DOCS
OPEN EDITOR

Welcome to stencil.cloud

The fast, opinionated design tool for flyers, posters, and social media graphics. No signup required. No Figma degree needed. Just open it and make something.

What Is This?

stencil.cloud is a browser-based design tool for temporary, promotional, time-bound material. Flyers for your show on Saturday. A garage sale poster. An Instagram story for your fundraiser. A hiring banner. The kind of thing you need to look good, fast, and then never think about again.

Think Canva's event flyer vertical, but opinionated, fast, and focused. We're not a general-purpose design tool. We don't do business cards. We don't do brand identity. We do the thing you need to slap on a telephone pole or a feed and forget about.

Who Is This For?

EVENT PROMOTERS

Music, art, community events. If you're putting on a show, we've got you.

SMALL BUSINESSES

Sales, announcements, grand openings. Make it look good without hiring a designer.

COMMUNITY ORGS

Churches, schools, nonprofits. Fundraisers, volunteer drives, bake sales. Yes, bake sales.

BANDS & DJS

Show flyers that don't look like they were made in Microsoft Word. (No shade. Okay, some shade.)

GARAGE SALES

Estate sales, yard sales. Give your curb appeal some curb appeal.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS

Block parties, town halls, meetups. Rally the people in style.

The Core Promise

You should be able to go from "I need a flyer" to "here's my flyer" in under five minutes. No account. No credit card. No 47-step onboarding flow. Open the editor, pick a template, change the text, tweak the colors, export. Done.

The editor runs entirely in your browser. Your designs don't leave your machine unless you explicitly share or publish them. We're not harvesting your data. We're not training models on your garage sale flyer.

TIP If you're new here, head to Getting Started for a 2-minute walkthrough. If you're the type who learns by pressing buttons, just open the editor and start clicking. We won't judge.

Getting Started

Zero to flyer in five steps. No account needed.

The Speed Run

  1. Open the editor — Go to stencil.cloud. That's it. You're in.
  2. Pick a template — In the sidebar under Layout > Template, choose from 22 templates — event flyers, garage sales, hiring posts, grand openings, fundraisers, rave posters, and more. Click it. Your canvas updates instantly.
  3. Edit your text — Click any text on the canvas. Type your event name, date, venue, whatever. The sidebar's Selected Object panel gives you font, size, style, alignment, and color controls.
  4. Pick a vibe — Under Layout > Color Scheme, scroll through 42 color schemes until you find one that doesn't make your eyes bleed. (They're all good. We're biased.)
  5. Export — Hit the EXPORT PNG button in the header. A full-resolution PNG downloads to your machine. Post it, print it, tape it to a telephone pole. You're done.

Want More?

That's the basics, but there's a lot more under the hood. The sidebar has collapsible sections for line art patterns, film grain, blend layers, mangle effects, QR codes, and a wordmark system. Every section of these docs walks through one of those features in detail.

ABOUT THAT WATERMARK Free exports include a small "made with stencil.cloud" watermark in the bottom-right corner. It's semi-transparent and color-matched to your design — not some garish banner. It's there when you use premium features (line art, grain, mangle, or a wordmark). Want it gone? The Designer Kit starts at $5/month. Less than a latte. Significantly more useful than a latte.

The Interface

A quick tour of where everything lives.

Three Zones

The editor is split into three areas. Simple. No mystery menus, no hidden panels, no "where the hell did that button go?"

1. The Header Bar

Across the top. Contains the logo, your action buttons, and account controls.

  • EXPORT PNG — Exports the current canvas at full resolution. One click. Done.
  • EXPORT PDF — Exports a real PDF file (not a print dialog) with the design embedded as a full-page image. Pro feature.
  • BATCH EXPORT — Opens a modal with checkboxes for each output size. Pick the ones you need, hit export as a ZIP. Pro feature.
  • SHARE — Opens the share panel with 10 platforms: X, Bluesky, Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn, Threads, Instagram, TikTok, Email, and Copy Link.
  • AI DESIGNER — Opens the AI prompt panel (Ultra). Describe your event, get a design.
  • PUSH — Publishes your design to your subdomain page (Ultra).
  • SCHEDULER — Queue designs for future publish dates (Ultra).
  • DOCS — You're reading it.
  • SIGN IN — Opens the auth modal. Google OAuth or email/password.

2. The Sidebar (Left)

This is where all the controls live. Every section is collapsible — click the section title to expand/collapse. The sidebar is organized top-to-bottom by frequency of use:

  • Selected Object — Properties of whatever you clicked on the canvas (text, fonts, color, effects)
  • Layout — Template picker, output size, color scheme, editor mode, presets
  • Wordmark — Logo upload or text branding
  • Algorithmic FX — Line Art (x2), Film Grain, Mangle
  • Blend Layers — Colored overlays with blend modes
  • Event Date — Date picker for scheduling
  • QR Code — URL-to-QR generator with style options
  • Hidden Objects — Restore any objects you've hidden
  • Snap to Grid — Toggle grid snapping for precise placement

3. The Canvas (Center)

The live preview of your design. This is a fully interactive canvas — click objects to select them, drag to move, pull handles to resize, and double-click text to edit inline. What you see is what you get. The canvas always shows a scaled preview at the correct aspect ratio for your chosen output size.

