Comparison

Head Model Studio vs Pocket Easel

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

Head to head
About

Head Model Studio

Master portrait drawing with detailed 3D head models. Study facial planes and geometry with customizable lighting and rendering options. Perfect for artists looking to elevate their sketching skills.

Highlights
  • Detailed 3D head models
  • Plane and geometry study
  • Customizable lighting (environmental & studio)
  • Adjustable rendering (edge outline, shininess)
  • Pre-made practice scenes
  • Zoom, tilt, and rotate controls
Features
Read full description

Draw better portraits with Head Model Studio. Study faces in detail from simple planes to complex geometry. It is the best iOS / iPadOS application to learn and study faces in detail. Take your sketches to the next level. INSPIRED BY FAMOUS TECHNIQUES Inspired by master methodologies, Head Model Studio comes with 25 different models, including 2 free. From simple to more detailed models, progress easily by understanding the planes of the face. Expand your practice with 5 classical models. COMPLETE CONTROL You have complete control over the 3D models. Zoom, tilt, and rotate to study each part of the model at will. ENVIRONMENTAL & STUDIO LIGHTING Realistic environmental lighting based on HDR photos, recreate a sunrise, midday, or sunset illumination. Switch to Studio Lighting to create amazing lighting composition with multiple spotlights and different colors. Change the lighting to be at any angle or intensity. Perfect to study the planes of the head and understand tones. CUSTOMISABLE RENDERING The edge outline highlights the planes for easier practice. Turn it off once comfortable and practice in a more realistic setting. Modify the shininess for a different material rendering. PRE-MADE PRACTICE Want to learn to draw but unsure where or how to start? We’ve created a bunch of scenes to get you started. PRICING Head Model Studio offers a couple of free models. A premium access is required to access the rest of the models. Lifetime and Yearly (non-recurring) options are available. WE LOVE FEEDBACK I love coding and drawing, feel free to reach out, and tell me what feature you'd love to see in the app. Terms & Conditions: https://headmodelstudio.com/terms-conditions/

About

Pocket Easel

This app facilitates quick color studies for painting from life, offering a unique palette system that allows color mixing without leaving the canvas. It helps artists maintain color harmony by limiting palettes and provides tools to analyze values and import master palettes.

Highlights
  • Intuitive color mixing gesture
  • Gamut masks for palette harmony
  • Painterly brush textures
  • Value check with grayscale conversion
  • Import master palettes
  • Save and duplicate color studies
  • Export studies with color analysis
Read full description

Pocket Easel is a color-study app for painting from life, wherever you are. It works like a painter's palette: a gamut mask decides which colors are on your palette, and a simple gesture lets you mix as you paint — a little warmer, a little cooler, lighter, darker — without ever leaving the picture. The mask is what's on your palette. The gesture is how you mix. Pick Color Without Leaving the Painting Most apps make you stop, open a color panel and drag sliders to an exact value, then find your place again. In Pocket Easel you push the current color from the corner of the canvas, relative to where it is, the way you'd work a touch more paint into a mix. No numbers to hit, so adjusting often costs nothing. Gamut Masks Before you start, choose a mask shape on the color wheel — a preset, or your own triangle or quad. It limits your palette to colors that belong together, so the whole study stays in harmony. Mixing never steps outside it. Painterly Brushes Round and flat brushes, lines and shapes, all with a subtle painterly texture that varies the color as real paint does. Smudge blends the paint already on the canvas. See Your Values Value Check shows your study in grayscale. While you adjust brightness, a ten-step value scale appears beside the wheel. Master's Palette Import a painting you admire and see where its colors sit on the wheel — then fit a mask to its gamut. Color Studies Every study is saved as you go. Name them, duplicate one to try an idea, and pick up any of them later. Share Your Process Export your study with a frame that shows the gamut wheel and the colors you used, or a time-lapse that shows each stroke and where its color came from on the wheel. Made for Phone and iPad Turn your phone sideways to paint with both hands. Left-Handed mode, Dark mode, and the same tools on iPad. Pocket Easel is built for quick color studies, not detailed illustration — the constraint is the point. All painting tools and image export are free. Pocket Easel Pro, a one-time purchase, lets you turn off the frame, remove the watermark or use your own name, and export time-lapse videos.

Screenshots

Head Model Studio4 screens
Pocket Easel3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Pocket Easel at every 4 days against Head Model Studio's monthly. Pocket Easel also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 76%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). Head Model Studio's advantage is ratings volume (2.5K vs 10). 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. Head Model Studio sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.00 per month and Pocket Easel sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pocket Easel holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Head Model Studio has 2.5K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Head Model Studio's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pocket Easel's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Head Model Studio ships an update monthly, Pocket Easel every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Head Model Studio versus Pocket Easel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHead Model StudioPocket Easel
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.5K ratings)4.9 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.5K — better10
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size2.2 GB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWes Castain彬 王

Customer experience

Head Model Studio

All ratings2,464 ratings
Positive90.8%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews237 reviews
Positive76.4%
Neutral9.3%
Negative14.3%

Pocket Easel

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Head Model Studio

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Sudden loss of model functionality after updates
  • Overheating issues on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add female Loomis head models
  • Expand customization options for paid users
  • Implement full-body reference models
  • Provide option for one-time lifetime purchase

Pocket Easel

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Head Model Studio

Subscriptions2
  • 1 Month Access$9.001 Month
  • 1 Year Access$16.001 Year
One-time2
  • 1 Year Access$23.00
  • Lifetime Access$50.00
1 purchases

Pocket Easel

One-time1
  • Pocket Easel Pro$5.99

Questions

Is Head Model Studio free?
Head Model Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pocket Easel free?
Pocket Easel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Head Model Studio or Pocket Easel?
Pocket Easel is rated higher. Head Model Studio averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while Pocket Easel averages 4.9 from 10 ratings.
Do Head Model Studio or Pocket Easel have ads?
Neither Head Model Studio nor Pocket Easel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Head Model Studio or Pocket Easel?
Head Model Studio ships an update monthly, and Pocket Easel every 4 days. Most recently, Head Model Studio was updated on November 7, 2026 and Pocket Easel on November 10, 2026.

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