You can be sure that if your site is very successful, copyright restrictions will be enforced against you. For creating or modifying your own original art, PaintShop Pro from Jasc is a great package. It is easy to use, and has a bunch of great tools for making some really neat effects. For the features, it is quite inexpensive. You can also download a demo version to test drive it.
Animations are an emerging art form now showing up on the advanced pages.
They are not yet being widely used. At the same time, judicious use can spice up your pages. If you'd like to develop your own animations, check out Microsoft's GIF Animator. Although it is available in Beta only, it is easy to use and free. For more details on the tools and reviews, go to External Links .