Canva and HeyGen just launched their own AI models. What creators get for free
· 2 min read · Drafted with AI help, reviewed by Kepler Oates
Two of the most popular creator tools now have their own AI models instead of renting someone else's. Canva released Canva Craft, its first image generator, and HeyGen launched HeyGen Video, a model that makes short clips complete with dialogue and sound. If you make social posts, thumbnails, ads or client work, here's what changed.
Canva Craft: images built for designs, not photos
Trained on designs. Canva trained Craft on its own human-designed templates (posters, social posts, presentations, menus and typography-heavy layouts) rather than on photographs, TechCrunch reports. The aim is images with accurate details and text you can actually read, a long-standing weak spot for AI images.
Plans first, then draws. Craft first works out layout, scale, hierarchy and text from your prompt, then generates an image up to 2K resolution in any of 30 aspect ratios.
Editable. You can make precise edits without changing the rest of the image, and convert a result into a layered, editable design with Canva's image-to-design tool.
Where to find it. It's available to all Canva users in the Dream Lab tab and through the Canva API. Canva says cheaper, faster versions are coming and that it plans to bring it to ChatGPT and Gemini, with no timeline. TechCrunch didn't say which features are free or paid.
HeyGen Video: a whole scene in one pass
Picture, dialogue and sound together. HeyGen says its model generates "the picture, dialogue and sound effects of a scene" in a single pass, from text, an image or a reference.
Short clips. Scenes run 5 to 15 seconds, from 480p up to 2K, in 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1, with styles including live action, anime and claymation.
Free to try. A free account gets 2 clips a day in the playground (5-second clips). Longer clips, your own images and 2K are in the HeyGen app, which is free to start. The API launched at $0.01 per second.
The claim. HeyGen says the model ranks first on Artificial Analysis' text-to-video leaderboard. Rankings move fast, so treat that as a snapshot.
InteractiveCanva Craft vs HeyGen VideoPick a tool to compare.
Canva Craft: Image model for designs. Makes: Images up to 2K, 30 aspect ratios. Strength: Legible text, layouts, editable layers. Where: Canva Dream Lab tab and Canva API. Free?: Available to all Canva users; paid limits not reported.
HeyGen Video: Video model with sound. Makes: 5 to 15 second clips, 480p to 2K. Strength: Dialogue and sound effects in one pass. Where: HeyGen playground, app and API. Free?: 2 clips a day in the playground; app free to start.
Visuals got cheaper. A poster with readable text or a short video ad used to mean hiring someone or wrestling with prompts. Now you can draft both in minutes.
Use it for drafts, then add your taste. AI gets you a first version. Your edits, brand and judgment are what clients pay for.
Price the value, not the minutes. If AI cuts a job from three hours to one, don't cut your price by two-thirds. Use the free freelance rate calculator below to set a rate that covers your time, tools and taxes.
Check the rules before selling. Read each tool's terms on commercial use, and don't generate real people's faces or voices, or other brands' logos, without permission.
Not financial advice. This summarizes public reporting for information only. It is not investment, tax or legal advice. Do your own research or talk to a licensed professional.
