Comparison

Handy Art Reference Tool vs Skelly

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

Skelly

This app provides artists with a fully poseable, anatomically correct skeleton model for reference. Easily create custom poses, adjust lighting, and view from any angle to improve your drawing, sculpting, and illustration skills.

Highlights
  • Anatomically correct skeleton
  • Poseable joints
  • Pose library
  • Movable camera
  • Adjustable light source
  • Simplified 'Robo Skelly' model
Features
Read full description

Hey artists! Tired of scouring the internet for reference material? Does the NSA think you’re a weirdo for looking up all those skeleton pictures? Got no-body to pose for you? Its going tibia ok, the Skelly app is just what you need! With the Skelly app you can literally pull the inspiration you need right out of your pocket anywhere, anytime! Skelly is a fully poseable, anatomically correct reference skeleton for artists. A simplified version of the skeleton is also included, named “Robo-Skelly”. These figures were created to make the study of anatomy easier and more enjoyable for students and professionals without leaving your wallets bone dry. They can also be used to inspire poses for drawing, painting, sculpting, illustration, animation, comics, manga, storyboarding, twerking, and to fully understand the anatomy of the human skeleton. No need for super gluteus, Skelly comes pre-assembled and ready to pose as soon as you launch the app! Learning the structure of the human body is the skeleton key to drawing the figure in an anatomically correct manner without having to clear your browser history to avoid awkward conversations with your loved ones. Whether you want to make works like Michelangelo or Miyazaki, Skelly will help you focus on your art and let you personalize his poses, rather than searching for reference material and hiring models. Learn to draw the skeleton from any angle without the inconvenient and morally questionable need to go grave robbing. FEATURES: Anatomically correct skeleton Simplified “Robo Skelly” Proportions based on the teachings of Dr. Paul Richer Skull fits perfectly into a “Loomis Head” as taught by Andrew Loomis Poseable joints Pose Library - choose from pre made poses and save your own Movable camera Adjustable light source Choose light or dark background Reset to neutral “Anatomical Pose” PEOPLE LOVE IT: James Gurney, author of ‘Color and Light’ and ‘Imaginative Realism’ Says: "Bend him, twist him, contort him! The Skelly app lets you put a virtual human skeleton into any pose, and to see him from any angle, and in any lighting. It’s a great tool for art students or professionals wondering what the skeleton is really doing beneath a life pose, or for anyone wanting to visualize a pose from scratch. The interface is intuitive to learn and easy to use, without sacrificing any of the nuances of the human body’s complex range of movement. Skelly is a big improvement over the old wooden mannikin." - Chris Oatley, Director Of The Oatley Academy Of Visual Storytelling Says: "Skelly is the fastest, most fluid anatomical reference I have ever seen. I was shocked at how easy it is to pose the figure and direct the light source. Finally! It’s the app visual artists have been waiting for." Have any questions? CONTACT US: skelly@proko.com

Screenshots

Handy Art Reference Tool4 screens
Skelly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Handy Art Reference Tool at 4.8 against Skelly's 3.8. Handy Art Reference Tool also leads on price ($1.99 vs $6.99) and review sentiment (85% vs 69%). Skelly's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). 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

Handy Art Reference Tool costs $1.99 and Skelly $6.99 up front. Handy Art Reference Tool sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Skelly 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 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Handy Art Reference Tool has 1.2K ratings behind it against 117, 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 69% of Skelly's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, Skelly every 8 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Handy Art Reference Tool versus Skelly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandy Art Reference ToolSkelly
Price$1.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better3.8 (117 ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better69.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1.2K — better117
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#105 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB104 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBelief EngineProko

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%

Skelly

All ratings116 ratings
Positive69.8%
Neutral12.1%
Negative18.1%
Written reviews153 reviews
Positive69.3%
Neutral12.4%
Negative18.3%

User reviews

Handy Art Reference Tool

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for drawing reference
  • 🔍 Useful for lighting and shading
  • 🎨 Great for hands and heads
  • 💡 Customizable lighting and poses
  • 🎨 Diverse skin tone options

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes or freezes on some devices
  • 💰 In-app purchases for additional content
  • 🤔 Limited model variety (no full bodies)
  • 🤔 Difficulty with precise positioning
  • 🤔 Lighting controls could be improved

Skelly

From 117 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Intuitive and easy-to-use posing controls
  • 💡 Excellent reference tool for artists and anatomists
  • 🎨 Ability to switch between skeleton and basic shapes
  • 💡 Adjustable lighting and viewing angles
  • 🌟 High-quality, accurate anatomical model

Room to improve

  • ❌ Cannot pose individual fingers or toes
  • ❌ Cannot articulate the jaw
  • ❌ Unrealistic joint rotation limits (360-degree movement)
  • ❌ Poor camera controls and navigation
  • ❌ Limited field of view options

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

Skelly

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Camera controls are unintuitive and frustrating
  • Selecting one bone sometimes selects a different bone
  • Zoom function accidentally rotates the model
  • Hip rotation rotates entire skeleton instead of just hips
  • iPad Pro UI elements are too large and obstruct view
Show 5 more
  • Save/export image function broken
  • App slows down with 7+ saved poses
  • Lighting quality poor on Retina displays
  • Controls operate in opposite direction of intended movement
  • iPad split-screen multitasking incompatibility

Requested features

26 requests
  • Posable fingers and toes with individual joint control
  • Movable jaw with open/close functionality
  • Undo/redo functionality
  • Physics toggle to prevent unrealistic poses
  • Female skeleton model with different proportions
Show 21 more
  • Muscle layer visualization
  • Adjustable limb lengths for different body types
  • Multiple skeleton models at once
  • Photo overlay/underlay for pose matching
  • Customizable field of view (focal length)
  • Preset hand gestures (fist, relaxed, etc.)
  • Inverse kinematics (IK) rigging for limbs
  • Ground plane and perspective plane options
  • Joint locking capability
  • Anatomically-correct range of motion limits
  • Export with transparent background (PNG)
  • White background option
  • Front/side/top/bottom orthographic views
  • Multiple light sources with color control
  • Articulated hand-only or skull-only modes
  • Child, adolescent, and infant skeleton options
  • Background upload capability
  • Animation/keyframe support
  • Improved hip/pelvis posing controls
  • Elbow side-to-side rotation
  • Thoracic spine articulation

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Handy Art Reference Tool

One-time2
  • Feet Models$1.99
  • Animal Skull Pack$1.99
None

Skelly

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 Skelly free?
Skelly costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Handy Art Reference Tool or Skelly?
Handy Art Reference Tool is rated higher. Handy Art Reference Tool averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Skelly averages 3.8 from 117 ratings.
Do Handy Art Reference Tool or Skelly have ads?
Neither Handy Art Reference Tool nor Skelly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Handy Art Reference Tool or Skelly?
Handy Art Reference Tool ships an update every 5 months, and Skelly every 8 months. Most recently, Handy Art Reference Tool was updated on November 6, 2026 and Skelly on November 6, 2026.

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