4. The Context Menu (Right-Click)

Right-click anywhere on the canvas (or long-press on mobile) to open the context menu. This gives you quick access to object and document-level actions without hunting through the sidebar:

  • Lock / Unlock — Freeze an object in place so you don't accidentally drag it
  • Hide — Remove an object from view (restore from Hidden Objects)
  • Duplicate — Clone the selected object
  • Pull Forward / Push Backward — Adjust z-order one step at a time
  • Bring to Front / Send to Back — Jump to the top or bottom of the stack
  • Delete — Remove user-created objects (template objects can only be hidden)
  • Undo / Redo — Same as keyboard shortcuts, but clickable
  • Add Text Object — Drop a new custom text box onto the canvas
  • Add Blend Layer — Create a new blend layer right from the menu
TIP On mobile, the sidebar is replaced by a 5-tab bottom bar — Design, Layout, Text, FX, and More. Each tab opens a bottom sheet with the relevant controls. Long-press on the canvas for the context menu. See the Mobile page for details.

The Action Log

See that little LOG button floating on the canvas? Click it to open the action log — a timestamped feed of everything you've done this session. Useful for tracking what changed when you accidentally undo one too many times.

Templates

Pre-built starting points. Choose one, then make it yours.

How Templates Work

Templates are just pre-arranged collections of text objects with sensible defaults — an event title, date, venue, description, footer. Each one ships with placeholder text that actually reads like a real event (because nobody designs in "Lorem Ipsum" mode). Pick a template, replace the text, and you're flying.

Templates are not rigid. You can move, resize, restyle, hide, or delete any object. Think of them as starting points, not straightjackets.

Available Templates (22)

Event Templates

GENERIC EVENT

The general-purpose workhorse. Title, date, venue, details, lineup, info. Works for concerts, shows, parties, whatever.

HEADLINE CENTER

Big, bold, centered. The title dominates. Everything else gets out of the way. For when your event name IS the design.

BOTTOM HEAVY

Pushes all the info to the lower third. Leaves the top for line art and vibes. Great for posters with heavy visual backgrounds.

SPLIT STACK

Two-column split with stacked info blocks. Modern, structured, corporate-friendly without being boring.

RAVE POSTER

Chaotic energy. Rotated text, aggressive sizing, designed to look like it was stapled to a wall in a dark alley at 3am.

MINIMAL TYPE

Clean, restrained typography. Lots of breathing room. For when you want the design to whisper instead of scream.

BLOCK PARTY

Chunky, geometric layout. Bold blocks of text. Feels like a community event flyer that actually makes you want to show up.

UNDERGROUND

Gritty, lo-fi aesthetic. Tight spacing, monospaced vibes. For DIY shows, punk gigs, and art happenings.

FESTIVAL LINEUP

Multi-artist lineup format. Headliners at the top, descending by size. If you've got 8 acts and need them all on one flyer, this is it.

ALBUM RELEASE

Music release announcement. Artist name, album title, release date, streaming links. Works for singles, EPs, and full albums.

NEON NIGHTS

Glowing, electric typography. Designed for nightlife — club nights, DJ sets, late-night events that happen after midnight.

BRUTALIST

Raw, aggressive, architectural. Oversized type, harsh alignment. For gallery openings, experimental shows, and people who use the word "praxis."

GALLERY OPENING

Elegant, spacious, art-world appropriate. Clean serif vibes. The kind of flyer where you can practically smell the wine and cheese.

MEGA TYPE

Massive, oversized typography that fills the canvas. The title IS the design. For when subtlety is not on the agenda.

IMPACT STACK

Vertically stacked blocks with high contrast between sections. Bold dividers. Punchy. Reads like a fight card.

FULL BLEED

Right-aligned, aggressive typography that bleeds to the edge. Maximum drama, maximum white space on the opposite side.

CROP & BLEED

Cropped title that extends past the canvas edge. Fixed positioning for dramatic cut-off effect. Not for the faint of heart.

BLOCK TYPE

Type-focused layout with heavy block lettering. Minimal ornamentation — the words do all the work.

Business Templates

NOW HIRING

Job posting layout with position, company, qualifications, perks, and how-to-apply. Works for any "we need humans" situation.

GRAND OPENING

New business announcement. Celebratory layout with highlights, opening day offers, and social links. For stores, restaurants, and studios.

Community Templates

GARAGE SALE

Optimized for sales with address, date range, directions, and a "what's for sale" section. Perfect for yard sales, estate sales, moving sales.

FUNDRAISER

Charity event, donation drive, or community fundraiser. Activities, goal amount, ticket tiers, and donate link. Warm and inviting.

TIP Switching templates resets the canvas objects but not your color scheme, line art, or effects. So if you've dialed in a vibe you like, feel free to try different templates without losing your FX stack.

What's in a Template?

Each template defines a set of text objects, each with a role: title, date, venue, detail, body, lineup, info, footer. The layout engine uses these roles to calculate font sizes and spacing automatically — so a title is always big, a footer is always small, and nothing overlaps.

