If you use Photoshop daily in your work, you understand how important it is to have a library of essential materials and tools at hand. This applies both to those involved in web design and to those who solely create graphic materials in the editor. Almost everyone has their own small collection of free resources and libraries they refer to when needed. Photoshop has its own set of brushes, textures, background images, and even gradients. But in the busy life of an artist or webmaster, this set is naturally not enough. You have to look for ideas, draw yourself, or edit existing ones.
Therefore, we will look specifically at tools for Photoshop, but not at numerous plugins. Of course, you can find many different resources and articles on this topic on the internet, but today we’ll try to offer you some of the rarest and largest portals and libraries that you may not know about or may have forgotten.
The key feature is that all of them are aimed at reducing the time you spend working , since you won’t need to spend long hours creating brushes, backgrounds, searching for transparent clipart in PSD format, and more. All materials are free to use.
Modular Grid
Modular Grid Pattern is an app for web designers that allows you to quickly and easily create a modular grid for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Fireworks, GIMP, Microsoft Expression Design, and other software. If using a browser constantly is inconvenient, you can download a Photoshop extension or a PAT file from the homepage.
Pixel Proliferation
This is a small toolkit that allows you to set the correct parameters for selections. Website designs are created for various screen resolutions, and the basics of web design are also used in mobile app design. Therefore, it’s often necessary to create or crop an object that fits the 16:9 or 320x480 aspect ratio.
To install the toolkit (not a plugin) and understand it, go to the developers’ page (link at the bottom for download), then open Photoshop, go to the Window menu, open “Tool Presets”, click Load and specify the path to the downloaded file. Open any file, select a region, and then set the resolution.
PSD graphics
A large collection of free PSD files. These include icons, backgrounds, templates, buttons, and much more. All files are high-resolution and easy to work with and customize. Even variations of active/inactive icons are available. The website is updated regularly.
365psd
Another major portal for free PSD files with open licenses, meaning they can be used in any project. A Russian version is available. What can you find here? Icons, templates, vector images for Illustrator, logos, and much more.
The project’s special feature is that webmasters and designers upload their best works themselves, which they want to share—either for free or for sale.
FindIcons
The largest free icon database in the world. However, it features a rather complex search mechanism and an extensive list of filters. Despite the presence of premium images, the database contains an incredible number of free works.
The platform is also convenient because before downloading, you can choose the file format or convert it to the needed one.
Freeimages
The largest portal for free images and photos in the world. Launched in 2001, the project aimed to allow artists to share their works or find others' work for inspiration. Over the past 16 years, the site has grown so much in popularity that it now hosts about 400,000 images.
MorgueFile
While the previous project mainly offers illustrations and graphics, this one contains over 300,000 free photographs from around the world. It is the second-largest image resource globally. You can also sort image sets under the search bar.
CG Textures
The largest project in the world for finding textures, used by web designers and artists. The site offers a subscription for downloading high-res images, but if medium resolution (up to 1600px wide) is enough, you can use a free account, which gets 15 credits daily.
Lost & Taken
Another site with free sets of textures and backgrounds. However, the download process might seem confusing: even for free files, downloads are formatted like purchases. But since the price is $0, you don’t need to enter credit card or e-wallet info. For $50, you can download the entire current background archive.
Background Labs
This site offers a huge number of backgrounds, patterns, and textures not only for website design, but also for personalizing your Twitter or Google+ profiles. It’s easy to search, and you can download files in different formats. For example, the image below can serve as a pattern, vector graphic, or just a PNG.
Colour Lovers
An international community of artists and designers who seek new ideas, get inspired by others' work, and share their own. You’ll find everything from patterns to textures and design objects. While downloading isn’t always available, the site is great for discovering trends and creative ideas. Some patterns can be downloaded.
Brusheezy
A popular and well-known project offering free Photoshop brushes and other key tools (backgrounds, textures, PSDs, gradients, etc.). The site is a community of designers and artists discussing the development of digital art, their fields, styles, trends, and of course, sharing their works.
Conclusion
We’ve reviewed a small number of the largest and most well-known online portals where web designers from around the world find inspiration and the materials they need—images, Photoshop tools, and resources for creating new and original gradients. Even using a single new brush on an existing image can make it ideal for a website header. Some may need photos or ornamental textures. Of course, you may already know or use other sites—which is great—because the more variety of resources you see, the easier it is for a webmaster or beginner to come up with something unique.
We haven’t covered plugins specifically, but there are many materials about them in our blog. We may return to them in future posts.