Face Model vs Aurora Live
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Face Model
This app provides a 3D head posing tool with extensive morphing capabilities for realistic human and creature models. It includes a vast library of facial references categorized by ethnicity and offers tools for camera control, lighting, and saving custom poses.
- Fully morphable 3D head models
- Realistic male, female, and skull models
- Extensive human face reference library
- Pre-made creatures and facial expressions
- Free camera panning and rotation
- Save and load custom poses
- Split view editing
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The 3D head reference built for artists, not engineers. Shape any face with hundreds of morphs, study a real anatomical skull, and browse hundreds of categorized face photos — all in one app on your iPad. Perfect for portrait artists, manga creators, character designers, animators, comic illustrators, concept artists, and anatomy students. ◆ FULLY CUSTOMIZE 3D HEADS Customize every detail with hundreds of morphs. Adjust head shape, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and cheeks to create any face you can imagine — from realistic portraits to stylized anime characters. ◆ TRANSFORM HEADS INTO CREATURES Turn a realistic human head into aliens, vampires, zombies, demons, goblins, or animal hybrids with 20 ready-made creature presets. Built for character designers, concept artists, and storytellers. ◆ EXPRESSIVE FACES 17 facial expression morphs bring your characters to life — happiness, anger, surprise, sadness, fear, and more. Mix and match to create unique emotions for illustrations, animation frames, and storyboards. ◆ INTERACTIVE 3D SKULL Study anatomy with a fully interactive 3D skull. Rotate, zoom, and even open and close the jaw to understand the structure beneath the skin — an essential reference for serious portrait artists and anatomy students. ◆ MANGA HEAD MODE Create expressive manga-style characters with a dedicated stylized head mode — designed for manga, anime, and comic creators. ◆ HUMAN FACE REFERENCE LIBRARY Hundreds of high-quality face photos, categorized by ethnicity: Asian, Black, White, Hispanic, South Asian, and MENA (Middle East and North Africa). Build more inclusive and accurate artwork with diverse, authentic references. ◆ SINGLE & MULTI-VIEW PHOTOS Two reference types: single-view photos for head-on study, and multi-view images showing front, side, and three-quarter angles — perfect for understanding face structure from every direction. ◆ SPLIT VIEW EDITING See your model from two camera angles at the same time. Adjust features and expressions with precision, without constantly rotating the scene. ◆ FLEXIBLE LIGHTING Control lighting angle and intensity to shape mood and form — ideal for dramatic portrait references or anatomy studies. ◆ WORKS IN ANY ORIENTATION Use the app vertically or horizontally on iPad — perfect alongside your drawing tablet or sketchbook setup. EVERYTHING YOU GET - Realistic 3D male and female head models - Manga-style head mode - Interactive 3D skull with movable jaw - Hundreds of customizable morphs - 20 pre-made creature presets - 17 facial expression morphs - Face reference library sorted by ethnicity - Single-view and multi-view photo references - Split view dual-camera editing - Freely rotate head and eyes - Save and load custom poses - Capture and save screenshots - Adjustable lighting angle and intensity - Pan, zoom, and rotate with touch controls - Works in portrait and landscape on iPad Whether you're a portrait artist, illustrator, character designer, animator, comic or manga creator, concept artist, or anatomy student — Face Model is built to make your creative process faster, more accurate, and more inspired. Volume discounts available for schools and educational institutions. Download Face Model and bring every face to life. Works on iPhone. Best experienced on iPad.
Aurora Live
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Create flowing color studies with Aurora Live's interactive canvas, palettes and capture tools. NEW IN 4.0 Save a keyframe timeline on this device, export it as JSON, and import a validated timeline with a replacement preview. Scrub the playhead to sample intensity, motion and warmth; Apply Frame sends those settings to the canvas. Save fuller Moments with warmth, palette cycling and Wander settings. Export a portable Moment settings backup through Files, then restore it with confirmation. New data-preservation checks protect unreadable saved libraries. CREATE AND CAPTURE Choose built-in palettes or create five-stop palettes, including colors extracted from a selected photo. Explore scenes and Composition Lab recipes, adjust the live canvas, save Moments, capture images and create coordinated Frame Kits. Optional Sound mode reacts to microphone levels. Ambient display, guided breathing animation and the sleep timer remain available. WHAT TO KNOW Aurora creates generative art. It is not an aurora forecast, scientific instrument or health measurement. Recipe suggestions describe settings rather than rating image quality. Guide-cycle totals count animation cycles, not measured breathing. The keyframe editor stores parameter studies; Apply Frame applies one sampled frame rather than playing or recording the timeline. Matching endpoint settings do not guarantee a seamless video loop. Moment settings backups contain names, palette colors and look settings, not thumbnails, captured images, video or animation time. Restore replaces the saved Moment list. Files are limited to 1 MB and 30 Moments. Timeline files are limited to 1 MB and 32 keyframes. Export a copy before replacing a study or library. Made for iPhone and iPad.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Aurora Live at weekly against Face Model's every 17 months. Aurora Live also leads on price ($2.99 vs $3.99). Face Model's advantage is chart position (#94 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 17.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Face Model costs $3.99 and Aurora Live $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Face Model ships an update every 17 months, Aurora Live weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Face Model | Aurora Live |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.3 (23 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 23 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #94 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 401 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tomi Nevalainen | Robert Corbin |
In-app purchases
Face Model
No in-app purchases
Aurora Live
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Face Model free?
Is Aurora Live free?
Do Face Model or Aurora Live have ads?
Which is updated more often, Face Model or Aurora Live?
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