Canva has released its first image generation model. The tool is called Canva Craft, and it was built by the company’s own research team.
The design platform announced the model on October 22, 2026. Canva said it built Canva Craft to compete with similar models from Google, OpenAI, ByteDance, and Meta.
How Canva Craft Works
The model works in two stages. In the first stage, it reads a user’s prompt and creates a plan for the image.
That plan includes details such as where elements sit in relation to each other, their relative size, and visual hierarchy. It also includes information used to generate text inside the image.
In the second stage, the model creates the image. It can produce images of up to 2K resolution in 30 different aspect ratios for various platforms.
Canva said this approach helps the model show accurate object details and readable text. Users can also make precise edits to one part of an image without changing other parts.
Trained on Designs, Not Photos
Canva said it trained the model on designs rather than photographs. The training data came from human-designed templates in Canva’s library.
These templates include posters, social media posts, presentations, infographics, menus, and layouts with heavy use of text and typography.
Because of this, images made with Canva Craft can be turned into layered designs. This is done with Canva Magic, the company’s image-to-design tool.
Last year, Canva released its own model that understands designs and layers. The new image model builds on that work.
Researchers from Leonardo.ai helped build Canva Craft. Canva bought the media generation platform in 2024.
Canva has used several outside image models on its platform in the past. Having its own model could help the company save on API costs. Canva said the model also gives it more control over quality and speed.
The company was on track for $4 billion in revenue last year. However, it later cut its growth forecast for 2026.
According to outside analysts, that cut caused Canva’s valuation to reportedly drop from $42 billion to $35 billion.
Canva Craft is now available to all users on the platform through the Dream Lab tab. It will also be offered through the Canva API.
The company plans to support image generation in third-party chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini through Canva’s MCP.
Canva said it is also developing two lower-cost versions of the model, called Craftfast and Craft-ultrafast. Both are set to be released soon.
