Using PicMonkey & Canva Together to Make Amazing Graphics » Create Your Laptop Life® (2024)

If you’re looking for an easy and {mostly} free way to make graphics and edit photos, Canva and PicMonkey are the two websites you need to bookmark right now. They are both fantastic for all sorts of online and paper projects, not to mention web design elements. Today, I’m going to go through some of the similarities and differences, plus ways you can use them in tandem to create great graphics for your blog!

Cost

Before we get into the practical tips, the cost to use these websites = FREE. However, PicMonkey has a $5.00 a month royal subscription, which is worth every penny. Canva does not require a subscription but comes built in with thousands of graphics – all $1.00 each! If you’re a newbie or young blogger, stay away from the premium stock photography sites that will charge between $15-20 an image. Canva has an ever-growing library. Likewise, if you can’t stomach the cost for Photoshop, PicMonkey will do many of the same things with the royal subscription. Everything below assumes you’ll invest in the royal subscription.

Also – other resources on Fabulous Blogging {my otherblog} that have to do with Canva and PicMonkey

• Using Canva to Make a Header
• 10 PicMonkey Design Tips
• Canva and PicMonkey on My Pinterest Account

What do you want to do?

PicMonkey and Canva can do MANY of the same things, but there are some strengths of each program that make it so I can’t live without either of them. Below are some common tasks bloggers might want to attempt, and you can quickly see at a glance what program might be better.

Using them together

This is where the magic happens. As you get to know each program, you can use them in tandem to get virtually anything done! Below are some of the ways I do this….

Create round transparent buttons

There are two ways to do this. If you need a graphic:

1. Start in Canva. Choose the custom dimension option for 600 x 600.
2. Use the built-in free shapes to create a button. Or upload a photo into a grid.
3. Save the image.
4. Open it in PicMonkey.
5. Crop out as much white space as you can.
6. Go to Frames and Rounded Corners.
7. Choose the transparent option and slide the slider all the way to the right.There will be a slight white frame.
8. You could also use the Shape Cut-outs option.

If you already have the graphic:

1. Start in PicMonkey. Choose the Edit or Design option.
2. Modify the image as you see fit.
3. Go to Frames and Rounded Corners.
4. Choose the transparent option and slide the slider all the way to the right.

Making social media cover photos

1. Start in Canva. Choose the template you need.
2. Add a background or any custom elements you want to add.
3. If you’d like to add photos, you can do so.
4. Download the image.
5. Open it in PicMonkey.
6. With the royal subscription, you can use any custom loaded font in your font library to add text overlay.
7. Use the effects or textures feature to add depth to your design {like custom fonts, water textures, and lens flares}.
8. Use the brush up blemish fix tool to fix photos.
9. Save.

Quickly make social media graphics

1. Start in Canva. Choose the custom design option and set the parameters to 1000 x 1000.
2. Make your graphic.
3. Download it.
4. Resize your elements so it fits only on the bottom third of the page.
5. Download it.
6. Reorganize your elements again into a square.
7. Download it.
8. Pull each image into PicMonkey and crop accordingly.
9. Now you have a Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest ready graphic.

Create crazy collages

1. Start in PicMonkey.
2. Choose the Collage option.
3. Choose a style (like Pinterest) and add your photos.
4. Create a transparent background.
5. Save the image.
6. Then recreate as many as you wish.
7. Open up Canva.
8. Choose custom dimension 1000×1000.
9. Choose a grid layout.
10. Upload your collage photos from PicMonkey.
11. Drop them into the grid.

When you’re done, you’ll have a crazy photo like this one below…

Ready to make it even more crazy?

1. Bring that photo back into PicMonkey.
2. Choose Edit and use that photo.
3. Create a frame around it with a caption or use the shape cutouts.

Creating custom text with your fonts {for watermarks or graphics}

1. Start in PicMonkey.
2. Choose the Design option.
3. Set the transparency in the canvas color.
4. Use your custom font to create your heading or text.
5. Crop it as best you can.
6. Save it.
7. Open Canva.
8. Choose your template.
9. Create your graphic and upload your text.
10. Overlay it onto your graphic.

As you can see, there are a million ways to use these photo editors together to complete virtually any basic graphic task you need. In general, pull photos into PicMonkey first for editing, then upload them to Canva for grids and graphics. The same goes for any custom font text you want to use. Start in PicMonkey, then move to Canva.

On the other hand, if you need stock photography or graphic design elements, start in Canva first.

Finally, don’t be afraid to toggle back and forth. Each time you add something new to the image, you can bring back into one program or the other to add another layer of design if you wish.