Handy Art Reference Tool vs h2Dr
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
h2Dr
This app enhances a drawing book by linking printed pages to online video tutorials. Readers can use their devices to access over 10 hours of advanced video content, keeping the educational material current with rapidly advancing techniques.
- AR trigger image integration
- Direct link to online tutorials
- Over 10 hours of video content
- Updates with advancing techniques
- Companion app for a physical book
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This is the companion app for the new Design Studio Press book: How to Draw. Enhancing the learning experience, this app has been created to allow readers to use trigger images on pages to link directly to online tutorials via their iPhones and iPads. Using advanced video techniques, this app connects the printed matter to online digital educational content as never before, and insures that the book remains as current as the rapidly advancing techniques presented in How to Draw. Over 10 hours of video content have been created to accompany the book. A physical copy of How to Draw is required to get the most out of the h2Dr app. Additionally, an internet connection is required to view the video content. You can get your copy of the How to Draw book by visiting: http://designstudiopress.com For downloadable examples of the Trackers and for a demo video, please visit: http://scottrobertsonworkshops.com/h2dr/trackers/ Our Privacy Policy can be viewed in-app or at: https://designstudiopress.com/policies/privacy-policy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Handy Art Reference Tool at 85% against h2Dr's 37%. Handy Art Reference Tool also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.6) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 9). h2Dr's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On update cadence, ads, 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
h2Dr is free to download; Handy Art Reference Tool costs $1.99 up front. Handy Art Reference Tool sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. h2Dr asks for nothing beyond the download.
Handy Art Reference Tool holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. 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 37% of h2Dr's.
Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, h2Dr every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Handy Art Reference Tool | h2Dr |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better | 3.6 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.0% of reviews — better | 37.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #75 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 361 MB | 147 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Belief Engine | Design Studio Press |
Customer experience
Handy Art Reference Tool
h2Dr
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
h2Dr
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
h2Dr
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Handy Art Reference Tool free?
Is h2Dr free?
Which has better reviews, Handy Art Reference Tool or h2Dr?
Do Handy Art Reference Tool or h2Dr have ads?
Which is updated more often, Handy Art Reference Tool or h2Dr?
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