Some template objects start hidden (like extra lineup slots). You can reveal them from the Hidden Objects section in the sidebar.

Editor Modes

Two ways to position your content. Pick the one that fits your workflow.

Template Mode (Default)

The layout engine handles positioning. Objects are arranged automatically based on their role (title, date, venue, etc.) using a flow-based layout that adapts to any output size. Switch from Letter to Story to Bandcamp, and everything reflows cleanly.

This is the "I just want it to look right" mode. The layout engine calculates font sizes, spacing, and grouping so nothing overlaps, even on wildly different aspect ratios.

Advanced Mode

Free placement. You drag objects wherever you want, and stencil.cloud remembers the position per output size. This means you can fine-tune your Letter layout, switch to Story, fine-tune that separately, and both are preserved.

When you switch to Advanced Mode for a size that doesn't have saved positions yet, it starts from wherever Template Mode left things. From there, it's all you.

HOW POSITIONS WORK Positions are stored as proportional coordinates (0–1) relative to the canvas. This means if you switch from Letter to Tabloid, Advanced Mode does its best to proportionally remap your layout even if you haven't manually adjusted the new size yet.

Reset Layout

Both modes have a RESET LAYOUT button. It clears your saved positions for the current size and re-runs the template layout engine from scratch. Useful when you've moved things around and just want to start over. It asks for confirmation first — we're not monsters.

Output Sizes

9 formats across print and social. One design, every platform.

Print Formats

SizeDimensionsUse
Letter Flyer2550 × 3300 px8.5" × 11" — standard print flyer, home printers, print shops
Tabloid Poster3300 × 5100 px11" × 17" — large poster, bulletin boards, storefront windows

Social Media

SizeDimensionsRatioUse
Social Vertical1080 × 1350 px4:5IG/FB feed — best general-purpose social format
Story / Reel1080 × 1920 px9:16IG Stories, TikTok, FB Stories, Reels, Snapchat
Event Banner1500 × 500 px3:1X (Twitter) header, web banners
Pinterest Pin1000 × 1500 px2:3Pinterest standard pin
YouTube Thumbnail1280 × 720 px16:9YouTube video thumbnail
Threads Post1440 × 1920 px3:4Threads feed post
Bandcamp Album2800 × 2800 px1:1Bandcamp album art / release page

Size Cards

In the sidebar, sizes are displayed as small aspect-ratio preview cards grouped by category (Print and Social). Hover over any card to see the exact dimensions. The active size has an accent-colored border. Click to switch — the layout engine reflows your design instantly.

TIP Designing for one platform but want to post everywhere? Use Batch Export in the header to open the export modal, check the sizes you need (or hit Select All), and download them all at once.

Color Schemes

42 curated palettes. No color theory degree required.

How Schemes Work

Each scheme defines a coordinated set of colors: background, primary text, accent, secondary, and line art colors. When you pick a scheme, it updates everything — the background, all text colors, line art, and the gradient preview in the sidebar. The design stays coherent because we've done the color pairing for you.

Scheme selection is in the sidebar under Layout > Color Scheme. The dropdown includes a live gradient preview bar showing the active palette.

Available Schemes

Dark
Light
Bold Red
Warm
Midnight
Smoke
Blush
Forest
Sunset
Ocean
Cream
Neon
Charcoal
Arctic
Rust
Lavender
Obsidian
Sage
Cherry
Slate
Copper
Mint
Wine
Pearl
Ember
Ice
Plum
Sand
Steel
Coral
Void
Honey
Ink
Rose
Moss
Bone
Dusk
Ash
Terra
Frost
Noir
Solar

Every scheme is designed to work with every template and every line art style. We spent an unreasonable amount of time making sure "Neon" doesn't look terrible with "Topographic" and "Bone" doesn't make "Fire" invisible. You can just click and trust it.

Presets

Save your favorite designs and recall them later.

Saving a Preset

In the sidebar under Layout > Presets, type a name and click Save. This captures your entire design state: template, scheme, overlays, text content, mangle seed, blend layers — the whole thing. It's a snapshot.

Loading a Preset

Your saved presets appear as a clickable list below the save field. Click one and the editor restores that exact state. Click the × next to a preset to delete it.

NOTE Presets are stored in your browser's localStorage. They persist across sessions on the same device/browser, but they're not synced to an account. If you clear your browser data, your presets go with it. Pro users with cloud save get persistent presets.

Text Editing

Click it, type it, style it, move it.

Selecting Text

Click any text object on the canvas. A selection box appears with handles. The sidebar's Selected Object panel populates with all the controls for that specific object.

Inline Editing

Double-click a text object to enter inline editing mode — you can type directly on the canvas. Click away or press Escape to exit. You can also edit text from the Text textarea in the Selected Object panel.

Typography Controls

When a text object is selected, the sidebar shows:

ControlWhat It Does
TextMulti-line textarea for the content. Edit here or inline on canvas.
FontDropdown of available fonts. 17+ families loaded from Google Fonts.
SizeNumeric input for font size in pixels (at display scale).
StyleB Bold, I Italic, U Underline toggles.
AlignLeft, Center, Right alignment buttons.
ColorColor picker for text fill.

