Comparison

Handy Art Reference Tool vs Shortcuts for Zbrush

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

Shortcuts for Zbrush

This application provides a quick reference for Zbrush hotkeys to optimize your workflow. It offers shortcuts for both Mac OS and Windows, helping users of all skill levels learn and apply them efficiently. Users can also send shortcut files to themselves for easy access.

Highlights
  • Zbrush hotkey reference
  • Mac OS shortcuts
  • Windows shortcuts
  • Optimized workflow
  • Send shortcut files
  • Convenient interface
Features
Read full description

Every day, hyper geometric content of any user Zbrush becomes saturated and harder. Every day, perform design problem becomes harder and harder. No matter beginner or professional would like some way to optimize your work in Zbrush. To present you a free program by hotkey Zbrush! Selecting a platform you can use the application as a prompt for your work. Thanks to this application you can quickly learn the shortcuts that will enable you to optimize your work and regardless of content to perform it in the same unit of time. The user can also send yourself a file with the keyboard shortcuts for that platform, it needs! In this version: -Free! -Reduction for Zbrush on Mac OS -Reduction for Zbrush on Windows -convenient and memorable interface -file sending with Mac OS shortcuts -file sending with Windows shortcuts -fresh keyboard shortcuts -contact with author -iPad support

Screenshots

Handy Art Reference Tool4 screens
Shortcuts for Zbrush4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Handy Art Reference Tool at 85% against Shortcuts for Zbrush's 17%. Handy Art Reference Tool also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.3) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 9). Shortcuts for Zbrush's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On update cadence, ads and device support 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

Shortcuts for Zbrush is free to download; Handy Art Reference Tool costs $1.99 up front. Handy Art Reference Tool sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Shortcuts for Zbrush 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 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Handy Art Reference Tool has 1.2K ratings behind it against 9, 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 17% of Shortcuts for Zbrush's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, Shortcuts for Zbrush every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Handy Art Reference Tool versus Shortcuts for Zbrush: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandy Art Reference ToolShortcuts for Zbrush
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better2.3 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better16.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1.2K — better9
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#74 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.06.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBelief EngineNikolay Smorgun

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%

Shortcuts for Zbrush

All ratings8 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative66.7%

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

Shortcuts for Zbrush

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

Shortcuts for Zbrush

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 Shortcuts for Zbrush free?
Shortcuts for Zbrush is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Handy Art Reference Tool or Shortcuts for Zbrush?
Handy Art Reference Tool is rated higher. Handy Art Reference Tool averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Shortcuts for Zbrush averages 2.3 from 9 ratings.
Do Handy Art Reference Tool or Shortcuts for Zbrush have ads?
Neither Handy Art Reference Tool nor Shortcuts for Zbrush shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Handy Art Reference Tool or Shortcuts for Zbrush?
Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, and Shortcuts for Zbrush every 4 months. Most recently, Handy Art Reference Tool was updated on November 6, 2026 and Shortcuts for Zbrush on November 6, 2026.

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