Comparison

DOTDOT vs Art Reference Board

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

DOTDOT

Create pixel art and animated GIFs on a 12x12 canvas while listening to relaxing Lofi music. Share your creations with a community and friends, perfect for beginners and those seeking a creative outlet.

Highlights
  • Pixel art creation
  • GIF animation
  • Lofi music integration
  • Community sharing
  • Intuitive interface
  • Beginner-friendly
Features
Read full description

Take a break from your busy life. Weave your own world of pixel art with music. Express your world on a small 12x12 canvas. Features: - Create with Music: Draw pixel art and create animation GIFs while listening to relaxing Lofi music. - Intuitive Design: An easy-to-use, intuitive interface smoothens the creative process. - Sharing Functionality: Share your art within the app and exchange inspiration with other users. Functions: - Animation Creation: Make moving GIF animations with simple steps. - Music: Create art while listening to Lofi. - Community: Post your pixel art and interact with likes. - Share: Share as animation GIFs with friends or on social media. Recommended for: - Those with a Creative Hobby: Ideal for those seeking new forms of art. - Those Seeking Relaxation: Combine music and art to relieve daily stress. - Digital Art Beginners: Perfect for easily starting digital art. - Social Media Users: Share unique content on social networks. - Children and Their Guardians: For families looking for safe and creative activities. - Fans of Games and Anime: Enjoy the charm of retro pixel art.

About

Art Reference Board

Create and study visual references on an infinite canvas. Gather images, videos, and PDFs, then analyze color, value, and motion. Organize projects with pages, layers, and notes, and access references while working in other creative apps.

Highlights
  • Infinite canvas for image, video, and PDF collection
  • Color palette generation from dominant colors
  • Value studies with posterization
  • Animation and video frame-by-frame inspection
  • Timed reference studies with interval controls
  • Annotation and sketching with Apple Pencil
  • Always-on-top reference window
Features
Read full description

Your references should stay as close as your next brushstroke. Mica is an art reference board built for illustrators, painters, animators, concept artists, character designers, tattoo artists, art students, and anyone who thinks visually. Gather images, photos, GIFs, WebP animations, video, and PDFs on an infinite canvas. Then study color, value, shape, pose, and motion without breaking your creative flow. BUILD THE BOARD YOUR ART NEEDS • Import from Photos, Files, folders, camera, document scanner, or clipboard • Drag and drop on iPad and Mac • Save references from other apps with the system share sheet • Send new ideas to Capture Inbox and organize them later • Reuse original images from your asset library across multiple boards STUDY—DON’T JUST COLLECT • Generate six- or twelve-color palettes from the dominant colors in your references • Combine grayscale with two-, three-, four-, or six-level posterization for value studies • Crop, flip, rotate, resize, and adjust opacity • Play GIF and WebP animation, inspect timelines, and step frame by frame • Step precisely through video and save useful frames to your canvas • Run timed reference studies with interval and shuffle controls • Annotate, highlight, measure, and sketch with Apple Pencil KEEP REFERENCES BESIDE YOUR WORK • Work beside your drawing or painting app on iPad • Float a reference with Picture in Picture on iPhone and iPad • Keep an always-on-top reference window on Mac • Enter focus or presentation mode when you want the interface to disappear ORGANIZE SERIOUS CREATIVE PROJECTS • Build boards with pages and layers • Arrange references in rows, columns, or a masonry-style grid • Group, lock, hide, duplicate, snap, and reorder canvas items • Add folders, tags, notes, sticky notes, styled text, and saved canvas regions • Search reusable assets by name or tag, filter by dominant color, and find boards with Spotlight • Keep favorites, recent work, reusable assets, and captured ideas within reach PRIVATE, PORTABLE, AND YOURS • Work offline by default • Protect private boards and folders with a passcode or supported biometrics • Restore an earlier local board version without overwriting your current work • Export pages as PNG or PDF, share selected references, or export original files • Move a complete project with Mica’s portable .refboard archive Collect what inspires you. Study what matters. Keep creating. Start free with one board, one page and up to 12 items. Advanced features require Mica Pro. Available purchases and any eligible trial are shown in the app. Privacy Policy: https://rezonating.app/privacy.html?id=mica Terms of Service: https://rezonating.app/terms.html?id=mica

Screenshots

DOTDOT2 screens
Art Reference Board4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Art Reference Board at 5.0 against DOTDOT's 4.0. Art Reference Board also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 months). DOTDOT's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, 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

Both are free to download. Art Reference Board sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. DOTDOT asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Art Reference Board holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DOTDOT ships an update every 5 months, Art Reference Board every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
DOTDOT versus Art Reference Board: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDOTDOTArt Reference Board
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size73 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKyohei HosonoRezonating Apps, LLC

Customer experience

DOTDOT

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Art Reference Board

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

DOTDOT

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Art Reference Board

Subscriptions1
  • Mica Pro - Monthly3 Days trial$1.991 Month
One-time1
  • Mica Pro - Lifetime$5.99

Questions

Is DOTDOT free?
DOTDOT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Art Reference Board free?
Art Reference Board is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, DOTDOT or Art Reference Board?
Art Reference Board is rated higher. DOTDOT averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Art Reference Board averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do DOTDOT or Art Reference Board have ads?
Neither DOTDOT nor Art Reference Board shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DOTDOT or Art Reference Board?
DOTDOT ships an update every 5 months, and Art Reference Board every 10 days. Most recently, DOTDOT was updated on October 24, 2026 and Art Reference Board on October 29, 2026.

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