Available Fonts

The editor ships with a curated selection of Google Fonts, all pre-loaded for instant use:

Work Sans DM Mono Outfit Bebas Neue Inter Oswald Poppins Raleway Montserrat Playfair Display Space Grotesk Archivo Black Rubik Barlow Condensed Anton Righteous Orbitron

Moving & Resizing

  • Drag to reposition anywhere on the canvas
  • Side handles resize the text box width (text reflows)
  • Rotation handle (top) rotates the text
  • Text boxes prevent vertical stretch — resizing only adjusts width

Adding Custom Text Objects

Need more text than the template provides? Right-click the canvas and choose Add Text Object from the context menu. This drops a new, fully editable text box onto the canvas. User-created text objects can be deleted (unlike template objects, which can only be hidden).

Duplicating Objects

Right-click any object and choose Duplicate to clone it. The copy appears offset from the original, ready to drag into position.

Hiding Objects

Don't need a section? Select it and click Hide Object at the bottom of the Selected Object panel, or right-click and choose Hide. Hidden objects still exist in the template — restore them from the Hidden Objects sidebar section.

Text Effects

Three per-object effects that make text do interesting things.

These appear at the bottom of the Selected Object panel when you have a text object selected.

Text Background

Adds a colored rectangle behind the text object. Perfect for ensuring readability over busy line art or making a title pop against the background.

  • Enable — Toggle checkbox
  • Color — Pick any background color
  • Opacity — Slider from fully transparent to fully opaque

The background rect follows the text when you move it and adjusts to the text's size automatically.

Text Slice

Cuts horizontal gaps through your text, creating a chopped/scan-line effect. Think glitch aesthetics, think distortion, think "I want my title to look like it's being broadcast through a broken TV."

  • Enable — Toggle checkbox
  • Cuts — Number of horizontal slice lines (1–20)
  • Gap — Width of the gap between slices (1–15)
TIP Text Slice works best on large, bold titles. On small body text it just looks like a rendering bug. Which, depending on your aesthetic, might actually be the point.

FX Lock

Check "Lock from Algo FX" to prevent the Mangle effect and other algorithmic transformations from touching a specific object. Useful when you've positioned your date just right and don't want Mangle shuffling it to the shadow realm.

Wordmark / Logo

Brand your design with an image or styled text.

Image Wordmark

Upload a logo (PNG, JPG, or SVG, minimum 200×100px) and it gets placed on the canvas as a draggable image object. The logo scales to fit within the canvas while maintaining aspect ratio.

  1. Click Upload Logo in the Wordmark sidebar section
  2. Select your file
  3. Drag the logo to position it

Text Wordmark

Don't have a logo file? Create one from text. The text wordmark system gives you:

ControlWhat It Does
Brand NameText input — type your brand, venue, org name
FontChoose from the same 17+ font families
ColorColor picker
B / I / AABold, Italic, and Uppercase toggles
AccentDecorative element around the wordmark

Accents

Accents are decorative frames and elements that wrap around your text wordmark. They add visual weight and make the wordmark feel intentional rather than "I just typed my name on the poster." The accent dropdown includes options like underlines, brackets, banners, and geometric frames.

Changes to any wordmark property apply live — no need to click "Update" each time. Just adjust and watch the canvas update in real time.

NOTE Adding a wordmark triggers the watermark on the free tier, since it's classified as a premium feature. Upgrade to Designer or Ultra for watermark-free exports with your branding.

Line Art

50 procedural generative patterns. The thing that makes your flyer not look like it was made in PowerPoint.

What Line Art Is

Line art is the generative artwork rendered behind your text on the canvas background. Every pattern is a seeded procedural algorithm — meaning it's generated from math, not from a static image file. Same seed = same art, every time. Different seed = different variation. Zero file weight. Infinite variety.

These patterns are what make even a basic text-on-background design feel designed. They add texture, movement, and visual interest without you having to be an illustrator.

Controls

Found in the sidebar under Algorithmic FX > Line Art:

ControlWhat It Does
StyleDropdown to select the pattern algorithm
DensityHow much stuff gets drawn. Low = sparse, high = packed
OpacityHow visible the pattern is over the background
SeedThe random seed number. Same seed = same pattern
RandomizeGenerates a random seed. Click until you find one you like

Dual Layer: Line Art 2

There's a second line art slot (Algorithmic FX > Line Art 2) that renders a different pattern using the scheme's secondary line art color. Mixing two patterns — say, Flow Field over a Constellation base — creates rich, layered backgrounds that look genuinely custom.

