RefCreate vs SketchCoach
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
SketchCoach
This app provides AI-powered, specific feedback on your sketches by analyzing them alongside reference images. It pinpoints areas for improvement with actionable tips, helping you learn and track your artistic progress.
- AI-powered sketch analysis
- Specific, actionable feedback
- Feedback pinned directly on drawings
- Progress tracking
- Customizable coaching tone
- Credit system for analyses
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SketchCoach is your personal drawing coach. Add your sketch and a reference image, and get specific, actionable feedback pinned exactly where it matters — so you know what to fix and why. Most feedback is vague. "Work on proportions" doesn't help. SketchCoach points to the exact spot on your drawing and tells you what's off and how to improve it — like having a patient mentor look over your shoulder. HOW IT WORKS • Add your sketch and a reference you were drawing from • SketchCoach analyzes both and pins feedback right on your drawing • Tap any pin to read a clear, specific tip • Track your progress as your sketches improve over time COACHING THAT FITS YOU Choose a coaching tone that matches how you like to learn — from gentle encouragement to direct, no-nonsense critique. The feedback adapts to you. BUILT FOR PRACTICE Whether you're learning figure drawing, studying perspective, or just sketching for fun, SketchCoach gives you the focused feedback that actually moves your skills forward. Every analysis is a small lesson. CREDITS & PRO New accounts include free credits to try it out. Each analysis uses one credit. Need more? Subscribe to SketchCoach Pro for 25 analyses every month, or buy a one-time credit pack anytime. SketchCoach Pro is an auto-renewing subscription: • 25 analysis credits each month • Choose monthly or annual billing • Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase • Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings • Unused monthly credits reset at each renewal; separately purchased credit packs do not expire Terms of Use: https://sites.google.com/view/sketchcoach/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/sketchcoach/privacy-policy Start improving your drawings today — one sketch at a time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: RefCreate at 5.0 against SketchCoach's 3.0. RefCreate also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. RefCreate sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and SketchCoach sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
RefCreate holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.
| Parameter | RefCreate | SketchCoach |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 261 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lambda Code SL | Ashby Babu |
Customer experience
RefCreate
SketchCoach
In-app purchases
RefCreate
- Boxes Pack$5.99
- Head Construction Pack$5.99
SketchCoach
- Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro Annual$39.991 Year
- 15 Credits$2.99









