PlugWiki

canvas-design (Anthropic): a Claude skill for posters and static art

Anthropic's canvas-design skill has Claude write a short design philosophy, then turn it into a poster or art piece as a PNG or PDF.

Installs
125.6K
on skills.sh
Stars
186.4K
on GitHub
Files
60+
besides SKILL.md
Updated
Oct 2026
last repo commit

canvas-design is Anthropic's skill for static visual art. It works in two steps: Claude writes a design philosophy (an art-movement style manifesto of 4 to 6 paragraphs, saved as a .md file), then expresses it as a single-page .pdf or .png that is mostly visual and uses very little text.

It loads when you ask for a poster, a piece of art or another static design. Your topic becomes a subtle reference inside the art, not a literal illustration. The skill bundles a canvas-fonts folder of TrueType fonts with their license files.

Good for

  • Anyone who wants a poster or art piece from a short brief
  • Designers exploring visual directions before building by hand
  • Teams who need a print-style cover or event graphic

Install canvas-design

Claude Code

  1. 1

    Copy this prompt.

    Install the canvas-design skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills --skill canvas-design

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.
  2. 2

    Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

From its listing on skills.sh. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Create beautiful visual art in .png and .pdf documents using design philosophy. You should use this skill when the user asks to create a poster, piece of art, design, or other static piece. Create original visual designs, never copying existing artists' work to avoid copyright violations.

Sections in SKILL.md

  1. DESIGN PHILOSOPHY CREATION
  2. THE CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING
  3. HOW TO GENERATE A VISUAL PHILOSOPHY
  4. PHILOSOPHY EXAMPLES
  5. ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES
  6. DEDUCING THE SUBTLE REFERENCE
  7. CANVAS CREATION
  8. FINAL STEP
  9. MULTI-PAGE OPTION

Key facts

Author
Anthropic
Repo
anthropics/skills
Skill folder
skills/canvas-design
skills.sh installs
125,552
Repo stars
186,362
License
Terms in LICENSE.txt in the skill folder (SKILL.md does not name a license)
Last repo commit
2026-10-28
Bundled files
82 files besides SKILL.md
skills.sh audits
Gen Agent Trust Hub: pass; Socket: pass; Snyk: pass

What it includes

  • Name a movement, write 4 to 6 paragraphs, save as .md

    Covers space and form, color and material, scale and rhythm, composition and balance, and visual hierarchy. Examples in the skill include Concrete Poetry and Geometric Silence.

    Write · Step 1: Design philosophy

  • Work your topic into the art as a quiet conceptual thread

    Deduce the subtle reference

  • One page, highly visual, as .pdf or .png

    Minimal text, perfect shapes and repeating patterns. Fonts come from the bundled canvas-fonts folder, or are downloaded if needed.

    Write · Step 2: Canvas creation

  • Make the existing composition crisper instead of adding graphics

    Final step: refine

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

The skill writes image and document files and can download fonts, so it touches your files and the network lightly. Run it in a scratch folder and check what it saved.

What it can do

  • Read your data
  • Create and change things
  • Delete things
  • Read-only mode

Watch out for

  • It can download fonts

    SKILL.md tells Claude to download whatever fonts it needs. Fonts also ship in the skill folder, so you can ask it to stick to those.

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.

Technical details
Turning on read-onlyNo read-only mode. The skill exists to create files.
Talks toFont downloads, when the bundled fonts are not enough
Sign-in and keysNo account or key is named in SKILL.md.
Scopes

  • Writes .md, .pdf and .png files

  • May download fonts it needs

Questions

What does canvas-design make?

A single-page poster or piece of art as a .pdf or .png, plus the design philosophy it used as a .md file. SKILL.md says it outputs only .md, .pdf and .png files.

How do I install canvas-design in Claude Code, Claude or Codex?

Use the install box at the top of the page and pick Claude Code, Claude or Codex. Claude Code and Codex read skills from a folder on your machine. In the Claude app you upload the skill folder as a zip.

Does it need an API key?

No key is named in SKILL.md. It tells Claude to output .md, .pdf and .png files, so Claude needs a way to create files.

Will it copy an existing artist?

No. The description says it creates original designs and does not copy existing artists' work, to avoid copyright problems.

Can I get several pages?

By default it makes one page. SKILL.md allows more pages when you ask for them.

Is it safe to use?

It writes .md, .pdf and .png files and may download fonts. Check where it saves files. The skill folder bundles no scripts, only fonts and a license file.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository
anthropics/skills
Folder
skills/canvas-design

anthropics/skillsskills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 2
  1. canvas-design SKILL.md · github.com
  2. canvas-design on skills.sh · skills.sh

Updated Nov 2, 2026.