I got this list of sprite resources... thought I'd share it..
hope some of you find it useful

MIXED SPRITE COLLECTIONS

http://www.elementgaming.simgames.net/
http://www.emugifs.emuita.it/home.htm
http://www.explore-rpg.com/resources.htm
http://fated-circle.com/
http://www.fireball20xl.com/sprites.html
http://flashstand.com/sprites.php?mode=main
http://www.gaminggroundzero.com/
http://www.gamingw.net/
http://www.gsarchives.net/
http://www.molotov.nu/?page=graphics
http://pages.cthome.net/mnoni/webpage/spritesheets.html
http://www.panelmonkey.org/
http://rpgdragoon.2ya.com/
http://www.rpginfinity.com/
http://www.rpg2knet.com/resources/
http://tsgk.captainn.net/
http://www.sprite-town.tk/
http://www.odinsrealm.com/tatakau/
http://www.vgws.com/
http://www.gifsyndicate.com/
http://www.deekman.cjb.net/
http://www.psyguy.com/
http://www.bladeshotx.com/

NINTENDO SPRITES

http://clik.to/ninsprites
http://www.retrogamezone.co.uk/
http://www.mindspring.com/~hhkyl/vgames/sprites.htm

MARIO SPRITES

http://www.pipehouse.net/sprites.shtml
http://www.classicgaming.com/tmk/yellow.shtml

SONIC SPRITES

http://sfghq.emulationzone.org/sprites/sprites.php
http://www.sonic-gif.com/

ZELDA SPRITES

http://www.zeldaresources.com/
http://www.melorasworld.com/zelda/
http://www.purezc.com/

MEGAMAN SPRITES

http://www.planet-megaman.com/sprites/

POKEMON SPRITES

http://www.pokeschool.com/videogames/rubysapphire/sprites/
http://pokevalley.com/ps/main.php?id=P-Icon
http://www.serebii.net/

Thanks a lot! Just what i was asking for in this thread..

Yeah, I had some of those links; there's some good stuff on psyguy.com.

Here's one:

[url http://charas-project.net/]

Not quite. You asked for free gfx. Quite a lot of the sprites are rips.

Hmm... maybe you can get permission to use them if they are outdated. Maybe you can mail Nintendo, Sega or any right holder and ask them.

If your game is not commercial, it should be no problem to use ripped sprites I think. But I'm not completely sure about this.

Hm.. Yes you are right, sometimes it´s hard to know if it´s a rip or some genuine free graphics. If you haven´t played the game and the text says nothing it´s quite hard.

I think that would be hard though, right holders with big names seldom give away any rights at all as a policy. Nintendo has activly persued users of ripped graphics, even when in free projects and told them to remove their software or be sued (amongst others there where a couple of Nintendo games converted to PalmOS which had to be removed, don´t have the link anymore though).

Thanks for Sharing TEOFH

Just like I told him he'd find too. And still he complained!

Yes it´s best if they are completely free. However i can do with rips as well as long as they fit in (at the moment, and get rid of them later in which case some completely free graphics would be nice, i am sure that there are some out there waiting to be found).

I think someone got authorization to do a Donkey Kong clone from Nintendo, back 2 or 3 years ago. Never seen the project finished, but if the guy was right, Nintendo might not have problems as long as your game is not commercial and you specify about the permission you were given.

Yes, perhaps it´s just a question of asking them for permission before instead of afterwards.

On a different case, i saw a Lemmings clone done in javascript (i am sure a lot of you have seen it to), it was free and non commercial but had to be taken down as the copyright holders (or more exactly some firm representing them) contacted them with threats of suing if it wasn´t removed.

Free games are another possible source of Free graphics than doesn't seem to recieve much consideration.

If you are making a GPLed game you shopuld be able to legally take graphics from any other GPLed game.

I'm not certain, but if a game is public domain, would not its content, such as graphics, then seperately be public domain also?

It's the code that's GPL'd, not the graphics.

No. It's generally the entire product that is GPL.

If what you say were the case, how would you propose one legally use any GPLed software with a graphic component, unless that graphic component is seperately licensed? I must say that I've never knowingly come across any software which explicitly states that content is not under license or uses a different license for content than sources.

In some cases, such as Doom (as it is an engine), only the sources are released under the GPL.

I see you quoted the GPL. Well, look at what it says: the software. Graphical resources are not software.

Doom. Quake. Quake 2. And later this year, Quake 3. They are all opensourced, but the content is very much copyright iD.

I, and expect most people, would say otherwise.

That is because the source package only is open source not the entire game. With most free software this in not the case.

If you read the GPL, you'll notice it only says "software" in the preamble. The actual text uses the term "Program", and graphics are arguably not programs. The GPL does not (and can not?) cover non-program resources that ship with your game.

That's right: with most (but not all). And this is because most free software programmers choose to both GPL the code and release the graphics freely as well. But, it is by no means a requirement of the GPL, nor is it a default state or anything you can just assume. The graphics don't have to be GPL'd just because the program is.

I never said otherwise.

If a game is GPL then all parts fall under the GPL. If a game's source is GPL then only that game's source fall under the GPL.

No, you certainly didn't.

"GPLed game" is a very ambiguous term; usually, it refers to only the source code being GPL'ed. In fact, that's the only thing the GPL applies to; program source code and the availability thereof. The GPL has no provisions covering non-program material, such as graphics. Those have to be licensed separately, under a non-GPL license (although they need not be compatible with the GPL - see the 'mere aggregation' clauses in the GPL).

The lesson? Just because a game is GPL'd, doesn't mean you "should be able to legally take graphics" from it. Always check if you have permission to reuse the graphics separately for your own projects.

Indeed, as I said: "from any other GPLed game." Not: "from any other game with GPLed sources."

GPL covers the software. Software is not just source. If a program cannot function in absense of a component then that component is a necessary part of the software, such as with a game and it's graphics, maps, etc.

No. Read past the preamble, and you'll notice it covers the Program.

What do you consider the Program then, if not the software?

The source code, and executables produced by the source code. You can't seriously argue that graphics constitute a program?

Certainly. If a program requires user interaction and that is provided in part graphically, then those graphics cannot be separated from the program, without the program becoming meaningless.

Meaningless or not, it's still a program without the graphics, and graphics alone do not constitute a program. A program does not have to be useful to be a program...

If it does not function, then it is not a full program. If it is dependent on graphics in order to perform its function, then those graphics are part of the program.

A program is source code, or the executable produced by the program. That's it. It does not have to be useful. It does not have to even be functional. It's still a program, regardless of whether it does what it's supposed to or not.

There are other licences for graphic and music. You can use the Open Music Lincence for music. There are also some "GPLed" grpahics.

By default, only your source is GPLed.

And even if you take the gfx of a open source program, you can't be sure that the person who wrote the code had the rights for the gfx.

Say I'm coding a game and Richard pixels some sprites. I release the games under the GPL. But - I don't have any rights (but the right to use it for that single game) on the gfx. So, if you're using the gfx, Richard could sue you.

It's that easy. And there's not much room for arguing, since the laws are pretty clear here.