Awesome Canvas

A curated list of awesome Canvas examples, related articles and posts.

Summary

• Canvas
  • Definition
  • Examples
• Libraries
• Resources
  • Talks
  • Books
  • Twitter
  • Websites and Tutorials

Canvas

Definition

“Added in HTML5, the HTML <canvas> element can be used to draw graphics via scripting in JavaScript. For example, it can be used to draw graphs, make photo compositions, create animations or even do real-time video processing or rendering.” by Mozilla Developer Network

Examples

Some good examples about creation with canvas.

• 30.000 particles [show me the code] • A result of a study creating performant particles with Canvas 2D.
• Canvas Colour Cycling [show me the code] • This demo is an implementation of a full 8-bit color cycling engine, rendered into an HTML5 Canvas in real-time.
• Canvas Loader [show me the code] • Reference to make loaders using canvas.
• Circular Rings [show me the code] • A great example about how to create circular rings using canvas.
• Cloth 3D Effect (Google Chrome strongly recommended) • Thid demo renders a 3d model of Apple iPod with sphere environmental mapping technique.
• Cloth Effect [show me the code] • A cloth 3D effect fork.
• Colorful Particles [show me the code] • Experiment show how to generates random particles. Very simple code for assimilate.
• Distance Field Waves [show me the code] • A example about GPU rendering shader experiments with procedural 3D scene generation using ray marching and distance field (also known as ‘sphere tracing’) rendering techniques.
• Draw Table – [show me the code] • A simple example about events using canvas.
• Fibrous Texture [show me the code] • Simple canvas based animation; draws random lines across the field. Makes an interesting papery pattern that becomes increasingly detailed with each iteration.
• Image Nodes [show me the code] • Interactive nodes built from image data. Use the mouse to play.
• Inception [show me the code] • Generates a scrawl of a city, a canvas HTML5 experiment. Based on Inception movie
• JS Metaballs [show me the code] • Experiment for Chrome. Mix of webkit-filter and canvas for a metaballs effect.
• Just Canvas [show me the code]• This is a JavaScript experiment to capture movements. Just Dance Idea + HTML5 Canvas Implementation.
• Linjer • Amazing experiment about nodes effects in addition with cloth and animation effect.
• Liquid Particles • A good example about Liquid Particles.
• LucidChart • A complete tool to draw diagrams and other geometric forms, made in canvas.
• L-System Turtle Fractal Renderer • A example about fractal renderer using canvas.
• Motion Graphic Typeface [show me the code] • A example about typeface animation.
• Neatnait Canvas Rain [show me the code] • A reference to create rain particles.
• Particles [show me the code] • Reference to create astonishing particles.
• Particles.js [show me the code] • Beautiful particles created using canvas.
• Ping Pong Game [show me the code] • Besides being a good example, it also is a tutorial about game made with canvas.
• Pirates Love Daisies • A entire game created using canvas
• Raining Day [show me the code] • Raindrops using canvas. It’s Neatnait Canvas Rain fork.
• Space Noodles • Amazing example about line movement and animation.
• Star Time Lapse Effect [show me the code] • An example about creating a star time-lapse sky using canvas.
• Tree in the Breeze [show me the code] • Demo about generating 2D trees in canvas.
• Trigonoparty! [show me the code] • Simple trigonometry visualisation.
• Video Destruction • Block based destruction of HTML5 video, best viewed in webkit based browsers.
• Wipers [show me the code] • Wipers receiving life with canvas.
• 3D Lorenz Atractor [show me the code] • A simple canvas example showing a Lorenz atractor
• 3D Movement in HTML5 Canvas [show me the code] • Excelent example about vector postion and movement.
• 3D Space Craft • A Space Craft made and rotating with canvas.
• Wormz • Particles experiment.

