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.
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.
- Rotatable 3D limb models
- Customizable poses
- Adjustable 3-point lighting
- 3D head busts
- Animal skull reference pack
- Material editing
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"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
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Handy Art Reference Tool | OCTO Flashcards |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better | 2.6 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.0% of reviews — better | 53.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Best chart rank | #51 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 361 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Belief Engine | Elaine Kodama |
Customer experience
Handy Art Reference Tool
OCTO Flashcards
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
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- Improve lighting controls and options
OCTO Flashcards
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Handy Art Reference Tool
- Feet Models$1.99
- Animal Skull Pack$1.99
OCTO Flashcards
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Handy Art Reference Tool free?
Is OCTO Flashcards free?
Which has better reviews, Handy Art Reference Tool or OCTO Flashcards?
Do Handy Art Reference Tool or OCTO Flashcards have ads?
Which is updated more often, Handy Art Reference Tool or OCTO Flashcards?
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