All 50 Patterns

Flow Field
Broken Grid
Orbital Rings
Topographic
Spectrograph
Waveform
Fire
Oscillator
Smiley
Constellation
Circuit
Chevron
Diamonds
Crosshatch
Dots
Spiral
Maze
Lightning
Rain
Hex Grid
Scatter
Waves
Bubbles
Branches
Ribbon
Static
DNA
Radar
Pulse
Shatter
Weave
Feather
Ripple
Glitch
Meteor
Terrain
Lattice
Crescents
Prism
Vortex
Bamboo
Thorns
Aurora
Mosaic
Barcode
Contour
Cityscape
Frequency
Particles
TIP Not sure which pattern to use? Start with Flow Field or Constellation — they look good on basically everything. Then experiment. Mash that Randomize button. Art is about happy accidents.
ABOUT RENDERING Line art is always rendered at full output resolution, then scaled down for the preview. This means the exported PNG has the exact same art you see on screen — no surprises, no quality differences between preview and export.

Film Grain

That analog texture that makes digital feel alive.

What It Does

Film grain adds a randomized noise overlay to the background, simulating the look of photographic film. It breaks up flat digital color and gives designs a tactile, organic feel — like someone printed your flyer on nice paper.

Controls

Found under Algorithmic FX > Film Grain:

  • Enable grain — Toggle checkbox. On or off.
  • Density — How many grain particles per area. Low = subtle, high = gritty.
  • Opacity — How visible the grain is. Keep this gentle (15–30%) for sophistication, crank it for intentional grunge.
TIP Grain + a dark scheme + Flow Field line art at low opacity = instant "underground show poster" energy. You're going to want to print it on a risograph. We don't blame you.

Mangle

The chaos button. Controlled randomness for your layout.

What It Does

Mangle takes your carefully laid out design and thoughtfully destroys it. It shuffles text positions, rotates elements, shifts colors, and swaps styles — all from a reproducible seed. It's not random garbage. It's seeded chaos. Same seed = same mangled result every time.

Parameters

ParameterWhat It Controls
SpreadHow far objects move from their original positions
AngleHow much rotation gets applied
ColorHow aggressively colors shift from the base scheme
StyleHow much font weights, sizes, and styles change

Workflow

  1. Dial in your parameters with the sliders
  2. Click Mangle — a new seed is generated and applied
  3. Don't like it? Click Mangle again for a different variation
  4. Love it? Leave it. The seed is saved with your design
  5. Want to undo? Click Reset to restore the clean template layout
ABOUT FX LOCK Objects with FX Lock enabled won't be touched by Mangle. If your date and venue are perfect but you want to randomize everything else, lock those two objects first. See Text Effects > FX Lock.

Blend Layers

Colored overlays with blend modes. Up to 3. Drag, resize, blend.

What They Are

Blend layers are colored rectangles that sit on the canvas and composite with the content beneath them using standard blend modes. Think of them as colored gels you'd put over a stage light — they shift the colors of everything underneath.

Adding a Layer

In the sidebar under Blend Layers, click + Add Blend Layer. You can add up to 3. Each layer has:

  • Blend Mode — 16 modes: normal, multiply, screen, overlay, darken, lighten, color-dodge, color-burn, hard-light, soft-light, difference, exclusion, hue, saturation, color, luminosity
  • Color — Any color via the picker
  • Opacity — How strong the effect is

Interacting on Canvas

Blend layers are draggable and resizable directly on the canvas — just like text objects. Drag to reposition, pull the handles to resize. Positions are stored proportionally, so they scale correctly across output sizes.

Click a blend layer on the canvas and its controls also appear in the Selected Object panel for more detailed editing.

TIP Try a deep pink blend layer in multiply mode at 20% opacity covering the full canvas. Instant duotone vibes. Stack a blue screen layer in the opposite corner for split-tone madness.

QR Codes

Turn any URL into a scannable code on your design.

Generating a QR Code

In the sidebar under QR Code:

  1. Enter a URL (or any text) in the URL / Text field
  2. Adjust the Size slider
  3. Pick a Style: Square, Rounded, or Dots
  4. Set the foreground and background Colors
  5. Click Generate

The QR code appears on the canvas as a draggable image object, placed by default in the bottom-right corner. Drag it anywhere you like.

Styles

  • Square — Classic QR module shape. Clean and universal.
  • Rounded — Softer corners. Friendlier vibe.
  • Dots — Circular modules. Modern, distinctive.

Removing

Click Remove to take the QR code off the canvas.

TIP Match the QR code colors to your scheme. A dark QR on a light scheme (or vice versa) maintains scannability while looking intentional. Avoid low-contrast pairings — phones need contrast to read QR codes.

Exporting

Get your design out of the browser and into the world.

Single Export

Click EXPORT in the header and choose your format:

  • PNG — Full-resolution PNG at the dimensions of your currently selected output size. One file downloads immediately. Available to all users.
  • PDF — A real PDF document with the design embedded as a full-page JPEG. Correct page dimensions for print (Letter, Tabloid) and screen (social sizes). Available to Designer Kit and above.
  • ZIP (batch) — Export multiple sizes at once. Available to Designer Kit and above.

How Export Works (Under the Hood)

The export pipeline is a manual compositing process:

  1. The cached full-resolution background (line art, grain, blends — the exact same render as your preview) is drawn to an offscreen canvas
  2. Fabric.js objects (text, wordmark, QR codes) are exported separately with a multiplier to scale from display to output resolution
  3. Objects are composited on top of the background
  4. PNG metadata is embedded (software, source URL, design info)
  5. The file downloads

This guarantees that what you see in the preview is what you get in the export. No rendering differences. No surprise layout shifts.

