Comparison

Quick Poses vs RefCanvas

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

Head to head
About

Quick Poses

This app helps artists improve their drawing skills with timed practice sessions. Users can customize pose durations, select from built-in or custom galleries, and track their progress over time. It's designed to enhance observation, anatomy, and composition skills through gesture drawing.

Highlights
  • Customizable pose durations
  • Session time control
  • Warm-up delay option
  • Built-in and custom galleries
  • Gesture drawing focus
  • Progress tracking
  • Left/right-handed support
Read full description

Quick Poses is THE ultimate tool to help artists sharpen their drawing skills by simulating REAL LIFE academic figure drawing sessions. Select your pose duration, choose your favorite photo galleries, and start drawing right away! Train your observation and anatomy skills with Quick Poses. The goal is simple: capture the ESSENCE of each pose within a limited time. As soon as the timer runs out, a new pose appears, keeping you focused and in the flow. At the end of your session, a SUMMARY gives you a clear picture of your progress. Over time, track your improvement in the HISTORY section and see how your skills evolve. This practice, called GESTURE DRAWING, is one of the BEST ways to build confidence, observation accuracy, and dynamic composition. It’s also an excellent warm-up before longer drawing sessions. FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS • CUSTOMIZE pose durations anywhere from 5 SECONDS to INFINITY. • CONTROL your total session time by limiting the number of poses. • ADD a short WARMUP DELAY before each pose to prepare your workspace or materials. • USE your APPLE PENCIL directly on screen, and analyze your sketches after each session. • ACCESS the full TOOL PICKER for longer poses to unleash your creativity with more tools and colors. • SWITCH your drawing side for LEFT or RIGHT-HANDED comfort. • USE iPad MULTITASKING or PICTURE-IN-PICTURE to draw in your favorite app like Procreate with more screen real estate. • APPLY basic IMAGE EFFECTS (monochrome, 2-tones, 4-tones, line overlay, blur) to study poses in a whole new way. • ENJOY 7 BUILT-IN GALLERIES featuring various subjects (people, animals). • ADD your own galleries easily with the integrated GALLERY EDITOR (optional in-app purchase required). • DISPLAY poses in ORDER or RANDOM sequence. • REVIEW your past sessions in the HISTORY SCREEN and MEASURE your progress over time. • EXPORT your best drawings to share, print, or refine further in another app. • YOUR PRIVACY MATTERS – all your data stays on device unless you choose to share it. Master gesture drawing, stay motivated, and see your art grow session after session with Quick Poses.

About

RefCanvas

This app helps artists and designers organize visual references for their projects. Import images and GIFs, arrange them on a canvas, add notes, and export your creations.

Highlights
  • Import images and GIFs
  • Add text notes
  • Move, scale, and rotate references
  • Group references with nodes
  • Supports split screen and pop-up view
  • Export boards as SVG or images
Features
Read full description

RefCanvas is an intuitive tool for artists and designers who need a comprehensive reference app to bring their creative vision to life. Key Features: - Import images and gifs. - Notes - Add text notes. - Move, scale and rotate references to create the perfect layout. - Multi selection - edit multiple references at one. - Nodes - Useful for grouping references. - Drag and drop - Drag and drop files from others apps like the gallery. - Paste files from the clipboard. - Supports split screen and pop-up view: Use it as a companion app with your favorite drawing app like Ibis Paint or Infinite Painter. - Save your progress as boards for future use. - Auto set thumbnails for boards after saving. - Eye dropper - Tap and hold to pick a color from your references as a hex code. - Drawing. Animated GIF support: - Reference your favorite animated gifs. - Pause animation and play frame by frame to better understand referenced animations. - Animation timeline gives you an interactive visual breakdown of all the frames. Easy to use reference tools: - Grayscale toggle. - Flip horizontally and vertically. - Add link - allows you to visit the source of your reference. Export: Export boards to share. Export board as SVG. Export Images/Gifs as files. Using RefCanvas to make reference boards & mood boards is easy, simply import your images or gifs, and move them around the canvas to arrange them in the layout that works best for your project. You can adjust their size, rotation and position to your liking, giving you maximum control over your creative process.

Screenshots

RefCanvas4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Quick Poses at 91% against RefCanvas's 43%. Quick Poses also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.3) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 17 months). RefCanvas's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Quick Poses sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and RefCanvas sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Quick Poses holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Quick Poses has 87 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Quick Poses's written reviews are positive against 43% of RefCanvas's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Quick Poses ships an update every 2 months, RefCanvas every 17 months. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Quick Poses versus RefCanvas: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterQuick PosesRefCanvas
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (87 ratings) — better2.3 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews90.9% of reviews — better42.9% of reviews
Number of ratings87 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 17 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB131 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperFrederic Ruaudelyoucef boukit

Customer experience

Quick Poses

All ratings76 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral6.1%
Negative3.0%

RefCanvas

All ratings7 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative57.1%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative57.1%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Quick Poses

One-time2
  • Long-time user offerFree
  • Add Custom User Galleries$5.99
2 purchases

RefCanvas

One-time2
  • Pro version$2.99
  • Pro version2 variants$3.99

Questions

Is Quick Poses free?
Quick Poses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RefCanvas free?
RefCanvas is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Quick Poses or RefCanvas?
Quick Poses is rated higher. Quick Poses averages 4.8 out of 5 from 87 ratings, while RefCanvas averages 2.3 from 7 ratings.
Do Quick Poses or RefCanvas have ads?
Neither Quick Poses nor RefCanvas shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Quick Poses or RefCanvas?
Quick Poses ships an update every 2 months, and RefCanvas every 17 months. Most recently, Quick Poses was updated on September 9, 2026 and RefCanvas on September 15, 2026.

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