OpenCanvas is a Japanese-made program, developed by PortalGraphics, and is in some ways similar to Adobe Photoshop, only simplified. It's a tiny program, small enough to fit on a floppy, which in addition to its simple interface and networking features makes it a very appealing piece of software to work with. Did I mention the beta versions are free?

I've had quite a few people ask me to send them the program, so I figured I'd host two versions here on my site. If you have any other beta versions you'd like to have hosted here, feel free to email me.

oc1.1b68
oc1.1b72

Earlier, I mentioned one of oC's neatest features--the ability to network with other artists worldwide. It's a great way to pal around with friends, as well as to learn from and teach others. For those unfamiliar with networking, networking in openCanvas basically consists of one user 'hosting' the session by allowing a maximum of three other users to connect to the host's IP address. Once everyone is logged in, the two-four people can draw together on one canvas, using up to four layers each. Very fun stuff.

If you're interested in networking with someone, but don't know how, here are some (hopefully) simple directions about how to set up a network session, as either a host or client (user who connects to the host's IP). I'm also going to include a basic inventory of oC's different layer and brush types, since there are some neat tricks unique to openCanvas.

using openCanvas
starting out in oC
keyboard shortcuts
networking in oC

starting out in oC
Once you open your copy of openCanvas, you'll see that it's a pretty simple program, with a minimum of windows.

If it's your first time opening the program, there's a good chance it will be displaying fractured Japanese characters in the menu bar, not English. To correct this, hit the keys ALT + H, or select the last word on the right of the menu bar. Now that the display is English, take a moment to familiarise yourself with the different windows on the canvas area.

preview window (1)
The Preview Window is basically a thumbnail version of your drawing. It's especially helpful when working while zoomed in, because you can drag the red box within the Preview Window to move quickly around the drawing.

tool box (2)
The Tool Box is where you'll select which tool you want to work with. The icons are fairly straightforward, but here's a diagram naming each tool, and any keyboard shortcuts that (I know of) correlate with the tools.

color palette (3)
The Color Palette allows you to select colour, value, hue, saturation, etc. Slide the arrow on the right prism to select a general colour, and move the circle on the larger square to further specify the colour. You can save up to 16 colours in the (currently) greyscale pallette on the left by selecting a colour and right clicking on one of the grey squares. The small preview rectangle beneath the palette shows you which colour you've selected.

layer box (4)

keyboard shortcuts
Here's a list of various keyboard shortcuts that work with oC, and are often easier to use than moving the cursor to select options.
CTRL + N creates new canvas
CTRL + C copies current image (note: copies all visible layers)
CTRL + V pastes image into oC, or pastes copied layers
CTRL + ALT + move cursor left/right changes brush size
CTRL + W closes current document
Insert fills the active layer with selected colour
Delete deletes active layer
Spacebar hold and pan with the cursor to move around canvas

networking in oC
To begin networking, *notes on networking:
You can run oC with either a broadband or dialup connection. To host a session, you'll probably need to disable your firewall, and if you're running on an internal network (DSL, some cable ISPs), hosting could be difficult. You should be able to network as a client from most any connection, however.

hosting a connection
To start with, you'll need to know your IP address so that others can connect to it. Finding your IP address can be tricky, particularly on broadband connections, so I'll make a separate section for this at the end of this page.

Open the networking menu (ALT + N + N or Network>>Show Network Window), and you'll see several tabs. Here's a rundown of each tab, and what you'll need to enter for each.

In the Server tab, enter your name/username in the UserName field. The password field is not necessary, and should really only be filled out only if you want to ensure your networking session is private; if you do use a password, make sure the others connecting to your IP have the password. Once this is done, you can further customise the session, or go ahead and begin the session if you want to run on default settings.

You can skip the Client tab, since you're the Server/Host, so go to the Networking Preferences tab for now. Here you can customise canvas size (anything below 800x800 can feel kind of cramped, and 2000x2000 is great for long sessions), maximum layers (two is the minimum, four is nicer to work with), and maximum members. Note that the maximum member field includes clients and host, so four members will allow for three clients, and one host. Also, I've noticed that oC can get rather wonky once you get three or four members, but two runs pretty smoothly. You probably don't need to mess with the Port number, so I won't go into that now.

After adjusting the Network Preferences, you're all set to initiate the session. Return to the Server tab and hit the 'Stand by' button. oC will then generate the canvas and Chat Window. You can use this window for chatting during the session, or you can close it (without disrupting the actual session itself) and stick to your preferred chat client. The window is handy, however, for monitoring the different users who log in to your IP (good for making sure everyone is able to log in, seeing when they log out, etc).

You're pretty much set to draw at this point. There's one last point which should be mentioned, because it's frustrating to mess up, and can make networking a hassle. Do not draw on the canvas until all members are logged in. Otherwise, the session will not operate properly, any anyone who entered the session after the drawing began will not be able to partipate.

joining as client

To log into a session as a client, start out just as though you were hosting a session by opening the Network Window. Instead of the Server tab, select the Client tab, and enter the host's IP address in the Connect IP field. Then fill in your desired name, and if necessary, the password. Once finished, click the button with the weird characters to the right of the Connect IP field, and you'll be logged in to the session. Again, you'll have openCanvas' chat client at your disposal, if you choose to use it.

note: finding your ip
iaaaan, will you write this part? :(

note: how to customise layers during sessions
If you're in a networking session, you can't create layers. For about a year, I thought this meant I couldn't use Add or Subtract layers during sessions. However, there is a way to convert a Normal layer to either Add or Subtract.

To make an Add layer, select the layer you wish to convert. I suggest turning it off for this step, because leaving it on during the conversion can make it impossible for others in the session to see what they're doing (you'll find out why if you ever try making an Add layer without hiding it). Click the X icon by oC's face logo until it becomes a +. This is the symbol for an Add layer. Fill the layer with solid black (select black on the palette, hit the Insert key if your keyboard has one). At this point, you can reactivate the layer and draw on it just as you would a 'normal' Add layer.