What is clip art?
In the area of graphic arts, clip art are actually those images that have been copied or cut from file and later used in various documents, presentations, or other printed material. The fact that the images are either copied or cut out is the very reason why they are called clip art or "clipped" art.
Clip art does not necessarily mean electronic images. They could also be physical images. However, most of the time, clip art are those images that are copied and cut electronically. Electronic clip art are usually very simple and basic images. They do not take up and use much space. On the average, these type of clip art uses around 8-bits or even less than that.
Where can one find clip art?
The images that are considered clip art are not only those that have been copied or cut out, but also those that have already been used in printed works. These include books, magazines, journals, newspapers, coloring books, or the like that should have been published for the very purpose of being used by the public.
Aside from printed public material, another source of clip art could be large organizations. Oftentimes, these large organizations provide its departmental staff with clip art of the organization's logos, symbols, mascots, and emblems, among many other images.
You can try searching through the World Wide Web for electronic clip art. There are some clip art on the Internet that are offered free of charge. However, there also are some websites that require any person to pay a certain fee before they can use the clip art.