{"id":25953593,"date":"2026-04-17T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/?p=25953593"},"modified":"2026-04-17T09:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:36:52","slug":"getting-started-in-collaborative-drawing-with-magma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/getting-started-in-collaborative-drawing-with-magma\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting started in collaborative drawing with Magma: How to create Art Jams and Shared Canvases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the most exciting and rewarding ways to engage with digital art is drawing collaboratively. Wacom is so excited to partner with Magma<\/a>, the best online service for collaborative art. We've even bundled a free three-month trial of Magma Blaze<\/a> with a bunch of Wacom drawing tablets: the One by Wacom, Wacom Intuos, Wacom One, Wacom Movink, and Wacom MovinkPads!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to get started with collaborative drawing in Magma, artist Sad_Banana_<\/a> has you covered. They wrote this comprehensive tutorial for getting started with two of the primary Magma use cases: Art Jams<\/strong> and Shared Canvases.<\/strong> This tutorial focuses on the Wacom MovinkPad 11<\/a> experience, but everything should be similar no matter what Wacom product you use to create your digital art! Note: the content of guest blog posts does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Wacom.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why should I give Magma a try?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve used Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, or even if you're brand new to digital art software, Magma<\/a> is a very approachable drawing application that has the added bonus of being able to draw with other artists and friends in real time! Together you can paint, draw and sketch with each other in a way that provides for a lot of fun interactions, or really cool collaborative projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Magma also incorporates tools that allow creative freedom, with extensive customization of brushes, a liquify tool, blending brush tool, and a few others. Magma has been my go-to drawing software for over two years, and it does an amazing job balancing simplicity and more advanced features. Magma responds beautifully with pressure sensitivity right out of the gate, making it a great application for Wacom users. If the pressure sensitivity is not to your liking, though, the software also provides options for adjusting pressure curves to accommodate your drawing style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no need to install an app to start drawing; Magma is browser-based! All you have to do is share a URL with other people to connect and draw together. Everything you create with Magma will be stored in your Artdesk by default, with options to export the canvas as a PNG, JPEG, PSD file, or separate layer images to be saved locally. Your canvases and Art Jams are associated with your account and you will have access to them. The Magma Blaze plan \u2013 a free trial of which is included with a bunch of Wacom purchases including Wacom MovinkPad 11 \u2013\u00a0also gives you more Artdesk storage space so you can keep creating. Blaze members also get an ad-free experience, can make custom brush presets, and can use a reference window to import reference photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to draw with others on Magma: Art Jams and Shared Canvases<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First things first, you'll need to create a Magma account<\/a>! If you haven't done that already, go ahead and do that, and then come back to this tutorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quick Tip #1: Add Magma to Home Screen on MovinkPad 11<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I'm using the Google Chrome browser that comes natively installed on the Wacom MovinkPad 11. You can claim more screen real estate by going to the hamburger button at the top right of the screen and selecting \u201cAdd to Home screen.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When launching Magma from this shortcut, it will hide the search bar and browser tabs to allow more drawing space!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Now we're all set to start considering what canvas type we\u2019ll make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two approaches to start drawing with friends or other artists on magma: Art jams<\/strong> and Shared Canvases<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, Decide: Should I do an Art Jam or a Shared Canvas?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You will need to decide if you want to host an Art Jam<\/strong> or a Shared Canvas<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art Jams <\/strong>are site-hosted, public canvases that, by default, let any<\/em> Magma user join. Art Jams<\/strong> are listed in the Art Jams tab, with the most active or popular ones listed first. It's a great opportunity to meet new artists and see unique art styles and take on the same subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shared Canvases<\/strong> are more controlled, because they are not public \u2013\u00a0you need to share the canvas link or invite users to them directly. Shared Canvases are also located in your Artdesk and will use your Artdesk storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get started, Magma will load you into the homepage when you are logged in. Here you will see featured artworks, a few live Art Jams hosted by other users, and some options to go to your art desk or to create a new canvas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How to set up an Art Jam on Magma<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Art Jams<\/strong> are a great way to meet new artists to draw with if you don't have anyone to join you! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Start New Art Jam<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To set one up, you\u2019ll need to go to the Art Jams<\/strong> tab. Here, you will see a bigger grid layout of the current Art Jams available, but to create your own, you tap on the big blue button that says \u201cStart New Art Jam.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Once you do that, you\u2019ll see a set up dialogue box to input information about your Art Jam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this example, I will be hosting my own Art Jam<\/strong> featuring some reference photos I\u2019ve taken with the Wacom MovinkPad 11. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Art Jam Title, Description, and Tags<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You will create a Title<\/strong> for your Jam, and there is a section for you to write a Description<\/strong> for it as well. I typically use this section to write out any guidelines on how to participate in the Art Jam in this section. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tags<\/strong> section provides another way for the Art Jams to be organized, so you can add some tags here to help people find your Jam. If we go back to the Art Jams page, you can see the tags listed above the list of Jams and thumbnails. You can click on the tags to list all the jams in that specific category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Step 3: Setting Art Jam rules<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I recommend enabling the \u201cAdd rules that all participants must accept\u201d option<\/strong>. This will pop up an extra dialogue box when users try to join the Art Jam, and they will have to agree to the rules before they formally join the Art Jam canvas. Magma is a well-moderated platform, but there will always be some stinkers in the bunch that will try to ruin fun for others, so it\u2019s always a good idea to set some ground rules on what behaviors are not tolerated in your art jams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I encourage participants to review the guidelines and sitewide rules<\/a>. These are also expected to be followed with any Art Jam or canvas you host or are a part of. If there is anything you find suspicious, I would encourage you to report it to the Magma team!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Quick Tip #2: Description Box markdown<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another quick tip: <\/strong>the Art Jam description box and rules box supports markdown<\/a> syntax<\/strong>! If you're interested, you can follow the Magma Team\u2019s guide here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once everything looks good to you, you can now publish your Art Jam! You will be taken to your Art Jam canvas after you hit the Publish button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you need some time to set everything up before going \u201clive\u201d and listing your jam on the Art Jam page, you can unlist the art jam<\/strong> by clicking on the canvas name found at the top middle of the screen, clicking Edit, then changing the visibility to \"Hidden.\" You can also re-list your art jam by going through the same process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Quick Tip #3: Reference photos<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If there are some photos you took, or a cool reference you found online, you can go to the Pen<\/strong> icon and then \u201cpaste file.\" This will add the imported photo into its own separate layer that you can move, transform, and\/or distort if you need with the Move tool. Since I took my own study reference photos with my MovinkPad 11, I will be importing them from my photo gallery from the device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Step 4: Art Jam Admin Options and Roles<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before you start drawing, I will also recommend you look at the Admin Options<\/strong>. These will be accessed via the \u201cKey\u201d<\/strong> icon in the top left menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, you can change permissions of the three different roles a user can have in Magma canvases. Since you are the creator of the Art Jam, you will be in the \u201cAdmin\u201d role<\/strong> by default. You will have to manually select which users you would like to move to the \u201cApproved\u201d role<\/strong> once they join the Art Jam canvas. All other users are automatically assigned to the \u201cAll\u201d role<\/strong> when they join the Art Jam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To assign roles, find the Active Users<\/strong> section that is in the top right of the screen. It\u2019s to the left of the blue Share<\/strong> button. Once you click on the thumbnail of the profile pictures of active users on the canvas, it will pop out more information on current users, and users who previously joined but are currently offline in the canvas. If you click on the vertical three dots that are found to the right of the user's name, it will open another menu that lets you change which role they currently have along with a few other options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would recommend giving the \u201cApproved\u201d<\/strong> users permission to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n