Comparison

Handy Art Reference Tool vs Drawing from References

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

Drawing from References

This app provides a vast library of curated portraits and poses for artists to practice and learn realistic drawing. It offers AI-powered portrait generation, customizable drawing aids like grids and filters, and access to additional reference collections.

Highlights
  • Vast library of portraits and poses
  • AI-powered custom portrait generation
  • Customizable grid overlay
  • Blur and grayscale filters
  • Searchable Unsplash database
  • Additional reference collections (hands, feet)
Features
Read full description

* No more "I don't know what to draw" Blank page anxiety is real. "Drawing from References" fixes it with thousands of curated portraits and poses you can actually use — no endless scrolling, no copyright headaches, just reference photos picked for artists who want to get better. * The tools that actually help - A huge library that keeps growing. Portraits, full-body poses, hands, feet, even still life setups. - AI portraits on demand (Premium) Need a specific look that doesn't exist yet? Generate one. Pick the gender, age, expression, hair, vibe — get a custom reference built for exactly what you're practicing. * Built-in drawing aids that don't get in your way - Grid overlay Nail your proportions without guessing. Adjustable, so it fits your style. - Blur filter See the big shapes first. Details can wait. - Grayscale filter Kill the color noise and train your eye on values — the thing that actually makes shading look right. * More than portraits Hands, feet, still life, and a direct line into Unsplash's massive photo library when you want something specific. * Practice with a plan, not just vibes Likeness, proportion, values — the stuff that trips everyone up. Drawing References gives you the reference and the tools to actually fix it, session after session. Download it. Open the app. Start drawing. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.drawingreferencesapp.com/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Handy Art Reference Tool4 screens
Drawing from References4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Handy Art Reference Tool at 85% against Drawing from References's 25%. Handy Art Reference Tool also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.5) and ads (none vs shown). Drawing from References's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). On in-app purchases, monetization model, device support and iOS requirement 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

Drawing from References 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 Drawing from References sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. 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 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Handy Art Reference Tool has 1.2K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Handy Art Reference Tool's written reviews are positive against 25% of Drawing from References's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, Drawing from References every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Handy Art Reference Tool versus Drawing from References: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandy Art Reference ToolDrawing from References
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better3.5 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.2K — better10
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#54 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB73 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperBelief Enginefnx.io

Customer experience

Handy Art Reference Tool

All ratings1,237 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.1%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews380 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral6.8%
Negative8.2%

Drawing from References

All ratings10 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative30.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

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

Drawing from References

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Handy Art Reference Tool

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

Drawing from References

Subscriptions2
  • Upgrade to PRO7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Upgrade to PRO7 Days trial$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Handy Art Reference Tool free?
Handy Art Reference Tool costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Drawing from References free?
Drawing from References is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Handy Art Reference Tool or Drawing from References?
Handy Art Reference Tool is rated higher. Handy Art Reference Tool averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Drawing from References averages 3.5 from 10 ratings.
Do Handy Art Reference Tool or Drawing from References have ads?
Drawing from References shows ads; Handy Art Reference Tool does not.
Which is updated more often, Handy Art Reference Tool or Drawing from References?
Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, and Drawing from References every 2 months. Most recently, Handy Art Reference Tool was updated on September 24, 2026 and Drawing from References on August 18, 2026.

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