Comparison

Character Draft vs PaintSteps

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

Head to head
About

Character Draft

Easily create character drafts with adjustable parameters. Export your creations to other drawing software for further refinement. Supports multiple characters and background image imports.

Highlights
  • Multiple character creation
  • Adjustable skeleton ratio
  • Intuitive movement controls
  • Import external backgrounds
  • Export to drawing software
Features
Read full description

Use "Character Draft" to make drafts of characters quickly You can adjust a lot of parameters to meet your needs After adjustment, export image to other drawing software to create 1. Multiple Characters 2. Character skeleton ratio 3. Intuitive movement 4. Import external background images

About

PaintSteps

Features
Read full description

Turn any photo into a practical, step-by-step painting guide. PaintSteps simplifies your reference into progressive color stages, helping you see what to paint first and what to add next. Choose your medium and painting order, then work through the image, palette, and mixing guidance at your own pace. CREATE FROM ANY PHOTO - Choose an image from your photo library - Crop and position it for your canvas - Adjust colors, steps, smoothing, and canvas ratio - Build dark-to-light, light-to-dark, or balanced PAINT WITH CLEAR GUIDANCE - Follow progressive painting steps - Use color numbers and an adjustable drawing grid - Pinch to zoom while guides stay aligned - Press and hold to compare with the original photo TRACE WITH LINE ART - Turn your painting into an outline drawing to transfer onto the canvas - Choose the level of detail, or let Auto pick a step that's easy to trace - Add a drawing grid and color numbers, then print it or share it as a PDF or PNG - With Pro, choose thin, medium, or bold lines MIX COLORS - View practical paint-mixing suggestions for every palette color - Choose from built-in paint sets - With Pro, use your own paints and palettes, calibrate tinting strength, and edit recipes SAVE AND EXPORT - Keep your painting projects in one library - Export complete PDF tutorials, including the line art page, or individual PNG step images with Pro The free version includes up to two saved paintings, tutorials with up to four steps, and line art. PaintSteps Pro unlocks unlimited paintings, up to eight steps, custom paints and palettes, recipe editing, export, and line art thickness. PaintSteps Pro is a one-time purchase. No subscription. Mixing results are estimates. Always test a small mix before painting.

Screenshots

PaintSteps4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PaintSteps at Free against Character Draft's $2.99. Character Draft's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

PaintSteps is free to download; Character Draft costs $2.99 up front. PaintSteps sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Character Draft asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Character Draft ships an update every 6 weeks, PaintSteps monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 6 level
Character Draft versus PaintSteps: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCharacter DraftPaintSteps
Price$2.99Free โ€” better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviewsโ€”
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksMonthly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
MonetizationPaidโ€”
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS17.617.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size5 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAurora Island Tech CO., LTD.PULSAR LLC

In-app purchases

None

Character Draft

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

PaintSteps

One-time1
  • PaintSteps Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Character Draft free?
Character Draft costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PaintSteps free?
PaintSteps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Character Draft or PaintSteps have ads?
Neither Character Draft nor PaintSteps shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Character Draft or PaintSteps?
Character Draft ships an update every 6 weeks, and PaintSteps monthly. Most recently, Character Draft was updated on October 30, 2026 and PaintSteps on October 31, 2026.

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