Canvas’ origins date back to 1987. The original idea for Canvas came from Jorge Miranda, one of the founders of Deneba Systems Inc. of Miami Florida, for Apple’s Macintosh computers, part of the wave of programs that made the desktop publishingrevolution.The first version was unique in many ways; not least because it was released as both an application and a desk accessory. In the latter form, it could be used while another program, e.g. PageMaker, was running simultaneously; very handy in that time of single program operation.

Canvas provides tools for creating and editing vector and raster graphics. It is used for illustration, page layout, animation, presentations, and publications in printed and World Wide Web formats.From its inception, Canvas differed from other graphics applications because it combined tools and file formats for both vector (line art) graphics, and raster (photographic and other pixel-based) images, along with word-processing and page-layout features such as multiple page documents and master pages.  The user works in a window which is the familiar “page on a pasteboard” analog used by many DTP and vector graphics programs, but in that window, which might be a single illustration page or one page of a multi-page magazine, book, web site, animation or presentation, the user can create or edit and layout text, vector graphics and raster images. Canvas also emphasized technical drawing in addition to artistic illustration features.

While Canvas started out as a prosumer program in the general graphics/DTP market, and continues to be the first (even only) tool of many professionals in such fields as graphics design, advertising, marketing, and DTP, it is less known in the consumer/prosumer market today than programs marketed by larger companies, such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and CorelDRAW.  It has been better known in academic and commercial enterprises.

A Canvas component represents a blank rectangular area of the screen onto which the application can draw or from which the application can trap input events from the user. An application must subclass the Canvas class in order to get useful functionality such as creating a custom component. The paint method must be overridden in order to perform custom graphics on the canvas.

An essential part of programming in Java requires you build exciting new user interfaces for yourselves. Components that come built into the Java framework are regular UI elements, however for a more rich experience, you need controls of your own. Take, for instance, a charting application. No charting tool comes built into a Java API. You need to manually draw the chart yourself.

Graphic design is the presentation of ideas and information to your audience in a clear, visually engaging manner. Graphic design lets you make a great first impression. Consumers tend to gravitate to better-designed products. It provides a quality anchor in their mind. Good design gives you instant credibility, inspires confidence and trustworthiness, and clearly communicates its point to your audience