Comparison

Handy Art Reference Tool vs Head Study

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

Head Study

This app provides artists with a 3D reference for understanding human anatomy and facial forms. It features simplified planes, a skull model, and adjustable lighting to aid in portraiture studies. Enhance your knowledge of the human form by exploring what lies beneath the surface.

Highlights
  • Simplified planes of the head model
  • Anatomically correct male skull model
  • 360-degree 3D model manipulation
  • Adjustable lighting
  • Switchable anatomical views
  • Informational overlay with structural insights
Features
Read full description

Artists have always needed a quick and easy reference to help them understand the anatomy & forms of their portrait models. The Head Study App, is that resource. These portrait models were created to make the study of portraiture easier, but also to enhance your knowledge of the human form. The appearance of the face can be understood best by studying what is underneath the surface. The simplified planar head and the skull in this app are made with the same proportion to make this comparison as clear as possible. FEATURES: + Simplified “planes of the head” model + Anatomically correct male skull model + Tumble and zoom the 3D model from 360 degrees + Adjust the position & strength of multiple lighting situations + Switch between simplified planes, skull, and muscular views + Toggle an informational overlay indicating, key structural features, or anatomical insights + Adjustable background value This app was developed to go along with the lessons on my Patreon page. If you have interest in learning to draw and paint portraits better you can find all of my lessons at: patreon.com/StephenBaumanArtwork Any questions? Contact us at: stephenbaumanartwork@gmail.com

Screenshots

Handy Art Reference Tool4 screens
Head Study4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Handy Art Reference Tool at $1.99 against Head Study's $7.99. Handy Art Reference Tool also leads on ratings volume (1.2K vs 34) and chart position (#51 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

Handy Art Reference Tool costs $1.99 and Head Study $7.99 up front. Handy Art Reference Tool sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Head Study 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Handy Art Reference Tool against 4.8 for Head Study. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Handy Art Reference Tool has 1.2K ratings behind it against 34, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Handy Art Reference Tool's written reviews are positive against 78% of Head Study's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, Head Study every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Handy Art Reference Tool versus Head Study: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandy Art Reference ToolHead Study
Price$1.99 — better$7.99
Rating4.8 (1.2K ratings)4.8 (34 ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better77.8% of reviews
Number of ratings1.2K — better34
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#51 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB342 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBelief EngineStephen Bauman Artwork

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%

Head Study

All ratings34 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral7.4%
Negative14.8%

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

Head Study

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
1 purchases

Head Study

One-time1
  • Female Planes + Skull$4.99

Questions

Is Handy Art Reference Tool free?
Handy Art Reference Tool costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Head Study free?
Head Study costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Handy Art Reference Tool or Head Study?
Handy Art Reference Tool and Head Study are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1.2K and 34 ratings respectively.
Do Handy Art Reference Tool or Head Study have ads?
Neither Handy Art Reference Tool nor Head Study shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Handy Art Reference Tool or Head Study?
Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, and Head Study every 3 months. Most recently, Handy Art Reference Tool was updated on September 24, 2026 and Head Study on September 19, 2026.

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