Libraries

To draw using canvas

• Akihabara is HTML5 games library for making pixel based games using Javascript and the canvas tag.
• ChemDoodle is an open source chemistry and chem-informatics toolkit where canvas is being used to solve common chemistry related tasks, displaying the molecules in a variety of different ways.
• d3 (or D3.js) is a JavaScript library for visualizing data using web standards. D3 helps you bring data to life using SVG, Canvas and HTML.
• EaselJS is a JavaScript library that makes working with the HTML5 Canvas element easy. Useful for creating games, generative art, and other highly graphical experiences. EaselJS is part of CreateJS – a modular libraries and tools which work together or independently to enable rich interactive content on open web technologies via HTML5.
• fabric.js provides interactive object model on top of canvas element
  and also has SVG-to-canvas (and canvas-to-SVG) parser
• iio.js – A javascript library that speeds the creation and deployment of HTML5 Canvas applications
• Konva – Konva.js is an HTML5 Canvas JavaScript framework that extends the 2d context by enabling canvas interactivity for desktop and mobile applications.
• Origami.js – JS Lib to redesign canvas API interface
• p5.js – p5.js is a JS client-side library for creating graphic and interactive experiences
• Paper.js – Scriptographer ported to JavaScript and the browser, using HTML5 Canvas.
• Pencil.js – Nice modular Javascript library with clear OOP syntaxe and lots of features.
• Pixi.js – Super fast HTML 5 2D rendering engine that uses webGL with canvas fallback
• Processingjs is a data visualization programming language.
  • Overview
  • 91 basic demos
• Proton is a lightweight and powerful javascript particle engine. With it you can easily create countless cool effects
• Pts.js – Pts is a javascript library for visualization and creative-coding.
• Scrawl-canvas – easily add multiple responsive, accessible and interactive <canvas> elements to a web page
• Sketch – Cross-Platform JavaScript Creative Coding Framework
• Three.js is a javascript library that makes WebGL – 3D in the browser, however you can render using canvas instead of WebGL
  • Introduction
  • Some amazing examples
• Visualize is a JQuery plugin who creates charts and graphs from tabular data using the HTML canvas element.
• zDog – Flat, round, designer-friendly pseudo-3D engine for canvas & SVG
• zrender – A lightweight canvas library which providing 2d draw for Apache ECharts (incubating)

For other purposes, but still use canvas

• React Canvas – High performance rendering for React components.

Resources

Where to discover more about Canvas.

Talks

• Google I/O 2012 – GRITS: PvP Gaming with HTML, by Colton McAnlis
• Mobile HTML5 Graphics Performance, by Sam Abadir
• The Making of an HTML5 Platform Game, by David Geary
• High Performance Mobile Web Game Development in HTML5, by Sangmin Shim
• HTML5 Canvas Animation with Javascript, by Josh Robertson

Books

• HTML5 Canvas by Steve Fulton, Jeff Fulton – O’Reilly. Updated: 2nd Edition
• HTML5 Canvas For Dummies by Don Cowan
• Foundation HTML5 Canvas: For Games and Entertainment by Rob Hawkes
• HTML5 Canvas Cookbook – by Eric Rowell
• HTML Canvas Deep Dive – by Josh Marinacci

Twitter

• @jeresig – Creator of Processing.js
• @mrdoob – Creator of three.js
• @soulwire – Creator of sketch.js and actively creating and sharing canvas/WebGL experiments
• @spielzeugz – Actively creating and sharing canvas experiments
• @paul_irish – Active contributor and write a reference post about requestAnimationFrame
• @end3r – HTML5 game developer and EnclaveGames indie studio founder

Websites and Tutorials

• Mozilla Developer Network Canvas Tutorial – This tutorial describes how to use the element to draw 2D graphics, starting with the basics. The examples provided should give you some clear ideas what you can do with canvas and will provide code snippets that may get you started in building your own content.
• HTML5 Canvas Tutorials
• 31 days of canvas
• Dev.Opera: HTML5 Canvas — the Basics – This article takes you through the basics of implementing a 2D canvas context, and using the basic canvas functions, including lines, shape primitives, images, text, and more. You are assumed to have mastered JavaScript basics already.
• Breakout – a fantastic tutorial for any canvas programming wannabes, where he runs through the steps needed to create a Breakout clone. The tutorial consists of 12 very clear and concise steps, where you can view a demo of how your project should look so far.
• Canvas Demos – A good font to study canvas. You can find application, games, tools and tutorials for the canvas HTML5 element.
• Procedural Drawing in Canvas – a tutorial that explains more about how procedural drawing works so that others can also learn the skill and start producing their own patterns.
• The canvas element in the HTML5 draft standard
• Internet Explorer 9 Guide for Developers: HTML5 canvas element
• Accelerated Game Programming with HTML5 and canvas – this tutorial describes the structure of a typical game class in JavaScript, drawing to the canvas, double buffering, map/tile representation and player movement.
• Physics for Lazy Game Developers – Provides examples of velocity, acceleration, collisions, rotation and particle effects.
• Draw Particles using HTML5 Canvas – Shortcut tutorial shows how create simple and colorful particles.
• Create a game chracter with HTML5 and JavaScript – Part 1
• Create a game chracter with HTML5 and JavaScript – Part 2
• Khan Academy – Hour of Drawing with Code
• Making a Lunar Lander in JavaScript – A 5 lesson tutorial that explain how to make a Lunar Lander game in JavaScript.