One more idea: Stock art and stock photo sites exist. Always read the licenses
Shutterstock and Getty Images are the big time.
BigStockPhoto was cheap enough that I've used it in the past for small/quick projects. There are illustrations being sold there, too. They are not as cheap as they used to be. $35 for 10 credits is the cheapest you can go: A print resolution image will likely cost you 4 credits. There is some really great illustration work here, though.
CreativeMarket has some stock images. I mostly buy fonts there.
DesignBundles is a place where I've bought maybe a small handful of items. They mostly sell and highlight vector graphics. There are background images and "textures" and such.
The less you pay, the more limited your use. Read the licenses. When you start paying $3 an image from stock art suppliers, you're going to be limited to a certain number of sales per month/year. (I'm looking at a $3 image that would offer 10,000 sales a month. If ever hit that many in a lifetime then I'll be on cloud nine).
You'll still need to put words and title information on any image you buy.
One more free resource: OpenClipart has a lot of explicitly free-to-use vector graphics. Most of these look like clipart from some 1980s "print your own calendar" software. There are some rare gems.
I know this is a hobby and your funds are limited. This is something I've been struggling with for years, too.
I think I'm all out of ideas now. Count on having to pay with either your time, your money, or both. If you learn to do things for yourself and take some risks then those skills will be transferable to future projects.
Shutterstock and Getty Images are the big time.
BigStockPhoto was cheap enough that I've used it in the past for small/quick projects. There are illustrations being sold there, too. They are not as cheap as they used to be. $35 for 10 credits is the cheapest you can go: A print resolution image will likely cost you 4 credits. There is some really great illustration work here, though.
CreativeMarket has some stock images. I mostly buy fonts there.
DesignBundles is a place where I've bought maybe a small handful of items. They mostly sell and highlight vector graphics. There are background images and "textures" and such.
The less you pay, the more limited your use. Read the licenses. When you start paying $3 an image from stock art suppliers, you're going to be limited to a certain number of sales per month/year. (I'm looking at a $3 image that would offer 10,000 sales a month. If ever hit that many in a lifetime then I'll be on cloud nine).
You'll still need to put words and title information on any image you buy.
One more free resource: OpenClipart has a lot of explicitly free-to-use vector graphics. Most of these look like clipart from some 1980s "print your own calendar" software. There are some rare gems.
I know this is a hobby and your funds are limited. This is something I've been struggling with for years, too.
I think I'm all out of ideas now. Count on having to pay with either your time, your money, or both. If you learn to do things for yourself and take some risks then those skills will be transferable to future projects.