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Arrive with a problem.
Leave with the file.

159 guides that answer real design questions, then show the steps in Voidcanvas. Every step is checked against the app, so what you read is what you will see.

Try:

What are you trying to do?

Pick one. You get the short answer, then the guides in the order that gets you there.

Make a posterPrepare something for printEdit a photoBuild a brandCreate social contentWork with PSD filesCreate design effectsRun a client projectLearn graphic designMove away from Photoshop

Start with a problem

The questions people arrive with. Answered, then demonstrated.

  1. 01How do I prepare a poster for print?Set the document to the final poster size at 300 dpi, add 3 mm of bleed on every side, keep text and logos at least 5 mm inside the trim, use photos that are at least as many pixels wide as the poster itself, and export a PDF at final size. Tell the printer the file is RGB and includes bleed, and ask for a proof. The rest of this page gives you the numbers, the reasons and the checks.Beginner10 min
  2. 02How do I make a halftone portrait?A halftone turns a photo into dots on a grid: dark areas get large dots that merge, light areas get small ones or none. To make a good halftone portrait, start with a high-contrast black and white photo on a plain background, choose a dot size that suits where it will be seen (fine for screens, coarse for print and posters), set the contrast so the shadows fill in without swallowing the face, then recolour the dots with a blend mode. Below is a working halftone; move the sliders and watch what each one does.Beginner7 min
  3. 03How do I edit a PSD without Photoshop?Yes, a PSD can be opened and edited without Photoshop. A PSD is a layered file, and several editors read it, including Voidcanvas in a browser. What carries over cleanly: pixel layers, groups, opacity, blend modes, layer masks, clipping, simple text as editable type, most adjustment layers and most layer styles. What turns into flat pixels: smart objects, vector shapes, and text with mixed styling. Open the file, read the import report, replace any missing fonts, then edit as normal. You will get PNG, JPG, WebP or PDF out; you will not get a PSD back.Beginner7 min
  4. 04Why does my print look blurry?A print looks blurry for one of three reasons: a photo was enlarged past what its pixels can support, the document was set up at screen size (1080 px, 1920 px, 72 dpi) and then printed much larger, or the file was exported small or as a heavy JPG. Check in one minute: divide the design's pixel width by its printed width in inches. Under 150 and everything prints soft; 300 is what a printer wants for anything read up close. Then fix the cause: replace or shrink the photo, rebuild at the print size, or export a PDF or PNG at full size.Beginner7 min
  5. 05Why does my design look generic?A design looks generic when nothing in it was decided: the layout came with the template, every element is the same size and importance, the colours are safe mid-tones, and the photo is used whole. Fix it with six decisions, in this order: set a real type scale so one thing is clearly biggest; let one colour lead and one accent answer it; crop the photo hard and give it a treatment; put everything on a grid with a single focal point and real margins; add texture from an actual process rather than a filter preset; then remove a third of what is left. Each move is below, with where to do it in Voidcanvas.Intermediate7 min
  6. 06How do I remove a background without uploading the photo?Cut a person or product out of a photo with a model that runs in your browser, then refine the edge and export a transparent PNG.Beginner4 min
  7. 07How do I get one design into every social size?Turn one finished design into posts, stories, thumbnails and banners, as a ZIP of PNGs, as separate designs, or as linked boards.Intermediate4 min
  8. 08How do I keep a brand consistent?A brand stays consistent when nobody has to remember it. Put the brand in one place the tools read from: colours with roles (primary, accent, background, text), two fonts with a scale, and logo files with a minimum size and clear space. Design one master per campaign and derive every other format from it instead of redrawing each one. Check before you export: off-brand colours, wrong fonts, a logo too small or crowded. Write the rules down once as a guideline so the next person, or you in six months, gets the same result. Consistency is a system, not discipline.Beginner6 min

Learn the tools

Three tools. Every setting explained.

49 guides

Editor

A layered image editor: masks, type, adjustments, retouching, PSD in, print and screen out.

All Editor guides Open Editor
25 guides

Studio

The job around the design: brief, references, directions, review rounds, delivery, brand guidelines.

All Studio guides Open Studio
23 guides

Effects

58 one-click effects with sliders, and the halftone, dither and glitch quick tools.

All Effects guides Open Effects

Master the craft

Design, taught properly.

Type, colour, layout, resolution, print and social, with the numbers, and where each setting lives.

  1. Set type that reads wellBeginner5 min
  2. Choose colours that work on screen and in printIntermediate5 min
  3. Lay out a page with a grid, space and a clear focal pointBeginner5 min
  4. Understand pixels, dpi and why images look softBeginner4 min
  5. Prepare artwork a printer will acceptIntermediate5 min
  6. Design social posts that read on a phoneBeginner4 min
  7. Build a brand identity from brief to rulesIntermediate4 min
  8. How to prepare a poster for printBeginner10 min
  9. How to make a design look less genericIntermediate7 min
  10. Why your printed design looks blurryBeginner7 min
  11. What a print-ready PDF is, and what yours needsBeginner4 min
  12. How much bleed a print job needsBeginner3 min
  13. Why a print looks different from the screenBeginner5 min
  14. Social media sizes and safe zonesBeginner3 min
  15. What dpi a poster should be, by size and viewing distanceBeginner4 min
  16. RGB or CMYK for print: what to do in an RGB-only toolBeginner4 min
  17. Poster design rules that work from across a roomBeginner6 min
  18. Design a poster with no photoBeginner6 min
  19. YouTube thumbnail size and the three legibility rulesBeginner2 min
  20. How to check whether an image is big enough to printBeginner2 min
  21. Why social images look blurry after upload, and how to export themBeginner2 min
  22. Pixelated or blurry? What each look tells you about the imageBeginner2 min
  23. Crop marks, trim marks and bleed marks: what each one isBeginner2 min
  24. Font pairing for a brand: choose by personalityBeginner2 min
  25. Design a social template system you can reuse weeklyIntermediate2 min
  26. Design an Instagram carousel with boardsBeginner2 min
  27. Adapt a poster for social without squashing itBeginner2 min
  28. The print handover checklistBeginner2 min
  29. Printing a design made in a browser tool: what the printer needsBeginner2 min
  30. Flyer design that works: structure before decorationBeginner2 min

Run real workflows

Whole jobs, start to finish.

Every step in the product, from a blank page or a photo to the delivered file.

  1. 01Make an event poster from a photo to a print-ready PDF7 min · Intermediate
  2. 02Turn one launch post into every social format6 min · Intermediate
  3. 03Make an A5 flyer with bleed for the printer4 min · Beginner
  4. 04Build a brand guideline for a client, from logo to handoff5 min · Intermediate
  5. 05Retouch a portrait without destroying the original5 min · Intermediate
  6. 06Take a PSD from a colleague and adapt it for social4 min · Intermediate
  7. 07Make a risograph or screen-print look with Effects and the Editor5 min · Intermediate

Look it up

Reference pages, kept in step with the app.

Every guide, by topic

159 guides, about 10 hours of reading. Each topic has its own page.

Editor49

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