RefCreate vs ArtDoor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RefCreate
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Master Form. Draw with Confidence. RefCreate is the 3D reference tool designed for artists serious about learning constructional drawing. Stop relying on flat photos that only show one angle. Start understanding how forms actually work in 3D space. THE PROBLEM WITH FLAT REFERENCES You can't master drawing by copying 2D images. Real skill comes from understanding form in three dimensions - how volumes turn in space, how planes catch light, how forms intersect and penetrate each other. RefCreate gives you instant access to the exact teaching models used by the best art schools and instructors - all perfectly lit, endlessly rotatable, always in your hands. WHAT'S INSIDE • ASARO HEAD (Planes of the Head) - The classic faceted head showing how facial planes turn in space. Includes major, secondary, and tertiary plane breakdowns. • LOOMIS HEAD - Study Andrew Loomis's legendary head construction method from every angle. • SKULL ANATOMY - Full skull with normal, planes, and blockout versions. Understand the foundation before drawing portraits. • FACIAL MUSCLES - Split view showing muscle anatomy on one side, bone structure on the other. • FORM INTERSECTIONS - The exercises that separate hobbyists from serious students. Box intersections, cylinder penetrations, complex combinations. Essential for Draw A Box students. • GEOMETRIC PRIMITIVES - Sphere, cylinder, box, cone, pyramid, torus. The building blocks of everything you draw, with perfect proportions and clean geometry. STUDY WORKSHEETS The Canvas is your digital sketchboard - a Procreate-style infinite workspace where 3D reference and curated 2D study material live side by side. Comes loaded with hand-picked worksheet packs: • BARGUE PLATES - Classical drawing exercises from the Charles Bargue Drawing Course. Used in ateliers worldwide to train observation and line quality. • PERSPECTIVE WORKSHEETS - Structured exercises for 1-point, 2-point, and 3-point perspective. Follow along or use as a guide while you work. • ANATOMY PLATES - Écorché and muscle diagrams drawn for artists, not medical students. Pin a 3D model next to your reference. Work through exercises with the exact form in front of you. Everything stays exactly where you put it. STUDY TOOLS THAT ACTUALLY HELP Perspective grids (2D and 3D), vanishing points, horizon lines, rotation markers, bounding boxes - all the guides you need for serious practice. Multiple display modes: solid shading, edge wireframes, sectional views (halfs, thirds, cross-sections). Toggle any guide on or off instantly. BUILT FOR HOW YOU WORK Snap to cardinal views with a swipe - instant front, side, top, bottom views for orthographic practice. Works completely offline - your reference library is always available. Optimized for iPad - use it alongside Procreate for digital studies or keep it next to your sketchbook for Everything in RefCreate is designed to leave with you. EXPORT ANYWHERE • Export your 3D model at any angle as a PNG - drop it straight into Procreate, reference it in Clip Studio, or print it • Export individual canvas images for use in other apps • Export the entire canvas as a single composite image - your full study layout, ready to share or archive Set up your reference in RefCreate. Export exactly what you need. Work anywhere. traditional work. WHO IS REFCREATE FOR? → Portrait artists studying the Asaro head and Loomis method → Atelier students working through the Bargue course → Dynamic Sketching practitioners who need to understand form → Any artist serious about fundamentals over shortcuts No subscriptions. No ads. No clutter. Just the essential tools for understanding form. Stop studying in 2D. Start understanding in 3D.
ArtDoor
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No art history degree required. Just one short note on what to look for in each painting. You don't need to know anything to enjoy what's in front of you. ■ One painting a day A masterpiece arrives each morning. Listen to its short story and the day feels a little richer. Art continues on the days you don't visit a museum. ■ 2,500 paintings, explained simply From the Renaissance to Impressionism, from ukiyo-e to modern Japanese painting. Every work comes with a plain-English summary and three things worth looking at. No jargon. ■ Listen, don't read Painters' lives and artistic movements, as a podcast. 174 episodes across 28 series, in English and Japanese. An art history chart, technique guides, and how to look at a painting. ■ Point your camera Inside a museum, aim your camera at a painting and its commentary appears. No heavy audio guide handset, no queue. ■ Visiting Japan? A directory of 297 museums across Japan, with a map, opening information and check-ins. Find exhibitions near where you are staying. (Exhibition titles are listed in Japanese.) ■ Keep what you saw Favourite works, artists you follow, paintings you met through scanning. Your record builds quietly on your profile page. ― ArtDoor Premium ― Searching exhibitions, museum information and keeping records are free, forever. For those who want to go deeper, Premium (JPY 500/month, JPY 3,000/year with a 7-day free trial): ・Unlimited artwork scans (10 per month on the free plan) ・Every episode in Listen (first episode of each series on the free plan) ・Unlimited photo backup (10 photos on the free plan) ・Reminders the day before a visit ・Museum check-in and passport If you cancel, the photos and records you already saved stay with you. Find it, go, look, record, learn. One quiet app for your time with art. 【About subscriptions】 ・Payment is charged to your Apple ID account and renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. ・Cancel anytime from Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions on your device. ・No charge if you cancel during the free trial. Terms of Use: https://keita712.github.io/artdoor-privacy/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://keita712.github.io/artdoor-privacy/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: ArtDoor at every 6 days against RefCreate's every 3 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. RefCreate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ArtDoor sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
RefCreate ships an update every 3 weeks, ArtDoor every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RefCreate | ArtDoor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 326 MB | 97 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lambda Code SL | Keita Tamura |
In-app purchases
RefCreate
- Head Construction Pack$5.99
ArtDoor
- ArtDoor Premium (Monthly)$2.991 Month
- ArtDoor Premium (Yearly)7 Days trial$19.991 Year









