Root Illustrations: is this $24 stack worth it for ui kit?
Quick answer
| Best for | Product teams and designers who need friendly, on-brand empty states or landing page visuals without commissioning custom art. |
| Skip if | You require photorealistic assets, 3D renders, or a rigid brand style that doesn’t allow for playful, vector-based character illustrations. |
| Price | $24 |
| Format | 24 vector characters, 100+ components, and style guides in Figma and Sketch. |
| One-line take | A cost-effective, fully editable vector kit that turns blank screens into engaging, human-centric scenes in minutes. |
What you’re actually buying
Most design systems stall on the “empty state” problem. You have the grid, the typography, and the buttons, but when a user has no data, you’re staring at a white void. Commissioning custom illustration for every single edge case is expensive and slow; using generic stock photos feels disconnected from your product’s voice. Root Illustrations solves this by handing you a modular system rather than just a pack of static images. For $24, you are buying a toolkit that lets you build your own scenes from the ground up.
The core of the kit is the character library. You get 24 distinct characters, all fully vectorized, which means they aren’t locked into a single pose or color palette. The listing highlights customizable skin tones, a detail that matters if you are building for a global audience or want to reflect real user diversity in your UI. These aren’t just decorative blobs; they are “happy people doing stuff,” designed to bring a friendly, approachable tone to your interface. Whether you are building a SaaS dashboard, a mobile app, or a marketing landing page, these characters help humanize the experience. (Root Illustrations)
But characters alone don’t make a scene. That’s where the 100 components and symbols come in. This is the part that makes the pack feel like a real design system rather than a clip-art bundle. You get cloth elements, geometric shapes, strokes, and various props that are designed to snap together with the characters. The goal is mix-and-match flexibility: you can pull a character from one file and combine it with a laptop, a plant, or an abstract shape from another to create a unique illustration that fits your specific screen. Because everything is 100% vector, you can scale these assets from a tiny mobile widget to a full-width hero section without any loss in quality. (Root Illustrations)
The inclusion of a style guide is another strong signal of quality. Many illustration packs just dump files into a folder and hope for the best. Here, you get guidance on how to use the illustrations and how to adjust global colors to match your brand. This means you aren’t fighting the tool; you are using it as intended. If you are a solo founder or a small team trying to ship a polished product quickly, the Root Illustrations Figma and Sketch files give you the professional look of a custom art department without the agency bill.
Why it’s on our radar
This pack stands out because it treats illustration as a system, not a one-off asset. Most competitors sell you a set of 10 finished images that you have to use as-is or not at all. Root Illustrations flips that model by providing the raw materials—100 components and 24 characters—that let you generate hundreds of unique combinations. This is a significant value proposition for product designers who need variety across multiple screens (empty states, error pages, onboarding flows) without hiring a new illustrator for each one.
The price point is also hard to argue with. At $24, this is less than the cost of a single hour of a freelance illustrator’s time. You are getting a complete, editable library that can serve your product for years. The fact that it ships in both Figma and Sketch makes it accessible to a wide range of teams, regardless of their preferred design tool. It’s a low-risk, high-reward addition to any design library, especially if you are looking to add a bit of personality and warmth to a functional interface. (Root Illustrations)
What actually matters
Before you hit the buy button, check your design tool compatibility. The files are provided for Figma and Sketch. If you are a heavy user of Adobe XD, you will need to convert the files, which can sometimes be a pain with complex vector groups. Confirm that your team’s workflow supports importing and editing these specific file types. (Root Illustrations)
Look closely at the character diversity and poses. While the listing mentions customizable skin tones and 24 characters, you should preview the Root Illustrations gallery to ensure the poses match your product’s tone. If you are building a serious financial tool, you might want to check if the “happy people doing stuff” vibe is too playful for your brand. If you are building a consumer app, this tone is likely a perfect fit.
Finally, verify the component count. The listing claims 100 components and symbols. In practice, this means you have a robust set of props to work with. Take a moment to open the file and see if the variety of shapes and strokes allows you to build the specific scenes you need. If you find yourself needing a specific prop that isn’t there, you may need to supplement with other assets. But for most standard UI needs, this library should be more than sufficient. (Root Illustrations)
Mid-check
If you are ready to add some life to your empty states, See current options to grab the pack.
FAQ
Can I use these illustrations for client work?
Yes, the license typically allows for use in client projects, but you should always double-check the specific license terms on the Root Illustrations purchase page to ensure you are covered for commercial use. Most Gumroad digital products come with a standard license that permits use in client work as long as you don’t resell the raw files.
Are the files editable in Figma?
Absolutely. The pack includes dedicated Figma files, and because everything is 100% vector, you can edit colors, swap out components, and resize characters directly within the tool. This is a major advantage over raster-based illustration packs, which often require you to work in a raster editor like Photoshop just to change a color. (Root Illustrations)
How do I match the illustrations to my brand colors?
The pack includes a style guide that walks you through adjusting global colors. This means you can apply your brand’s color palette to the entire illustration set in one go, rather than manually recoloring each vector path. This feature is crucial for maintaining brand consistency across multiple screens. (Root Illustrations)
Bottom line
If you are tired of staring at blank screens and want a fast, affordable way to add personality to your product, Root Illustrations is a smart buy. The combination of 24 customizable characters and 100 vector components gives you the flexibility to build unique, on-brand scenes without the cost of custom illustration. For $24, it’s an easy win for any design team looking to polish their UI.