Comparison

Tracing Projector vs How to Draw, Step by step

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Tracing Projector

This app acts as a portable drawing tool, allowing you to trace any image onto paper using augmented reality. Enhance your drawing skills, create unique artwork, and share your progress through video recordings.

Highlights
  • Trace any image using augmented reality
  • Enhance photos with filters for easier tracing
  • Record drawing process in time-lapse or normal speed
  • Suitable for face painting and makeup art
  • Light Table mode for direct screen tracing
  • Handheld Mode with AR for steady tracing
Features
Read full description

Tracing Projector is your personal portable drawing and composition tool. Having Tracing Projector is like always having a sheet of tracing paper with you! Choose any image you'd like to draw, take a photo, or choose from hundreds of images supplied in the app; then look at your screen while you trace the image on paper! - Learn to Draw! Learn proportions and important lines by tracing photos of anything! Use several filters to enhance your photo, making it easier to trace. - Make real one-of-a-kind artwork you can hang on your wall! Send unique greetings on social media! Friends and family will love to see your animated drawings! - Show off your skills! Record a video while you draw and share it on your favorite social network. Your friends will be amazed! Choose from time-lapse and regular speeds, and include a narrative if you want to.  - Great for face painting or artistic makeup! - Great for school projects! Need to draw an image from a book on a poster? Trace it! - Kick-start your painting or portrait! Transfer your idea from a photo to your drawing canvas to get the proportions right. - Match the Composition! Transfer your plan from a sketch to the scrapbook page or photo wall! - Challenge yourself to sketch the essence of the image before the timer runs out! Focus on composition and structure. Freehand the fine details afterward, or disable Quick Sketch and trace them directly. (Disabling requires a one-time purchase.) Several tools make it really easy to trace your image: - Light Table - lock your screen, turn up the brightness, and trace the image from your screen directly! - Handheld Mode -- On supported devices, Augmented Reality keeps your tracing image steady while you hold your device at a comfortable angle. (demo video https://youtu.be/YJeK5Sjdi1Q). Requires iOS 11.3 or later on iPhone 6s/6s Plus or iPad Pro and later. Works best on stable horizontal and vertical surfaces with good light and some visible surface detail. - Lock the camera focus to keep the image steady while you trace. - Lock the canvas area to keep your layout and alignment while you zoom in to get a close look at your work in progress. - Several Filter modes enhance your image, increasing contrast to give you a better result. - Use the flashlight to light up your drawing. (requires Full Version) - Use the selfie camera and draw on your face. (requires Full Version) Other features make it fun and easy to share your creations with your friends. - Video recording in Time Lapse mode to make things smaller and faster and cooler. You can enable normal-speed and audio on the Settings screen. - The recorded video or snapshot includes a small thumbnail of the tracing image (with an option to turn that off). - Your videos and snapshots are stored automatically and available to share later from within the app, the Files app, or iTunes. - Sharing your videos and photos is easy with a preview screen and saved photos/videos! - Interrupted while recording your drawing? No problem - Combine multiple videos to create a single video for sharing! Use the Edit feature on the Saved Files screen: select two movies and tap Join. Tracing Projector is Enhanced For 3D Touch! Start right away from the camera or photo album from the home screen! Force-touch on the tracing image to peek at your progress while you draw! Notes: - For best results, stabilize your device above your drawing surface. A stack of books, drinking glass, or tripod works best. - The app requires access to your camera in order to present its overlay for drawing. - The app requires access to your photos in order to load an image to trace and to save the video of your drawing. - The app optionally uses your microphone when recording a video while you draw.

About

How to Draw, Step by step

Learn to draw with this app that uses your phone's camera as a projector. Transform photos into sketches, create stickers, and even generate AI-powered drawing ideas from text descriptions. Suitable for all skill levels, from beginners to professionals.

Highlights
  • Camera projector for drawing
  • AI-powered sketch generator
  • Photo to sketch conversion
  • Sticker maker
  • Background remover
  • Coloring book feature
  • Real-time drawing recording
Features
Read full description

