Comparison

Handy Art Reference Tool vs Colored Pencil Picker

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

Head to head
About

Handy Art Reference Tool

This app provides artists with rotatable 3D models of hands, heads, and feet for drawing reference. Customize poses and lighting to achieve realistic results for your artwork. Additional packs for animal skulls and foot rigs are available for purchase.

Highlights
  • Rotatable 3D limb models
  • Customizable poses
  • Adjustable 3-point lighting
  • 3D head busts
  • Animal skull reference pack
  • Material editing
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

"Thanks to this useful app, drawing realistic hands can become a whole lot easier" - ImagineFX "Pencillers, inkers, and colorists should all give this a look!" - Tony Moore, co-creator of The Walking Dead If you're an artist and ever wanted just quick and easy drawing reference for hands, heads, or even feet (IAP) without having to awkwardly pose your limbs in front of a mirror, this app is for you! HANDY® is an artist's reference tool, consisting of several rotatable 3D limbs with a variety of poses useful for drawing. You can also customize and edit your own poses for hands, feet, and skulls. Fully adjustable 3-point lighting means you can get easy lighting reference when using any of the 10+ included 3D head busts. Handy if you’re painting and need to know what shadows the head casts from a certain angle! Also available is the Animal Skulls pack. With over 10 different animal species, it's great for anatomical reference or creature design inspiration. [Foot rigs and Animal Skull pack require additional purchase] NEW in Handy v5: Edit the materials of models! Selectively turn off their textures, adjust their specularity, or tint them a certain color. Perfect for comic book artists, painters, or just casual sketchers! Featured in ImagineFX's Top 10 Must-Have Apps! Check out the video demo: https://www.youtube.com/@handyarttool Sign up for the HANDY newsletter for information about new upcoming updates! http://www.handyarttool.com/newsletter Follow HANDY on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/handyarttool.bsky.social

About

Colored Pencil Picker

This app assists colored pencil artists in creating realistic drawings by helping them select the best color palettes. It offers extensive brand presets, color blending, and image analysis tools to streamline the artistic process.

Highlights
  • Colored pencil brand presets
  • Import reference photos
  • Blend and mix up to 3 colors
  • Pencil locator feature
  • Image grid analysis
  • Adjustable color depth
Features
Read full description

Introducing "Colored Pencil Picker" app, the ultimate drawing tool for colored pencil artist. Learn realistic drawings FAST and EASY! "Colored Pencil Picker" app will help you pick the best colors for your realistic drawings. Made for Colored Pencil Artist. Select Brand -> Import reference photo -> Begin color picking. Features: A. Colored pencil presets from famous brands, -Prismacolor: 150s, 132s, 72s, 48s, 36s -Faber Castell Classics: 48s, 36s -Faber Castell Polychromos: 120s, 72s, 60s, 48s -Caran d’Ache Luminance: 76s, 40s -Caran d’Ache Pablo: 120s, 80s, 40s -Caran d’Ache Supracolor: 120s, 80s, 40s -Derwent Artist Pencils: 120s, 72s, 48s, 36s -Derwent Lightfast: 100s, 72s, 48, 36s -Arteza Expert Colored Pencils: 120s, 72s, 48s -(more brands to come) B. Blend and Mix up to 3 colors for more accurate results. C. Pencil Locator Feature. D. Image Grid E. Mix Ratio F. Adjustable Color Depth G. Retrieve the last used photo. Hurry! Download our App now for Free!

Screenshots

Handy Art Reference Tool4 screens
Colored Pencil Picker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Colored Pencil Picker at Free against Handy Art Reference Tool's $1.99. Colored Pencil Picker also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). Handy Art Reference Tool's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (85% vs 72%). On rating, ratings volume, 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

Colored Pencil Picker is free to download; Handy Art Reference Tool costs $1.99 up front. Handy Art Reference Tool sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Colored Pencil Picker 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

Handy Art Reference Tool holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 688 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Handy Art Reference Tool's written reviews are positive against 72% of Colored Pencil Picker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, Colored Pencil Picker fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Handy Art Reference Tool versus Colored Pencil Picker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandy Art Reference ToolColored Pencil Picker
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better4.7 (688 ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better72.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.2K — better688
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#44 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBelief EngineKristian Olidana

Customer experience

Handy Art Reference Tool

All ratings1,237 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.1%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews381 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral6.8%
Negative8.1%

Colored Pencil Picker

All ratings687 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.8%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive72.0%
Neutral10.3%
Negative17.8%

User reviews

Handy Art Reference Tool

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for drawing reference
  • 🔍 Useful for lighting and shading
  • 🎨 Great for hands and heads
  • 💡 Customizable lighting and poses
  • 🎨 Diverse skin tone options

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes or freezes on some devices
  • 💰 In-app purchases for additional content
  • 🤔 Limited model variety (no full bodies)
  • 🤔 Difficulty with precise positioning
  • 🤔 Lighting controls could be improved

Colored Pencil Picker

From 688 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Absolutely amazing!
  • 👍 Great app
  • 👍 Wonderful tool
  • 👍 Fantastic tool
  • 👍 Brilliant little app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Hue is completely off
  • 🐛 Not accurate at all
  • 🐛 Colors way off
  • 🐛 Not accurate color
  • 🐛 Skin colors turned out muddy

Bugs and requests

Handy Art Reference Tool

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on launch for some users
  • Purchased content not unlocking
  • Positioning and movement issues

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add full body models and poses
  • Include more facial expressions and emotions
  • Allow for custom hand and finger posing
  • Implement ability to save custom poses
  • Add more diverse skin tones and ethnicities
Show 1 more
  • Improve lighting controls and options

Colored Pencil Picker

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Update needed
  • Grid issues
  • Monthly download picture never changes
  • Can't reveal all colors until you agree to see ads

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add Caran d'Ache Luminance set of 100
  • Add more pencil brand options
  • Add Derwent Lightfast pencils
  • Add Derwent Drawing and Coloursoft pencils
  • Add Arteza pencil sets
Show 5 more
  • Add Crayola and Castle Art pencils
  • Add ability to remove a color
  • Add ability to mix brands
  • Add ability to store the photo in the app
  • Add pastel pencil support

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Handy Art Reference Tool

One-time2
  • Feet Models$1.99
  • Animal Skull Pack$1.99
1 purchases

Colored Pencil Picker

One-time1
  • Colored Pencil Picker Pro$7.99

Questions

Is Handy Art Reference Tool free?
Handy Art Reference Tool costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Colored Pencil Picker free?
Colored Pencil Picker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Handy Art Reference Tool or Colored Pencil Picker?
Handy Art Reference Tool is rated higher. Handy Art Reference Tool averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Colored Pencil Picker averages 4.7 from 688 ratings.
Do Handy Art Reference Tool or Colored Pencil Picker have ads?
Colored Pencil Picker shows ads; Handy Art Reference Tool does not.
Which is updated more often, Handy Art Reference Tool or Colored Pencil Picker?
Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, and Colored Pencil Picker fortnightly. Most recently, Handy Art Reference Tool was updated on November 6, 2026 and Colored Pencil Picker on November 2, 2026.

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