What kinds of projects can you create with Open Peeps?

Open Peeps is a hand-drawn illustration library of mix-and-match vector people, released by Pablo Stanley under the CC0 license. Because the assets are free for commercial and personal use, you can drop them into almost any project that needs human figures — product illustration, marketing imagery, comics, product states, user flows, personas, storyboards, or even personal items like quinceañera invitations. The main constraint is style, not permission: the drawings are sketchy and approachable, so they suit projects that want warmth and personality rather than photorealistic or highly polished corporate art.

What the library actually gives you

The library works like a set of building blocks. Each Peep is assembled from vector parts:

• Bodies and poses — standing, sitting, and bust (head-and-shoulders) options
• Hair — curly, long, short, or none
• Eyewear — clear lenses or sunglasses
• Facial expressions — a range of emotions you can swap
• Facial hair — mustache, beard, and similar options
• Clothing and color — black and white is just the starting point; you can recolor

According to the site, mixing these elements yields over 584,688 possible combinations. You can also download ready-made Peeps as PNG or SVG if you don't want to assemble your own.

Projects that fit well

Product and UX work

• Product states — empty states, error screens, onboarding, success messages
• User flows — showing a person moving through steps of a journey
• Personas — giving a face to a user profile or research summary
• Storyboarding — sketching scenes before building them out

Marketing and content

• Marketing imagery — blog headers, landing page visuals, social posts
• Comics — sequential panels using different poses and expressions
• Presentations and decks — adding a human element to slides

Personal and event use

• Invitations — the site explicitly names quinceañera invitations as an example
• Anything else — the CC0 terms place no restriction on the type of project

How to judge whether it's the right fit

The style is the deciding factor. If you want illustrations that feel human and informal, the sketch quality is an asset. If your brand requires precision or realism, the same quality becomes a mismatch.

How to start creating

1. Download the library from openpeeps.com — either the full set or individual ready-made Peeps in PNG or SVG.
2. Open the files in a design tool — the site names Sketch, Figma, XD, or Studio as options for mixing nested components.
3. Combine parts — pick a body, add hair, choose eyewear, set an expression, add facial hair, and recolor as needed.
4. Export your finished Peep and place it in your project.

If you'd rather not build from parts, the "Grab and go" ready-to-download Peeps cover busts, standing, and sitting poses in both PNG and SVG, so you can use them immediately.

Checking the license before you publish

Open Peeps is in the public domain under the CC0 License. Per the site, this means you can copy, modify, distribute, remix, and use the work — including commercially — without asking permission. That removes the usual attribution and licensing questions, but it's still worth confirming the license terms on the site yourself before a large commercial release, since terms can be updated.

Where to find inspiration

The site includes a Showcase section where others share what they've made with the library. Browsing it is a quick way to see how the same parts get reused across very different project types — from product screens to playful personal pieces — and to judge whether the style matches what you have in mind.