Comparison

AtelierKit vs Muddy Waters

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

Head to head
About

AtelierKit

Features
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AtelierKit is the quiet, focused toolkit that lives on your phone and serves your art practice — no account, no internet, no distractions. Whether you're painting from a reference photo, sketching a portrait, or mixing colours at your easel, AtelierKit gives you the tools professional artists actually reach for. COLOUR ANALYSIS Sample any colour from a photo or your camera feed. Get precise values to help you mix accurate paints. Stop guessing — start seeing. GRID OVERLAY Overlay a customisable grid over any reference image to transfer proportions with confidence. The grid method used by masters, now always in your pocket. VALUE STUDY Strip away colour and see only light and shadow. Train your eye to read tonal relationships — the foundation of every great painting. CLOUD SYNC Optionally sync your projects across devices with iCloud. Your projects are always backed up and available wherever you work. BUILT FOR ARTISTS, NOT APPS • Works fully offline — no Wi-Fi needed to use any tool • No account required to get started • Optional cloud sync keeps your data private and encrypted • Available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish • Clean, distraction-free interface AtelierKit is made for painters, sketchers, illustrators, and anyone who works with physical media and wants a smarter, faster way to analyse their references. Your art. Your device. Your studio.

About

Muddy Waters

Features
Read full description

Muddy Waters helps you mix watercolor paints using real pigment behaviour, not digital approximations. Many artists reach a point where color mixing becomes frustrating. You add more paint, adjust ratios, and still end up with muddy results. This app is designed to give you a clearer path forward. Using scientific colour values and high end math, Muddy Waters focuses on how watercolor actually behaves, helping you make better mixing decisions using YOUR paints before committing pigment to paper. Key features • Mix colors using your own palette, not generic examples • Explore how pigments combine, including non-linear behaviour • Generate gradients to understand transitions between colors • Match colors from images and find the closest achievable mix • Identify the closest matching pigment in the library • Save favourites for the next time you go shopping for art supplies Images and barcodes are processed on your device. No photos are uploaded or stored externally. No personal data collected. Designed for real painting decisions Watercolour mixing is not predictable or linear. Lighting, dilution, paper colour, and pigment behaviour all affect the result. This app helps you navigate those variables so you can start with the right base colours. Use your own paints Build your palette from the pigments you actually own. The app works with your materials, not an idealised set from a book or tutorial. Simple and focused No accounts, no distractions. The app is designed to support your painting process without getting in the way. Keep exploring Nothing replaces hands-on experimentation, but with better guidance you can avoid common mixing mistakes and make more confident choices. Muddy Waters is free to use with an 8-slot palette. Two optional upgrades unlock more: Premium (one-time purchase) — unlocks palettes to hold any number of paints, in-app camera capture, and Backup & Restore so your palettes, favourites and Shopping List stay safe across devices. Pro (monthly subscription) — adds the Palette Adviser (tells you which paints to swap for a stronger palette), the Light & Shadow engine, Paint Check (compare any paint against everything you already own before you buy), and unlimited palettes.

Screenshots

AtelierKit4 screens
Muddy Waters4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AtelierKit at none against Muddy Waters's 3. Muddy Waters's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Muddy Waters sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. AtelierKit asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AtelierKit ships an update every 2 weeks, Muddy Waters every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
AtelierKit versus Muddy Waters: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAtelierKitMuddy Waters
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAppcific TechnologiesSTUART JOHN FRENCH

In-app purchases

None

AtelierKit

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Muddy Waters

Subscriptions2
  • Muddy Waters Pro Monthly3 Months trial$1.991 Month
  • Muddy Waters Pro Annual$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Muddy Waters Premium$5.99

Questions

Is AtelierKit free?
AtelierKit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Muddy Waters free?
Muddy Waters is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do AtelierKit or Muddy Waters have ads?
Neither AtelierKit nor Muddy Waters shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AtelierKit or Muddy Waters?
AtelierKit ships an update every 2 weeks, and Muddy Waters every 5 days. Most recently, AtelierKit was updated on October 28, 2026 and Muddy Waters on October 31, 2026.

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