Value Study vs Photorealism
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Step-by-step tone breakdown
- Highlighting areas of same value
- Focus on light, shadow, and form
- Greyscale value studies
- Works with reference images
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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/
Photorealism
This drawing app helps artists create photorealistic artwork by using a custom grid and layer separation on reference images. Track progress, compare your work to the original, and identify errors to improve your drawing accuracy.
- Upload reference images
- Apply custom grids
- Separate reference into layers
- Track drawing progress
- Compare drawing to photograph
- Mark errors
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Designed entirely by photorealist Dylan Eakin, Photorealism Studio is a comprehensive drawing app that gives you the ability to upload a reference, apply a custom grid, and separate the reference into its essential layers. Keep track of how many squares you've finished, effortlessly compare your drawing against the photograph, mark errors, and more. The all-in-one drawing tool to make your own photographs. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://realismdrawing.com/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Value Study at none against Photorealism's shown. Value Study also leads on ratings volume (3.3K vs 76). Photorealism's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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. Value Study sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year and Photorealism sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Value Study against 4.9 for Photorealism. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Value Study has 3.3K ratings behind it against 76, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 92% of Value Study's written reviews are positive against 88% of Photorealism's.
Value Study ships an update fortnightly, Photorealism every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Value Study | Photorealism |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (3.3K ratings) | 4.9 (76 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 92.0% of reviews — better | 88.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3.3K — better | 76 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Diem Limited | Dylan Eakin |
Customer experience
Value Study
Photorealism
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
Photorealism
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Value Study
- Value Study Pro$3.991 Year
- Value Study Pro (yearly)$6.991 Year
- Appreciation$2.99
- Value Study Pro (Lifetime)$9.99
- Generous boost$9.99
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- Value Study$17.99
- Amazing supporter$24.99
Photorealism
- Remove Ads$9.99
