Ask HN: Canvas Drawing Library

16 points by maresca 10 years ago | 12 comments

I'm currently testing out Canvas JS libraries. I'd like to build a simple paint type of web app using Canvas and JS. I'd like to be able to create layers, draw, erase, etc. I tested out PaperJS, but it seems PaperJS is more geared towards SVG and fails at erasing. What popular Canvas JS libraries is everyone using nowadays?

doublerebel 10 years ago |

I prefer PixiJS (http://www.pixijs.com), it comes with a ton of primitives and renders efficiently even on mobile. I've created layered drag-and-drop webapps with Pixi, draw & erase would not be much different.

angersock 10 years ago |

If you're building something simple, why not just use the HTML5 Canvas API?

There's no reason to overcomplicate things, and it'll give you fine control over how things work and what you expect it to do. Layers and whatnot are pretty simple to implement a rough cut of, so why make things complicated?

maresca 10 years ago | |

Going with the native Canvas API is where I'm heading. I've used RaphaelJS in the past. This week I've tested out PaperJS and FabricJS. I'm trying to save some time and code manageability with a framework.

mindcrash 10 years ago | | |

If you loved RaphaelJS you'll probably like Snap.svg [1] aswell. It's originally authored by Dmitry Baranovskiy (Raphael's author) and sponsored by Adobe.

[1] http://snapsvg.io/

lochlan 10 years ago |

I am a big fan of pixi.js (http://www.pixijs.com). I haven't explored its "erasing" capabilities, but it is a great library for performant 2d graphics programming in the browser.

fgtx 10 years ago |

In simple cases like you described, you can always create your own. I've done something sorta like that in here: https://github.com/felipegtx/Raska

skuunk1 10 years ago |

If you have an ActionScript background, I highly recommend Easel JS.

http://www.createjs.com/easeljs

jvanveen 10 years ago |

i really liked to use fabric.js(http://fabricjs.com) for a small collaborative drawing tool(https://github.com/wearespindle/dotd). It runs both on node.js and in the browser, has pretty awesome serialization options and has all batteries included in general.

Aaronneyer 10 years ago |

Check out LiterallyCanvas: http://literallycanvas.com/

maresca 10 years ago | |

Excellent example, thanks! Looks like that has a dependency on React. I'm currently trying out Angular but I'll give this a shot too.

irenkai 10 years ago |

I've allways been a fan of kineticJS (now Konva). Seems the most extensible and can handle a lot of objects.

gandydancer 10 years ago |

How about http://fabricjs.com