Batch Export

Click BATCH EXPORT in the header to open the batch export modal. You'll see checkboxes for every output size, organized into Print and Social groups. Sizes you've previously customized in Advanced Mode are pre-selected — so you're not blindly exporting sizes you haven't touched.

  • Select All / Select None — Bulk toggle at the top
  • Individual checkboxes — Check just the sizes you need
  • Pre-selected sizes — Any size with saved Advanced Mode positions is auto-checked

Hit export, and the editor cycles through each checked size, reflows the layout, renders the background, and downloads individual PNGs. It takes a few seconds since each size needs a fresh render.

File Naming

Exported files follow the pattern: stencil-{template}-{size}.png

For example: stencil-generic-event-story.png

PNG Metadata

Every exported PNG includes embedded metadata:

  • Software: stencil.cloud
  • Source: https://stencil.cloud
  • Comment: Design name, size, dimensions, scheme
  • Title: Template name
ABOUT THE WATERMARK Free-tier exports include a watermark when premium features are active (line art, grain, mangle, or wordmark). The watermark is rendered into the pixel data — it's part of the image, not a separate layer. It's styled to match the design's color scheme, positioned in the bottom-right, and sized to be visible but not obnoxious. Paid users don't see it.

Sharing

Get your design in front of people.

Share Button

Click SHARE in the header to open the share panel. 10 platforms, one click each:

X (TWITTER)

Tweet with a link to your design

BLUESKY

Post to the fediverse alternative

FACEBOOK

Share to your feed or page

REDDIT

Post to any subreddit

LINKEDIN

Professional network sharing

THREADS

Share to Meta's text platform

INSTAGRAM

Opens Instagram share flow

TIKTOK

Share to TikTok

EMAIL

Pre-filled email with your design link

COPY LINK

Grab the URL to paste anywhere

Each link opens a pre-populated share dialog for that platform with a link back to stencil.cloud.

Manual Sharing

Since your design exports as a standard PNG file, you can share it anywhere that accepts images: SMS, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, print, carrier pigeon with a USB drive strapped to its leg. We don't limit how you distribute your art.

AI Designer

Describe your event. Get a design. Magic? Nah, just a really good prompt.

PAID FEATURE AI Designer is available to all paid tiers. Free users get 10 generations/day, Designer gets 50/day, Ultra gets 200/day.

How It Works

  1. Click AI DESIGNER in the header
  2. A modal opens with a text prompt and context-aware presets
  3. Describe your event, mood, or style (presets adapt to your current template and scheme)
  4. Optionally upload a flyer or screenshot to copy its style
  5. Toggle "Use current design as context" — check it to refine what you have, uncheck to start from scratch
  6. Click GENERATE DESIGN
  7. The AI suggests a color scheme, line art style, text content, and optionally a different template
  8. Click PREVIEW to see a thumbnail before committing, or APPLY ALL to accept everything
  9. Apply suggestions individually (click each card) or all at once

Dynamic Presets

Presets aren't static — they adapt to your context. If you're on an event template, you'll see event-appropriate prompts. On a business template, you'll see business prompts. If your scheme is dark, one preset suggests going light (and vice versa). Recent prompts from your history appear at the top, similar to how chat apps suggest conversation starters.

Context Toggle

The "Use current design as context" checkbox controls whether the AI sees your current template, scheme, line art, and text:

  • Checked — The AI knows what you have and can refine it. Good for "make this more elegant" or "keep my text but change the mood."
  • Unchecked — The AI starts fresh from your prompt alone. Good for "underground techno warehouse party" when you want a complete design from nothing.

What the AI Controls

The AI can suggest changes to:

  • Template — Can recommend switching to a different template if it better fits your description
  • Color scheme — Picks from all 42 available schemes, matched to the mood of your description
  • Line art style — Primary and secondary patterns from all 50 generative algorithms
  • Text content — Fills in event names, dates, venue, lineup, details — all uppercase for design impact

Each suggestion appears as a clickable card. You choose what to apply. The AI doesn't auto-clobber your work — click PREVIEW first to see a thumbnail of the result.

Style Upload

Have a flyer you admire? Upload it and the AI will analyze the style and try to match it using stencil.cloud's palette and effects system. It won't pixel-copy the design — it interprets the mood and translates it into stencil.cloud's toolset. Supports images, text files, and documents.

Rate Limits

Daily generation limits reset at midnight UTC:

TierGenerations/Day
Free / Anonymous10 (5 without account)
Designer Kit50
Ultra Kit200

Remaining generations are shown after each use.

Context Menu

Right-click anything. Get stuff done faster.

Opening the Context Menu

Right-click anywhere on the canvas to open the context menu. On mobile, long-press. The menu is context-aware — the options change depending on whether you clicked an object or empty canvas space.

