Comparison

Value Study vs Purrticles effects designer

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

Head to head
About

Value Study

This app helps artists improve their skills by analyzing light and shadow in reference images. It allows users to break down tones step-by-step, from simple black and white to more complex value ranges, aiding in the understanding of depth and form. It's a tool to enhance traditional art studies.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step tone breakdown
  • Highlighting areas of same value
  • Focus on light, shadow, and form
  • Greyscale value studies
  • Works with reference images
Features
Read full description

In art, value (or tone) refers to how light or dark a colour is. If you're learning to paint or draw, doing value studies is one of the best ways to improve. These small, loose sketches in greyscale help you understand where shadows fall and highlights appear—essential for capturing depth and form. Value Study is a simple, focused tool designed to help you see values more clearly in your reference images. Instead of just converting a photo to black and white, this app lets you break down tones step by step. Start with just black and white to map out the biggest shapes, then gradually add more values to refine your understanding. You can also highlight all areas of an image that share the same value, making it easier to see subtle shifts in tone. This is especially useful in complex references, like portraits, where different parts of the image might have the same level of shadow but look completely different in colour. Value Study isn’t here to replace traditional studies—it’s here to enhance them. Whether you're sketching, painting, or working digitally, this tool makes it easier to focus on the fundamentals of light, shadow, and form. Try it for free with all features enabled on sample images from Unsplash before deciding to unlock the full app with a low-cost yearly or lifetime purchase. All Value Study Pro upgrades count as lifetime purchase. Either option will unlock Value Study across iPhone, iPad and Mac. Annual: Auto-renews yearly. Lifetime: One-time payment, no fees. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Purrticles effects designer

Features
Read full description

A tool for video creators, game designers and developers, with v1 generating code for Apple's SpriteKit™ framework. Simplifies particle effect design, easily seeing the important settings actually being used for the effect. Enjoy the peace of playing with digital art on your phone or iPad, with soothing full-screen experiences. Video creators - Save video of your favorites to combine with your other video editing tools right on the device. Videos can have clear backgrounds to easily overlay particle effects on top of other video tracks. Terms of use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://www.touchgram.com/privacy

Screenshots

Value Study4 screens
Purrticles effects designer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Value Study at fortnightly against Purrticles effects designer's every 6 weeks. On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Value Study sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year and Purrticles effects designer sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Value Study ships an update fortnightly, Purrticles effects designer every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Value Study versus Purrticles effects designer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterValue StudyPurrticles effects designer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.4K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews92.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.4K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS16.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDiem LimitedTouchgram Pty Ltd

Bugs and requests

Value Study

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes or fails to launch on some devices
  • Occasional issues with image processing

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to adjust value midpoint
  • Include color study/color adjustment options
  • Provide side-by-side comparison of original and simplified images
  • Add customizable grid overlay

Purrticles effects designer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Value Study

Subscriptions2
  • Value Study Pro$3.991 Year
  • Value Study Pro (yearly)$6.991 Year
One-time5
  • Appreciation$2.99
  • Value Study Pro (Lifetime)$9.99
  • Generous boost$9.99
Show 2 more
  • Value Study$17.99
  • Amazing supporter$24.99
13 purchases

Purrticles effects designer

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Purrer monthly3 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Pro Purrer annual14 Days trial$7.991 Year
One-time11
  • Vote for Comparing variations$0.99
  • Vote for Godot Swift export$0.99
  • Vote for GodotScript export$0.99
Show 8 more
  • Vote for VoiceOver$0.99
  • Vote for AirPlay broadcast$0.99
  • Vote for RealityKit export$0.99
  • Vote for Compose multi-emitter$0.99
  • Vote for Emoji/Text particles$0.99
  • Vote for Undo history in doc$0.99
  • Vote for Playback Actions$0.99
  • Pro Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Value Study free?
Value Study is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Purrticles effects designer free?
Purrticles effects designer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Value Study or Purrticles effects designer have ads?
Neither Value Study nor Purrticles effects designer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Value Study or Purrticles effects designer?
Value Study ships an update fortnightly, and Purrticles effects designer every 6 weeks. Most recently, Value Study was updated on October 24, 2026 and Purrticles effects designer on October 4, 2026.

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