How to Draw helps you learn how to draw! Use your phone's camera as a projector to draw. How to Draw is a meticulously designed drawing application aimed at pushing the boundaries of your creativity. This unique app allows you to elevate your drawing skills from beginner to advanced levels. It includes drawings that even master artists, drawing enthusiasts, tattoo artists, art school students, and those who have never drawn before can enjoy. Learn to draw with AI With the How to Draw app, you can use AI to do the following: - Sticker Maker: Turn your photos into eye-catching stickers. - Photo to Sketch: Transform your photos into sketches and use the projector feature to draw them on paper using your phone's camera. - Background Remover: Flawlessly remove the background from your photos and draw anything you want in the background! - Enhance Old Photos: Improve the quality of your photos for drawing! - AI-Powered Drawing Sketches: One of the standout features of Ar Drawing is its AI-powered drawing sketch generator. Simply describe what you want to see—for example, "a white-haired man playing soccer"—and the AI will provide a drawing sketch that matches your description. This feature allows users to bring their imagination to life effortlessly. Enjoyable Drawing Experience: Ar Drawing, with its user-friendly interface, is easy to use. From beginners to professional artists, everyone can work on various drawing sketches and unleash their creativity. Lightbox and Projector Features: Drawing becomes incredibly easy with custom lightbox and projector features. You can follow step-by-step drawings on ready-made sketches. The art school is now in your pocket, allowing everyone, even those who have never drawn before, to create art. Coloring Book Category: Ar Drawing offers users a Coloring Book Category where they can step into colorful worlds. You can color ready-made drawings, create your color palette, and add a unique touch to your art. Record Your Work in Real-Time: While drawing, you can record videos of your work to track your progress. Save and Share: Save your works and share them on social media platforms! Ar Drawing makes it easy and fun to share your art with friends and the world. Explore the world of art with Ar Drawing, unleash your creativity, and share your unique drawings with the world. Download it now and embark on an art-filled journey! PRIVACY POLICY: Read our privacy policy here: https://draw.findbluapp.com/privacy-policy TERMS OF USE: Get more information about our terms and conditions here: https://draw.findbluapp.com/terms-of-use PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION: How to Draw app offers an automatically renewable subscription. The subscription will renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Subscriptions can be managed by the user at any time, and auto-renewal can be turned off by going to Account Settings after the purchase. Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. If a subscription with a free trial is initiated, charges will be made unless canceled 24 hours before the end of the trial period. CONTACT US: Do you have any questions or feedback that would contribute to development? Reach out to us at: support@findbluapp.com

Screenshots

Tracing Projector4 screens
How to Draw, Step by step4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: How to Draw, Step by step at 4.5 against Tracing Projector's 3.8. How to Draw, Step by step also leads on review sentiment (51% vs 38%). Tracing Projector's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Tracing Projector sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and How to Draw, Step by step sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

How to Draw, Step by step holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.3K and 3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Tracing Projector's written reviews are positive against 51% of How to Draw, Step by step's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tracing Projector ships an update every 2 weeks, How to Draw, Step by step every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Tracing Projector versus How to Draw, Step by step: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTracing ProjectorHow to Draw, Step by step
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (2.3K ratings)4.5 (3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews37.7% of reviews51.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.3K3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size107 MB230 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPhotilityJale Balci

Customer experience

Tracing Projector

All ratings2,268 ratings
Positive67.6%
Neutral5.8%
Negative26.6%
Written reviews536 reviews
Positive37.7%
Neutral10.8%
Negative51.5%

How to Draw, Step by step

All ratings2,734 ratings
Positive87.4%
Neutral4.3%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive51.4%
Neutral5.6%
Negative43.1%

User reviews

Tracing Projector

From 2.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Helpful for tracing and sketching
  • 👍 Good for beginners
  • ⭐ Useful app overall
  • 🎨 Improves drawing skills
  • 💡 Innovative AR features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Image drifts and moves around
  • ⏱️ Limited free drawing time
  • 🔒 Difficult to lock image in place
  • 💸 Forced to pay for full functionality
  • 🤯 Frustrating and buggy

How to Draw, Step by step

From 3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Super easy to use
  • 👍 Helps with drawing
  • 🎨 Allows searching for drawings
  • 💡 Step-by-step drawing guides

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Paywall for core features
  • 🐛 Buggy, crashes often
  • 💸 Expensive subscription
  • 📺 Too many ads

Bugs and requests

Tracing Projector

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Image constantly moving and shifting
  • Handheld mode not working as expected
  • App crashes or freezes
  • Purchased features not working
  • Difficulty aligning image with paper

Requested features

5 requests
  • Longer free drawing time
  • Better image stabilization
  • Option to disable timer
  • Improved handheld mode
  • Ability to resize images

How to Draw, Step by step

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Can't see drawings clearly
  • Free trial doesn't work as expected
  • Camera feature locked behind paywall

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to zoom in on drawings
  • More free drawing tools
  • Offline drawing mode

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Tracing Projector

One-time3
  • High Quality Video$2.99
  • Full Functionality$3.99
  • Pro Bundle - Best Value!$4.99
12 purchases

How to Draw, Step by step

Subscriptions12
  • Weekly plan$3.997 Days
  • Draw weekly 3D3 Days trial$5.997 Days
  • How to draw$6.997 Days
Show 9 more
  • Drawing app Weekly7 Days trial$8.997 Days
  • Ar drawing3 Days trial$8.997 Days
  • Drawing Projector Monthly1 Month trial$14.991 Month
  • Drawing app Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Learn How to Draw, easily3 Days trial$24.991 Month
  • Learn to draw step by step3 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • How to draw with projector3 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • How to draw with projector3 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • Sketches for drawing$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Tracing Projector free?
Tracing Projector is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is How to Draw, Step by step free?
How to Draw, Step by step is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tracing Projector or How to Draw, Step by step?
How to Draw, Step by step is rated higher. Tracing Projector averages 3.8 out of 5 from 2.3K ratings, while How to Draw, Step by step averages 4.5 from 3K ratings.
Do Tracing Projector or How to Draw, Step by step have ads?
Neither Tracing Projector nor How to Draw, Step by step shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tracing Projector or How to Draw, Step by step?
Tracing Projector ships an update every 2 weeks, and How to Draw, Step by step every 11 days. Most recently, Tracing Projector was updated on October 29, 2026 and How to Draw, Step by step on October 27, 2026.

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