Object Actions

When you right-click a selected object, you get:

ActionWhat It Does
Lock / UnlockFreeze an object in place so you can't accidentally drag it. Lock your date, your venue, your carefully positioned QR code. Unlock when you need to move it again.
HideRemove from view without deleting. Restore from Hidden Objects in the sidebar.
DuplicateClone the object. The copy appears offset from the original.
Pull ForwardMove one step up in the z-order stack.
Push BackwardMove one step down in the z-order stack.
Bring to FrontJump to the very top of the stack.
Send to BackJump to the very bottom.
DeleteRemove user-created objects permanently. Template objects can only be hidden, not deleted.

Document Actions

These are always available, regardless of selection:

ActionWhat It Does
UndoStep back. Same as Ctrl/Cmd + Z.
RedoStep forward. Same as Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Z.
Add Text ObjectDrop a new custom text box onto the canvas. These are yours — fully editable and deletable.
Add Blend LayerCreate a new blend layer without going to the sidebar.
TIP The context menu is the fastest way to manage z-ordering. If a blend layer is covering your title, right-click the title and hit Bring to Front. No digging through panels. No mystery layer lists.

Free vs Paid

Two paid tiers. Neither one costs more than a sandwich.

Free Tier

The full design editor is available to everyone. No account, no sign-up, no credit card. You get:

  • All 22 templates
  • All text editing, font selection, and styling
  • Full drag-and-drop canvas interaction
  • Context menu with z-ordering, duplicate, lock, hide
  • All 42 color schemes
  • All 14 output sizes
  • Full-resolution PNG export
  • AI Designer (10 generations/day)
  • QR codes
  • Local presets
  • Session auto-save (7-day localStorage)

The only catch: exports carry a stencil.cloud watermark when premium features are active (line art, grain, mangle, or wordmark). It's small, semi-transparent, and color-matched. It's more "discreet credit" than "ransom note."

Designer Kit — $5/month or $49 lifetime

DESIGNER KIT The creative toolkit. All the generative art, grain, mangle, and batch export features — without the watermark.

Everything in Free, plus:

FeatureDescription
No watermarkClean exports. No branding on your work.
50+ line art patternsAll generative line art without the watermark penalty.
Film grainAnalog texture overlay, watermark-free.
MangleSeeded layout randomizer, watermark-free.
Batch export (ZIP)Export multiple sizes at once as a ZIP file.
PDF exportExport designs as real PDF files for print.
Cloud saveSave up to 5 designs to the cloud.
Custom subdomainRename your default subdomain + 1 custom subdomain.
AI Designer (50/day)More AI generations per day than the free tier.

Ultra Kit — $8/month or $89 lifetime

ULTRA KIT The full platform. Everything in Designer plus publishing, scheduling, AI, and custom subdomains.

Everything in Designer, plus:

FeatureDescription
Scheduler (6 slots)Queue designs for future publish dates with auto-activation.
Campaign pagesyourname.stencil.cloud — a shareable campaign page with analytics.
Page settingsCustomize each subdomain's headline, bio, CTA, links, and colors.
AI Designer (200/day)Full AI access with context-aware design generation.
Custom subdomains (x3)Up to 3 custom subdomains for different campaigns or brands.
Cloud save (10 designs)Save and load designs from the cloud.
Full analyticsPage views, referrers, countries, devices, QR scan tracking.
LIFETIME OPTION Both tiers offer a lifetime purchase. Pay once, use forever. Designer Kit: $49. Ultra Kit: $89. If you know you'll be making flyers for more than a year, the math is obvious.

Accounts & Billing

How to sign in, upgrade, and manage your subscription.

Creating an Account

Click SIGN IN in the header. You'll see two options:

  • Continue with Google — OAuth sign-in. Fastest option. No passwords to remember.
  • Email + Password — Classic registration. You'll complete a Cloudflare Turnstile challenge (it's like CAPTCHA but less annoying) and you're in.

If you don't have an account, click "Create one" to switch to the registration form.

The User Menu

Once signed in, the header shows your avatar (or initial) instead of the SIGN IN button. Click it for a dropdown with:

  • MY DESIGNS — Access your saved designs
  • ANALYTICS — View page performance data
  • PAGE SETTINGS — Configure your subdomain pages (headline, CTA, links, colors)
  • ACCOUNT — Account settings, subdomain management
  • DESIGNER KIT — Editor preferences and export defaults
  • SIGN OUT

Upgrading

Click UPGRADE from the user menu. You'll see two tiers:

  • Designer Kit — $5/month or $49 lifetime
  • Ultra Kit — $8/month or $89 lifetime

After upgrading, you'll be prompted to choose a username for your subdomain (e.g., yourname.stencil.cloud) if you haven't already.

Payment is handled through Stripe Checkout — we never see your card details. Your account upgrades instantly upon payment. Lifetime purchases are one-time — no recurring charge, no expiration.

Managing Your Subscription

Paid users can click MANAGE BILLING to open the Stripe Customer Portal, where you can update payment methods, switch plans, view invoices, or cancel.

Subdomain Pages

Your own corner of the internet. yourname.stencil.cloud.

PAID FEATURE Campaign publishing is available to Designer Kit and above. Designer gets 1 custom subdomain, Ultra gets 3.

