CloudCanvas Launches HTML5 Image Creation And Editing Suite


CloudCanvas, a startup incubated in the Founder Institute, has launched their free HTML5 image editing suite to the public today. The product aims to blend capabilities of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop into a single, easy-to-use web based offering.

CloudCanvas allows both novice doodlers and expert designers to create, store, edit and embed images into the suite. The suite, which supports both vector and bitmap images, includes a standard roster of simple image tools similar to offline image editing suites (i.e. Photoshop), including polygons, circles, painting, layers, brushes and others. And the suite includes more advanced editing tools such as bezier curves, blurring, drop shadow and bevel filters.

Additionally, CloudCanvas is integrated with Google Images search and DeviantArt libraries to import images into the suite and includes over 30,000 clipart and templates within the suite. The suite also includes 500 fonts ready to use on the web and support saving in PNG and SVG formats.

The virtue of CloudCanvas is that it supports HTML5; and doesn’t run on Flash. CloudCanvas even has an iPad optimized version for touch drawing and illustrating, allowing you to take images right from the desktop to your handheld and back seamlessly. While CloudCanvas is free, the site will eventually include premium features and media sales, such as fonts and stock photography, in the future. As a special incentive for trying the suite out, CloudCanvas is offering a prize of $500 for each of the best three original images created with the product by September 12th, 2010.

Of course, there are other powerful browser-based editing suites that CloudCanvas will compete against, including Aviary, and Photoshop itself.