Comparison

Value Study vs HEAVYPAINT

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

HEAVYPAINT

This app offers a raw digital painting experience with unique tools for creating textured art and quick studies. It's designed for artists who embrace digital chaos and seek a streamlined, mobile art studio.

Highlights
  • Unique digital brushes
  • Color Jitter for texture
  • Fast color blocking tools
  • Line Blend for gradients
  • Liquify tool
  • Minimalist interface
  • Gallery for creations
Features
Read full description

Raw digital painting with unique brushes & color chaos. The painter's painting app that celebrates digital chaos. HEAVYPAINT is unapologetically digital and a bit unhinged. It’s a celebration of digital impressionism. Whether you're sketching on the train, painting outdoors, or creating quick color studies, this is your pocket art studio. Unique Digital Tools Color Jitter: Unleash beautiful digital chaos and texture Fan Fill and Lasso Fill for fast color blockins, textured foliage, notan, organic shapes. Rake tool for softening up edges in a graphic way Line Blend for instant gradients
Liquify to adjust proportions and shapes Built for Speed & Mobility Perfect pochade box replacement for pleinair painting. Great for quick paintings on public transit, many will finger paint on their phones. Streamlined interface.Focus on pure color and shape without digital clutter. Streamlined Experience Minimalist interface puts painting first Customizable tools that adapt to your style Strong shape design tools for bold, crisp artwork Gallery to review and organize your creations + Plein air painters who want to ditch heavy supplies + Quick color studies and concept sketches + Figure painting and gesture drawing + Artists wanting to rediscover digital painting joy + Anyone seeking a uniquely digital aesthetic HEAVYPAINT balances professional capabilities with unhinged creativity. Embrace procedural randomness / crunchiness / glitchiness that digital enables. Touch grass. Ideal for pleinair painting and quick studies This app is subject to Apple's standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Value Study4 screens
HEAVYPAINT4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Value Study at 4.8 against HEAVYPAINT's 4.0. Value Study also leads on review sentiment (92% vs 58%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks). 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. Value Study sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year and HEAVYPAINT sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Value Study holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Value Study has 3.3K ratings behind it against 65, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Value Study's written reviews are positive against 58% of HEAVYPAINT's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Value Study ships an update weekly, HEAVYPAINT every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Value Study versus HEAVYPAINT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterValue StudyHEAVYPAINT
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.3K ratings) — better4.0 (65 ratings)
Positive reviews91.9% of reviews — better58.4% of reviews
Number of ratings3.3K — better65
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDiem LimitedHEAVYPOLY, Inc.

Customer experience

Value Study

All ratings3,268 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.3%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews198 reviews
Positive91.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative6.6%

HEAVYPAINT

All ratings65 ratings
Positive67.7%
Neutral13.8%
Negative18.5%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive58.4%
Neutral15.6%
Negative26.0%

User reviews

Value Study

From 3.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Helpful for value studies
  • 💡 Allows adjusting number of values
  • 🎨 Useful for artists and painters
  • ⭐ Great tool for beginners

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with accurately representing blue hues
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding/importing photos
  • 🤔 Unclear instructions/lack of tutorial

HEAVYPAINT

From 65 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful brushes and tools
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 💡 Unique and distilled painting experience
  • 👍 Responsive and dedicated developer
  • 👍 Great community support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🐛 Issues with saving and restoring purchases
  • 🐛 Inconsistent UI and missing features

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

HEAVYPAINT

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Gallery crashes
  • Artwork files not saving properly
  • Eyedropper tool not working as expected

Requested features

3 requests
  • Improved layer management
  • More customization options
  • Better color controls and eyedropper tool

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Value Study

Subscriptions1
  • Value Study Pro$3.991 Year
One-time4
  • Appreciation$2.99
  • Value Study Pro (Lifetime)$9.99
  • Generous boost$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Amazing supporter$24.99
3 purchases

HEAVYPAINT

Subscriptions2
  • Gallery Sync Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Gallery Sync Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock Full Version$9.99

Questions

Is Value Study free?
Value Study is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HEAVYPAINT free?
HEAVYPAINT is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Value Study or HEAVYPAINT?
Value Study is rated higher. Value Study averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while HEAVYPAINT averages 4.0 from 65 ratings.
Do Value Study or HEAVYPAINT have ads?
Neither Value Study nor HEAVYPAINT shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Value Study or HEAVYPAINT?
Value Study ships an update weekly, and HEAVYPAINT every 6 weeks. Most recently, Value Study was updated on September 23, 2026 and HEAVYPAINT on September 21, 2026.

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