Tracing Buddy vs Mana Palette
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tracing Buddy
Easily transfer images to a drawing surface using a grid system. Create drawing illusions with perspective distortion and anamorphic images. Offers various image filters and grid customization options.
- Drawing grid with customizable lines and subdivisions
- Perspective distortion for anamorphic illusions
- Image filters: line art, black & white, background removal
- AR-guided distortion process
- Manual distortion control
- Save grid settings in projects
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Tracing Buddy is a drawing grid and anamorphic images creation tool. Built for simplicity, Tracing Buddy allows you to easily transfer pictures to a drawing surface Using the perspective distortion functionality, now you can enter the world of drawing illusions. First, apply the distortion to your images and then transfer them to a drawing surface with a grid The app is optimized for both iPhone and iPad use, including Dark Mode support Grid Features: - Square divisions or choose the preferred aspect ratio - Change color and transparency of grid lines - Choose from four subdivision styles and change color and transparency as you wish - Change the grid background color and the transparency of your image - Change the scale and position of your image relative to the whole grid - Save grid settings in projects Image Features: - Choose from a regular image, line art style, black & white values, or remove backgrounds with the person detection filter -With the B&W and values filter you change your image to black & white, adjust shadows and highlights to you liking with the included tone curve and reduce the number of values in the picture to a more manageable amount. With the value selection tool you can inspect where values are placed in your image - Use the person detection filter to remove the backgrounds of pictures with people in them, change to a transparent or solid color background instead Anamorphic images: - Add perspective distortion to your images choosing from two method: AR or using a picture - In AR method let Tracing Buddy guide you through the whole process, you only need an iOS device equipped with AR capabilities - If you need more control about the distortion, you can take a picture from your phone or with external camera and apply the distortion manually, for this method to be effective, you need to know the dimensions of the surface you want to transfer your picture to Premium Features Add-on (either by subscription or lifetime purchase) required for: - Ad removal - Premium Image filters - Multiple Project management - PNG type export Privacy Policy: https://lafappbrica.com/tracing-buddy-privacy-policy Terms of use https://lafappbrica.com/tracing-buddy-terms/
Mana Palette
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Mana Palette is a color-study tool for miniature painters, illustrators, and designers — a quiet studio built around one artwork at a time. DISCOVER — Shuffle random Magic: The Gathering artworks with mana color filters, set search, artist lock, and theme search. Artist, card and source are always credited; bookmark references into your gallery. ANALYZE — A precision eyedropper with pixel loupe and adjustable sample size (1×1 to 25×25 px, correctly averaged), value study (luminance) and shape study (simplified color fields — the picker samples exactly what you see). You can also load your own image for analysis; it stays on your device. PALETTES — Collect up to 12 colors with notes and tags (per palette and per color), matched against 9 miniature paint ranges (Citadel, Vallejo, Army Painter, AK Gen3, P3, Golden SoFlat, Scale75, Reaper, Pro Acryl) via CIEDE2000 — with an adjustable dE threshold so you only see paints that really match. Shopping list included. EXPORT — Auto palette and working palettes as hex list, PNG swatch card (with color data and best paint per swatch), GPL (GIMP/Krita), CSV, and JSON — via the iOS share sheet. No accounts, no ads, no tracking. Everything stays local on your device. Works in portrait and landscape. Mana Palette is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. (c) Wizards of the Coast LLC. Card data and imagery via Scryfall.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mana Palette at none against Tracing Buddy's 4. Mana Palette also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 6 weeks). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Tracing Buddy sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month. Mana Palette asks for nothing beyond the download.
Tracing Buddy ships an update every 6 weeks, Mana Palette daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tracing Buddy | Mana Palette |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (956 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 63.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 956 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | La Fáppbrica | Markus Wenzel |
Bugs and requests
Tracing Buddy
Reported bugs
4 issues- Zoom feature not working
- Grid feature not working as expected
- Lock feature not working properly
- App only works once, can't reuse
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to crop photo inside the app
- Easier way to start a new drawing
- Ability to rotate image
- Grid with numbered overlay and adjustable starting point
- Grid size based on specific measurements
Mana Palette
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Tracing Buddy
- Monthly Subscription$0.491 Month
- Yearly subscription7 Days trial$3.991 Year
- Premium Features$9.99
- Premium Features$12.99
Mana Palette
No in-app purchases









