Author | Lightnews

𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 2h

That's flippin cool!!!

Open Culture @openculture.bsky.social · 4h

A 900-Page Pre-Pantone Guide to Color from 1692: A Complete High-Resolution Digital Scan

There’s ahead of its time, then there’s Traité des couleurs servant à la peinture à l’eau -- or, in its original Dutch title, Klaer Lightende Spiegel der Verfkonst, a 900-page book of paint colors mad...

www.openculture.com

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 11h

Wow gouache is crazy! It's difficult to scan AND to photograph!
(Kinda makes it special in an infuriating way 😝)
I'm colorblind so I already have enough on my color plate lol ugh
If anyone has any ideas how to photograph or scan gouache I'm all ears 🌽

My painting scanned by a Canon printer/scanner... It's impossible to adjust this with any app, As far as I know. 💔

A photograph of the same painting, but I had to reduce the exposure and make it darker in order for some of the colors to come out. 🙄

The photograph adjusted so that it looks somewhat like the real thing.
The top row features:
1 an underwater scene with a red octopus swimming near the surface
2 a tropical scene at sunset as viewed from the water
3 a black crowned night heron mid-flight
The bottom row shows:
4 a rainforest canopy, clouds looming and a clear sky behind
5 a beautiful orange flower amongst leaves which fade into the darkness, but there is a visitor inside the flower itself
6 a tropical island scene as viewed from the ocean towards a beach and a jungle thicket

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 11h

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 11h

Precisely. I feel deceived and tricked... I don't trust any company, corporation, whatever ... This is just more proof that no one should. 🤷🏻‍♂️

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 11h

From what I understand, the AI is for "advanced features" that are only for paying premium subs. Regardless they can change their mind at any point and if you're trapped in canva you have no real say.
I'm not into it
bsky.app/profile/chic...

𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

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Artists who use affinity: you might have seen the announcement a moment ago. If you're skeptical about it being "free" and what the catch is, here are my thoughts (it's long but might give some insight):

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 4d

Accurate 🐇

Celeste Headlee @celesteheadlee.bsky.social · 4d

Resentful rabbit

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 4d

Agreed!!! 🥰😍

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 4d

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 4d

Happy Halloween! 👻 🎃 A little Orb Weaver was hanging out outside for arachtober! 🕷️

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

17/
* Maybe the promise holds, but the free version becomes so limited relative to the paid tier that it's unusable for professionals, and we're back to the same ol.

I'm not going to give anything to canva, so for me it stops right here... it was nice while it lasted. 💔

𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

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* What's to stop Canva from changing its mind in 3-5 years once Adobe's user base has eroded and users are locked into the Affinity workflow? They could introduce "Affinity Pro" (a new subscription) or move the entire app into the Canva Pro bundle.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

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4. The "Bait and Switch":
The "free forever" promise is, at the end of the day, just marketing.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

14/
* While their privacy policy might protect your content, your metadata and usage habits are almost certainly being collected, which is a new cost that didn't exist with the old one-time purchase.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

13/
3. Data and Privacy
To use the new free app, you need a Canva account. 🙄
* You are no longer the customer; you are the product. Your user data, how you work, and what you create can be analyzed to improve Canva's platform and potentially train its AI models for those who opt in.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

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* We could see a slow "boiling the frog" scenario where the free app becomes less and less useful as all cutting-edge technology moves to the paid plan.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

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* A feature that would have been a standard part of Affinity 3 (like a new selection tool or a typography engine) could now be rebranded as "AI-powered" to justify putting it in the premium tier.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

10/
2. The Definition of "Core" vs. "Premium"
"Free forever" only applies to what they currently offer. This gives Canva complete control to define what is a "core" feature (free) versus a "premium" feature (paid).

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

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* The free app may only receive basic bug fixes and OS compatibility updates, while all real innovation becomes exclusive to Canva subscribers.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

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* Why would Canva invest significant developer resources into updating the free parts of the app? It's more likely that all exciting new development (new tools, major performance boosts, etc.) will be classified as "AI features" and put behind the paywall.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

7/
1. "Abandonware" Risk
The core, non-AI parts of the app might be "free forever" but also "feature-frozen forever."

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

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* The Ecosystem Lock-in: The goal is to bridge the gap between Affinity (for high-end "craft") and Canva (for easy "scale"). The paid AI tools will likely integrate both platforms, making it more convenient to stay within the Canva/Affinity ecosystem than to use separate tools.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

5/
* The "Premium" Upsell: Canva is betting that once you're using the free Affinity app, you'll eventually want the powerful, time-saving AI features. To get them, you'll need to subscribe to Canva Pro. This is how they'll make money from Affinity users.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

4/
This is a classic "freemium" or "core-free" strategy.
* The "Free" App as a Funnel: By making the core professional-grade suite free, Canva gets millions of new users (students, hobbyists, frustrated Adobe users) into its ecosystem. This massively expands their user base at Adobe's expense.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

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The "catch" is already clear: The core, all-in-one Affinity application (combining Photo, Designer, and Publisher) is free. However, new and advanced AI features will be locked behind a paid Canva Premium subscription.

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𓏟 Seb 𓃣 @chicagoseb.bsky.social · 5d

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I was expecting this, no surprise.
This announcement is a massive shift, and "free forever" rarely means "no strings attached."

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