This is a huge advance and can only be fully appreciated when you see how these effects can be used. You can create finished works for both print or screen displays directly from Canvas or you can port them to other applications and use them for other projects. This tutorial is only a tiny sampling of what's possible. Here's how it works.
Live effects are simply effects that are removable and editable.
For example, you can apply a bevel effect to a paint object, then remove it or change it without affecting the pixels of the paint object and having to completely recreate it from scratch. You can attach more than one effect to an object, reorder them, add more or remove them at will. This is a major advance for productivity and creative freedom. But Canvas is unique because of its integrated bitmap and vector environment. As a result, these effects can now be used in print media as well as for screen presentations such as web pages.