How It Works

  1. Design your flyer in the editor
  2. Click PUSH in the header
  3. Your design exports as a PNG and publishes to your subdomain
  4. yourname.stencil.cloud now shows your latest design as a shareable page

What the Page Looks Like

It's intentionally minimal: your design image, full-width, with proper OpenGraph meta tags for social sharing. When someone shares the link on X, Facebook, or Discord, the preview card shows your flyer. That's the point.

The page also includes a small "Create yours at stencil.cloud" footer link. We're a business, after all.

Scheduling

Use the SCHEDULER button to queue designs for future publish dates. Set your event date, and the design goes live automatically via a cron job. Great for planned campaigns where you want the page to update on a specific day.

Keyboard Shortcuts

For when clicking is too slow.

ShortcutAction
Ctrl + Z / Cmd + ZUndo
Ctrl + Shift + Z / Cmd + Shift + ZRedo
Ctrl + Y / Cmd + YRedo (alternate)
EscapeClose modals, exit inline text editing
Delete / BackspaceRemove selected object (when not editing text)
TIP Keyboard shortcuts for undo/redo are disabled while you're actively editing text on the canvas (to avoid undoing your typing). Click away from the text object first, then undo.

Canvas Interaction

ActionHow
Select objectClick on it
Move objectDrag with mouse
Resize textPull side handles
Rotate objectPull the rotation handle (top)
Edit text inlineDouble-click the text object
DeselectClick empty canvas area
Context menuRight-click (desktop) or long-press (mobile)

Mobile

The full editor on your phone. No, seriously.

The Bottom Tab Bar

On mobile, the desktop sidebar is replaced by a 5-tab bottom bar that stays pinned to the bottom of the screen. Each tab opens a bottom sheet with the relevant controls:

TabWhat's Inside
DesignTemplate picker, color scheme, presets — the high-level design choices.
LayoutOutput size, editor mode (Template/Advanced), reset layout.
TextSelected object controls — font, size, style, alignment, color. Appears when a text object is tapped.
FXLine art (both layers), film grain, mangle, blend layers — all the algorithmic effects.
MoreWordmark, QR codes, event date, hidden objects, snap to grid, and export/share actions.

Bottom Sheets

Tapping a tab slides up a bottom sheet with the controls for that section. The sheet is:

  • Drag-to-dismiss — Swipe down to close it
  • Scrollable — If the content is taller than the screen, the sheet scrolls internally
  • Non-blocking — The canvas is still visible behind the sheet, so you can see your changes live

Touch Canvas Interaction

  • Tap to select an object
  • Drag to move selected objects
  • Pinch handles to resize
  • Double-tap text to enter inline editing
  • Long-press to open the context menu (same actions as right-click on desktop)
TIP The mobile experience is best in portrait orientation. The canvas scales to fit the screen width with the correct aspect ratio. Landscape works, but you'll be doing a lot of scrolling. We recommend portrait.

FAQ

The questions everyone asks. Now you don't have to.

Do I need an account to use stencil.cloud?

No. The full editor works without signing in. You can create a design, customize everything, and export a PNG without ever creating an account. An account is only needed for cloud save, subdomain hosting, scheduling, AI Designer, and removing the watermark.

Will my design be saved if I close the tab?

Sort of. The editor auto-saves your state to localStorage every 10 seconds. If you reopen the same browser within 7 days, your last session is restored. But this is browser-local storage — clearing your browser data wipes it. For persistent, cross-device saving, you need a paid account.

Can I remove the watermark?

Yes, by upgrading to Designer or Ultra. The watermark only appears on free-tier exports when premium features are active (line art, grain, mangle, or wordmark). If you're only using plain text on a flat color background, there's no watermark at all.

What triggers the watermark?

Any of these premium features being active:

  • Generative line art (any type other than "None")
  • Film grain overlay
  • Mangle (layout randomizer with a seed > 0)
  • Wordmark (image or text logo on canvas)

Is my data stored on your servers?

Not on the free tier. The editor runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server unless you explicitly use a feature that requires it (AI Designer, Push/Publish, Cloud Save). Even then, we only store what's needed to deliver the feature.

What browsers are supported?

Any modern browser with Canvas support. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge — all current versions work. We don't support Internet Explorer. It's 2026. Neither should you.

Can I use stencil.cloud on my phone?

Yes, actually. We rebuilt the mobile experience with a 5-tab bottom bar, bottom sheet panels, and touch-optimized controls. It's legitimately usable — not just a grudging responsive layout. See the Mobile page for details. That said, if you have access to a laptop, you'll still move faster on a bigger screen.

How do I report a bug or request a feature?

Click the FEEDBACK button in the bottom-right corner of the editor. Choose Bug Report, Feature Request, or General Feedback, describe the issue, and submit. We read everything.

Can I use designs commercially?

Yes. Designs you create in stencil.cloud are yours to use however you like — commercial, personal, non-profit, whatever. The generative art patterns are algorithmic output generated in your browser. We don't claim any rights to your designs.

Does stencil.cloud work offline?

Mostly. The editor core and bundled fonts work without a network connection. Google Fonts require a network connection to load (unless previously cached). AI Designer and Push/Publish obviously need connectivity. Export works offline since it's all client-side rendering.