graphics and raster graphics.

Vector graphics are created with programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, and Xara Xtreme. The graphic files remain completely editable by the purchaser and can be scaled to any size without the loss of resolution. This adds great value to their saleability. The microstock standard is for the file to be compatible with Adobe Illustrator's version 8. This helps to insure cross compatibility with the various vector programs being used.

Raster graphics are graphics that have been saved as bitmaps. Bitmaps are images that consist of pixels. Digital photographs, scans, and images rendered with programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Painter are examples of bitmaps. These will sell, but vector graphics perform better.

Here is a good example of a stock illustration

This vector illustration has been available on three microstock sites for 11 months and has been sold 140 times, generating commissions totaling $50.45.

Not all microstock sites sell illustrations in the vector format. These sites require the file to be converted to a jpeg before uploading. This is not really an issue, just something that limits the buyers ability to alter the image.

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