Kanvas is an Instagram-style app that blends image editing with social network features. It borrows heavily from the Instagram user interface but adds some quirky features that give it an air of uniqueness.

Getting creative

The idea behind this app is to provide a blank "canvas" where you can harness your artistic side by creating drawings and GIFS, as well as editing existing images, then sharing them socially (of course). In a similar vein to other social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc), you can also like or comment on the images created by others, as well as follow friends and strangers whose content you admire.

If your creations are for your eyes only you can choose to make them "private" or if you want to send them to only one person you can use the "Chat" option, which is much like the Direct Message feature in Twitter.

Kanvas looks pretty similar to Instagram and has the same way of making advanced features seem really simple. It boasts a slick user interface that is easy on the eye while being intuitive and quick to pick up.

Getting into GIFs

The feature set is well thought out and aims to go beyond the basic crop, rotate, filter, and text options that seem to be the standard for many apps today. The most interesting feature in Kanvas is "burst". Here the the app takes a short "burst" of photos and turns them into an animated GIF.

Other neat features include the ability to record videos and then change the speed and add text, as well as drawing tools to help you create your own masterpiece, and the "Flipbook" option where you can select up to 150 photos (yep, that's a lot) and turn them into a montage of your memories.

Serious Instagram challenger

While Kanvas may not be as popular as Instagram, but its features are more interesting and unique than the photo sharing social network. With the addition of the aforementioned standard editing options (filters, crop, rotate) and some more users, Kanvas could become the photo sharing social network of choice.