I just learned the words 絵, 画, and 像, and they all seem to mean ‘image’ in some way. How can I distinguish between them and use them correctly in different contexts?
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This is just a vibes thing, but I feel like i see 絵 more in artistic contexts, 画 more in diagram contexts, and 像 in symbolic contexts.
You’re more likely to see them in compound words or structures （絵を描く、計画 etc) which have more specific usages so that might also help.
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I can’t recall the last time I saw 画 as a word in a sentence.
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true, i would usually see 図 instead
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Use 絵 for talking about drawn pictures, use 画像 for talking about regular images like on a computer, and don’t use 画 or 像 as words.
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「画」は八画で書く漢字です。
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Nothing there would be 画 (meaning “image”) used as a word in a sentence, though.
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「木」は7像で掻く感じです
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If you do not know yet about https://jisho.org/
It’s very useful to associate several of the concepts to help differentiating the kanjis (and the secondary concept just happens to make sense in the compound words 
). Having just one concept by kanji will get you confused very quickly.
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像（ぞう）“statue” is the main word to describe a statue.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen it used as a standalone word for any other JMDict meanings like “image, portrait, appearance”, but as a suffix, like 残像, maybe.. if you can call this a suffix and not a completely separate word.
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I thought it went without saying, but yes I just mean not to use them to mean images. You can use 画 to mean stroke or 像 to mean statue. 像 is also used as a suffix, but the example you gave would not be an example of that. It would be more along the lines of 講師像 where it describes an ideal form someone holds of something.
My goal was to not needlessly complicate something for a new learner who just didn’t know how to say the basic word for picture.
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For OP’s question specifically, I think it would be better to show the overview and differences of each 3 Kanji. Consider the topic title, not just on what OP think it supposed to mean one thing.
Rather than images, 画 is often diagram is a good thing to know.
画 (かく) as a stroke, and as a standalone word, not counter, is kinda a very specialized case for specific interests, imo.
像 can mean statue, when used as a standalone word, not counter or suffix. The standalone meaning isn’t far removed from compounds, like 映像, 想像, 肖像 or 仏像. Maybe like a 3D thing, sometimes just realisticness.
Yeah, this is what I mean when I said needlessly complicate things.
I get it, but like this is all just a roundabout way to remember very simple vocab. So why not just remember the simple vocab?
General image: 画像
If you can specify, you should.
Drawn picture: 絵
Photograph: 写真
OP needs to know when to use what in different contexts? Vague talk about something as slippery as Kanji nuance doesn’t get you there. Just learn the dang words.
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