The gameplay in Canvas 2 is mostly spent reading the dialogue and narrative, and the primary objective of the game is to romance the five main heroines, each of whom has her own story route that the player can explore individually.

Canvas 2 has been adapted into various other forms of media, such as manga, light novels, audio drama, and a twenty-four-episode anime television series produced by Zexcs.

Much of the gameplay is spent reading the text that appears on the screen, representing dialogue between the characters and Hiroki's inner thoughts.

[5] At home, Hiroki takes care of his younger cousin Elis Hōsen, who moved in with him after passing the entrance exam for Nadeshiko Academy.

During his time teaching at the academy, he builds relationships with various female students and teachers, and as he learns about their own struggles and passions, he gradually begins to rediscover himself and regain his love for painting.

[6] She is very skilled at painting, but due to being traumatized by the accident that took her parents' lives, she has an extreme aversion to the color red.

[7] A friend of Hiroki's since kindergarten, she once confessed her love to him in high school, but was rejected by him, causing a strain in their relationship.

[13][14] Naru Nanao, who had previously worked on Circus' visual novel Da Capo,[15] was in charge of designing the characters Elis and Kiri.

[4] The PS2 port includes new voice acting, removes the adult content from the Windows version and adds two new heroines, Mami Takeuchi and Tomoko Fujinami, with their own playable story routes.

[21] The deluxe edition release came bundled with a magazine book, a drama CD, and a DVD containing movie sequences.

[30] Innocent Colors is set years before the events of Canvas 2, and focuses on exploring Hiroki and Kiri's relationship in high school.

The fan disc includes a collection of wallpapers drawn by various artists, mini-games, and a mini-drama that continues the story of the Canvas 2: Prism-iro no Summer Festa drama CD.

[35] The game takes place six months prior to the events of Canvas 2 and features four original heroines, each with her own story route.

[41] A second manga illustrated by Kodama, titled Canvas 2: Niji-iro no Sketch, was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Ace between April 2005 and September 2006.

[47] A 215-page light novel, based on Elis' scenario from the game, was published by Enterbrain under the Famitsu Bunko imprint and released on July 20, 2004.

[48] Two light novel volumes, which were written by Tohru Tamegai with illustrations by Naru Nanao and Miki Kodama, were published by Kadokawa Shoten.

[53] The book was 96 pages long, and contained graphics, illustrations, concept art, information about the anime, original manga, and stories.

[52] An anime adaptation tied closely to the PlayStation 2 version of the game, called Canvas 2: Niji-iro no Sketch, was announced in April 2005.

[54] The anime series was produced by Zexcs, directed by Itsuro Kawasaki, and written by Reiko Yoshida, while the character designs were provided by Yasunari Nitta.

[57] Twelve separate DVD volumes, containing two episodes of the anime each, were released by Kadokawa Pictures between January 27 and December 22, 2006.

[60] Two DVD box sets, containing twelve episodes each, were released by Kadokawa Entertainment on November 28 and December 26, 2008.

[61][62] Canvas 2: Niji-iro no Sketch was licensed in North America by Kadokawa Pictures USA, but the subsidiary shut down before the anime was released in English.

[69][70] The final drama CD, titled Canvas 2 DVD Edition: Nana-iro no Party = Surprise!

[73] A remix album titled Plastic Smile+ (プラスチックスマイル+) was released for the PS2 version on January 27, 2006, by Bandai Visual, containing six tracks.

[74] The opening theme of the anime is "Plastic Smile (Niji-iro Guitar Version)" (プラスチックスマイル (虹色ギターVERSION), Plastic Smile (Rainbow-colored Guitar Version)) by Honey Bee, and the ending theme is "Na Na Iro" by Sweets Tankentai; both songs were again performed by Yuria.

[92] In the October 2007 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, a poll revealing the readers' picks for the top 50 bishōjo games was published.