So you want to publish your own TTRPG. How do you go about getting art?

In my case, I'm fortunate. This game is set in the present day, on regular old Earth, and it involves drive-in movie theaters. And these days, everybody is walking around with a camera in their pocket. So my wife and I head out to the drive-ins, get some good photos, watch flicks, eat popcorn, and have a good time.

After that, it's a matter of cropping and editing. I don't want bystanders in the photos, unless they're so far away that they're unrecognizable. I'd also rather avoid putting someone's license plate number on display for everyone to see. The same goes for logos, theater names, or anything else that might infringe on someone else's rights. 

But my own photos weren't quite enough. I really wanted the cover art to feature an old-school drive-in speaker pole, for instance. And those just aren't around these days. So I licensed one, which was remarkably less expensive than I thought it'd be. Through Pixabay, Unsplash, iStock, and Freepik, I was able to find what I needed, free or cheap.

For clipart, I'm sourcing the vast library of the Noun Project, which is remarkably inexpensive for what it offers. 

This may not help if you're looking to create the next dungeon-crawling hack-and-slash game. But if you're trying to produce something more grounded in reality, get handy with your camera, and keep an eye on stock photo sites.