I sell licenses for commercial use of thousands of photos I've shot in Las Vegas at my web site urbanphotos.net. An executive from a large Las Vegas corporation once contacted me about providing images for wall murals to be displayed in a new structure they were building. 8x10 images were needed... not 8x10 inches, 8x10 feet.

At the time, I didn't know about vector graphics, and therefore lost a potentially huge sale. That experience motivated me to do some research. I discovered that raster images (the kind that degrade when enlarged, which includes all digital camera photos) can be CONVERTED into vector format.

After experimenting with conversions, I recently began designing vector graphics from scratch (you can view my somewhat crude efforts in my Zazzle CMYK Designs store.)

If you're a photographer, learning about vector formats can enable you to offer your photos at unlimited sizes.

If you're an artist or graphic designer who uses paint type raster graphics software (like Photoshop), learning about vector formats can also help you expand your versatility. You don't want to have to turn down a customer who needs a huge graphic for a billboard because you don't know how to design that large of a graphic.

I designed the graphic to the right with a free program, Inkscape; and with no training and very little talent.

Vector drawing programs like Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw are very expensive (over $500) but you don't need them. Inkscape does pretty much everything the expensive programs can do. It's just a bit more primitive looking and more difficult to figure out.

In addition to letting you design vector graphics from scratch, Inkscape also includes a "trace bitmap" feature that lets you convert your JPG photos into vector formats.

To the right is an example of one of my JPG photos converted into vector format and printed on a drink coaster.

Download and install Inkscape (reminder: it's FREE). Open a photo in the program, then click on it to select it.

From the top menu, click on PATHS, then select TRACE BITMAP from the dropdown list.

Click OK. And that's all there is to it.

Where you might spend a lot of time is experimenting with the various output options available. You can generate highly detailed vectors that look almost exactly like the original photo (which takes longer) or do faster conversions with less detail that resemble a painting or drawing.

Level of detail doesn't necessarily represent the artistic quality of the image. I have some samples of JPG images that have been converted to vector format posted here.

In addition to detail, you can also adjust the use of color. You can keep a high number of colors and end up with a vector that almost looks like your photo; reduce the number of colors to 16 or so which gives you kind of an oil painting effect; or select "2" for the number of colors, which will give you a black and white image as shown above.

After converting your JPG to a vector, you can save it as an SVG, EPS, or other vector format.

SVG seems to be the most commonly used format.

I've posted some of the SVG vector graphic files from my CMYK Designs store for free download.

Open them up in Inkscape and experiment.

You may use the images for any purpose including print on demand sites like Zazzle and CafePress; but you may not sell or distribute the images (for example, in clip art packages or offered for download on other web sites). These aren't public domain images; you are granted a free license to use them but are not granted copyright ownership to them.

These are very basic beginner efforts at vector graphics design. If you have the motivation, you can expect to be producing graphics like this the first day you use Inkscape.

Many people who find cool looking graphics online download them and use them improperly. Copyright infringement carries a potential penalty of $150,000 per incident... so it's imperative to understand copyright (and in some cases trademark) law before using images commercially.

AS AN ARTIST: The most important thing to know as an artist is, if you're in the USA, you cannot sue anyone for copyright infringement unless you've registered your work with the US Copyright Office (link below). You also cannot recover legal fees or punitive damages with unregistered work. Read here.

The good news is, you do not have to register each image individually. You can register hundreds or thousands of images at once for one fee of $45 (or $35 if registration is done by online upload.) Read details here.

AS A DOWNLOADER: Before downloading images, always read the licensing terms or terms of use. All images are copyright protected by default; so if there are no license terms, you should assume you can't use the image. Sites which invite you to download art will usually be very specific in describing the permitted uses of that art. If commercial use is prohibited, that means you cannot use the images in any type of revenue generating capacity.

TRADEMARK: Trademark law is complex and confusing. In general, all you need to know is that you cannot legally use famous slogans, brands or logos in your commercial art, even if you create the art yourself.

A t-shirt that says CHEVY CAMARO? Trademark violation. A photo of a Camaro? Copyright violation. (The design of the car itself is copyright protected, like a statue or sculpture would be.)

Again, these rules apply mainly if you're going to use art for financial gain. Some exceptions exist, such as parody, which is considered fair use.

Here is some case law which illustrates the concept of commercial parody.

Architecture is one of the few areas photographers and artists don't have to worry about very much. Architecture copyright did not exist until 1990; but more important, the US Copyright Act (link to the act is posted below) specifically states that visual representations (photos, drawings, paintings) of architecture do not violate architectural copyrights. The purpose of architectural copyright is to prevent other architects from building copies of that structure.

The one thing to look out for is trademarks. A photo of a Holiday Inn taken from a distance is not an infringement; a closeup photo of the Holiday Inn logo on the building might be an infringement.

Political figures are in the public domain. You can design all kinds of art featuring presidents, presidential candidates, senators, governors, etc. Celebrities, however, are not in the public domain. Neither is anyone else. Recognizable images of people, other than politicians, require a signed model release for commercial use. Paparazzi can sell unauthorized celebrity images to recognized media outlets (NBC, ABC, CBS, People Magazine, newspapers) because news reporting is considered fair use.

Contrary to common sense, deceased individuals are not always in the public domain. For example, the likeness of Elvis Presley is owned by Lisa Marie Presley. Don't use a famous person in any commercial art until you find out 100% for sure that they are in the public domain, or you have permission from them or the owner of their likeness.

RESEARCH: if you're going to enter the commercial arena, always use the language of the laws, case law, and reputable law firm web sites to obtain your information. Better yet, hire an attorney for a consultation. Posting questions to online forums, discussion groups, or blogs will usually get you an incorrect answer due to the complexity of these laws.