ATTENTION: Must have written permission Options

[pandora]

I'm just going to say this once. Just because you cite credit to an artist for using their photos or graphic art does not give you permission to use it. You must submit written approval from the original artists before you use any of their work from now on. Quote them in your comments or send a PM to a design staff or something.

[ataraxykfx]

It's basic copyrighting law people...look it up on wikipedia, or whatever gets you by. If you can go through the effort to put so much time into these layouts, you owe it to yourselves to look into it. Anyone who's even thinking about getting into design (whether it be professionally or on a site like this, or dA) needs to have a basic understanding of creative commons and fair use rules.

Images that have been around for a certain number of years fall under the fair use umbrella. The celebrity issue is a little different. That depends on a lot of things, because the copyright technically belongs to the photographer in many cases.

You simply CAN NOT use other people's work for your own without their explicit permission. Use some common sense. I just don't think it's that much to ask to have a little integrity. Either get the permission you need, make your own images (now there's an idea), or leave. People are going to quit putting their stuff up (or put big ugly watermarks all over them) because it gets stolen.

Obviously there's no way to guarantee that stolen art doesn't get through, but I think the point is to make everyone stop and think about what their putting into their designs.

There are a few sites to look at for free stock too. It's worth doing the research. It might not always be the highest quality but there are good ones and with some skills you can turn them into amazing designs.

Glance at the terms of service pages with royalty-free photo sites, most say you can use them for your own designs as long as you're not selling the actual file as your own work.

www.morguefile.com
http://www.pachd.com/free-images/index.html

Sorry this was so long...I just felt like I had to throw my 2..er..10..cents in.