Comparison

Handy Art Reference Tool vs OCTO Flashcards

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

OCTO Flashcards

This app offers a digital solution for studying with flashcards, allowing users to write and draw using an Apple Pencil. It provides organizational tools like folders and color-coding, along with study features to track mastered cards and facilitate quick review sessions. Go paperless and create unlimited study materials without cost.

Highlights
  • Apple Pencil support for writing and drawing
  • Cloud-backed database for card storage
  • Folder organization and color-coding
  • Mastered card tracking
  • Quick study sessions with swipe/tap gestures
  • Unlimited card creation
Read full description

Let OCTO solve the tradeoff between modern technology and traditional flashcard studying! Utilize your Apple Pencil to write or draw anything you need to memorize- no more constraints from text-only flashcards. STAY ORGANIZED * OCTO's cloud-backed database ensures you never lose your flashcards * Keep all your study materials in one place * Group together flashcard sets into folders * Color code your flashcard sets and folders STUDY EFFECTIVELY * Memorize as you create your flashcards by writing out your material * Keep track of cards you have mastered * Choose to study only mastered cards for a challenge or all flashcards for a refresh * Have quick study sessions with our simple swipe or tap gestures GO PAPERLESS * Create unlimited cards without worrying about the costs * Reduce paper waste and your carbon footprint

Screenshots

Handy Art Reference Tool4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: OCTO Flashcards at Free against Handy Art Reference Tool's $1.99. OCTO Flashcards also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 5 months). Handy Art Reference Tool's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 2.6) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

OCTO Flashcards is free to download; Handy Art Reference Tool costs $1.99 up front. Handy Art Reference Tool sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. OCTO Flashcards asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Handy Art Reference Tool holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Handy Art Reference Tool has 1.2K ratings behind it against 16, 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 54% of OCTO Flashcards's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, OCTO Flashcards every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
Handy Art Reference Tool versus OCTO Flashcards: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandy Art Reference ToolOCTO Flashcards
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better2.6 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better53.8% of reviews
Number of ratings1.2K — better16
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 11 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#51 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.4
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBelief EngineElaine Kodama

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%

OCTO Flashcards

All ratings16 ratings
Positive37.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative62.5%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive53.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative46.2%

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

OCTO Flashcards

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
None

OCTO Flashcards

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Handy Art Reference Tool free?
Handy Art Reference Tool costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is OCTO Flashcards free?
OCTO Flashcards is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Handy Art Reference Tool or OCTO Flashcards?
Handy Art Reference Tool is rated higher. Handy Art Reference Tool averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while OCTO Flashcards averages 2.6 from 16 ratings.
Do Handy Art Reference Tool or OCTO Flashcards have ads?
OCTO Flashcards shows ads; Handy Art Reference Tool does not.
Which is updated more often, Handy Art Reference Tool or OCTO Flashcards?
Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, and OCTO Flashcards every 11 days. Most recently, Handy Art Reference Tool was updated on September 24, 2026 and OCTO Flashcards on August 20, 2026.

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