Comparison

RefCreate vs Gesturo

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

Head to head
About

RefCreate

Enhance your drawing abilities with this app, which offers a 3D reference model alongside a drawing canvas. Practice fundamental techniques with interactive drills that provide instant feedback and track your progress over time.

Highlights
  • Draw with a 3D reference model
  • Layered canvas with brushes
  • Line Control and Boxes drills
  • Instant feedback and scoring
  • Progress tracking with goals and badges
  • Customizable brushes
  • Import and export images
Features
Read full description

Build your drawing skills with RefCreate for iPad and iPhone. Draw beside a 3D reference, practise the fundamentals with scored drills, and watch your progress grow. RefCreate works best on iPad with Apple Pencil, with more room to draw and keep your reference beside you. DRAW WITH A 3D REFERENCE BESIDE YOU • Keep a 3D model in a floating or docked reference view while you paint on a layered canvas. • Turn and zoom the model, then lock the view you want to study. Your reference view is saved with each drawing. • Light the model your way: a key light, a fill light and an optional rim light, each with its own colour and intensity. • One perspective grid shared by your canvas and the reference, with its horizon, vanishing points and bounding box. • Trace the model on your canvas with an overlay you can show, hide and fade. PRACTISE WITH INSTANT FEEDBACK • Line Control drills: steady parallel strokes, connecting two points in one confident line, and longer sets. • Boxes drills: one-, two- and three-point boxes and cubes, dead reckoning, the Y method, and free boxes and cubes. • Get score feedback as you practise, check a box yourself when you are ready, and review every line or box in the set. • Short animated guides demonstrate line and box techniques, with exercise-specific tips while you practise. • Optional help on the box drills, including a 3D reference posed like your box, corner marks and lines that snap to the box's directions. Help costs some XP. • Line Control drills are free. Boxes drills come with the Boxes Pack, and two free sets a day can be used on two rotating box exercises. Repeats count toward the two-set limit; cubes require the pack. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS • A daily goal and streak, XP and levels. Harder drills earn more XP. • Mastery for every drill, and Progress for today, this week, this month and all time. • 31 badges for practice, accuracy, streaks and mastery. See your next goals or browse the full collection. • Open Progress for your level, streak and personal records. A FULL DRAWING WORKSPACE • A library of brushes organised by category, and a brush studio to make them your own. • Layers with opacity, blend modes and locks to protect finished work; freehand selection and transform; QuickShape and perspective guides. • Smoothing built into each brush for steadier lines. Edit any brush, and restore its defaults with one button. • Import images and export your drawings. Turn between portrait and landscape and your drawing stays where it was. BOXES PACK — EVERY BOXES DRILL, AND THE ONES TO COME Unlock every Boxes drill. New Boxes drills are on the way, and they are included in the Boxes Pack at no extra charge. A one-time in-app purchase, with no subscription. HEADS PACK — ONE PURCHASE, A GROWING COLLECTION Unlock the Heads 3D model collection, including Asaro, planes of the head, skulls and facial muscles. Future models added to this collection are included at no extra charge. The Heads drill is coming soon and will be included in the Heads Pack when released. It is not available in this version. The Heads Pack is a one-time in-app purchase, with no subscription. Other packs are sold separately. Existing RefCreate Heads Pack owners can restore their purchase with the same App Store account. The Loomis head remains free.

About

Gesturo

Features
Read full description

Gesturo is your gym for drawing. Timed poses to train gesture, line of action and movement, every day, without overthinking it. 100% FREE No subscription, no paid tier. Every pose category, every mode, the community: all of Gesturo, right away. THE DAILY SESSION Every day, a 15-minute session is ready for you: 10 poses, from quick sketches to a long pose. Draw on paper, snap a photo of your drawing, and keep your streak going. 3 TRAINING MODES · Poses: hundreds of reference photos (full body, hands, feet, faces, drapery, animals…), with a timer from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. · Animation: break movement down frame by frame. · Cinema: study shot composition from films. TOOLS TO SEE BETTER · Pinch to zoom into the details · A timer you can drag anywhere so it never hides the model · Grid, black and white, mirror, rotation · Progressive mode and class mode, like a life drawing session PROGRESS WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT Streak, badges, challenges, session history and favorites: watch your practice add up. THE COMMUNITY Share your drawings next to their reference, discover other artists' work, cheer them on. On iPhone and iPad. Your account syncs your sessions across devices. Free, with no in-app purchases or subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://gesturo.fr/privacy.html

Screenshots

RefCreate4 screens
Gesturo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Gesturo at none against RefCreate's 2. Gesturo also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. RefCreate sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Gesturo asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RefCreate ships an update every 3 weeks, Gesturo every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
RefCreate versus Gesturo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRefCreateGesturo
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size261 MB26 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperLambda Code SLValentin Mardoukhaev

In-app purchases

2 purchases

RefCreate

One-time2
  • Boxes Pack$5.99
  • Head Construction Pack$5.99
None

Gesturo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RefCreate free?
RefCreate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Gesturo free?
Gesturo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do RefCreate or Gesturo have ads?
Neither RefCreate nor Gesturo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RefCreate or Gesturo?
RefCreate ships an update every 3 weeks, and Gesturo every 9 days. Most recently, RefCreate was updated on October 30, 2026 and Gesturo on November 13, 2026.

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