Comparison

Paper 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

Paper

Create intricate 3D models with a tactile, paper-art feel. This app offers unparalleled spatial freedom, allowing you to draw directly into 3D space without a canvas. Sculpt complex shapes using intuitive tools and realistic materials.

Highlights
  • Zero-canvas 3D drawing
  • Intuitive OmniJoystick control
  • Tactile drawing and geometry tools
  • Realistic material library
  • Cinematic lighting presets
  • Professional export options (USDZ, OBJ)
Features
Read full description

3D Paper Studio: The Most Tactile Modeling Experience on iPad. Step into a digital atelier where the precision of CAD meets the soul of hand-crafted paper art. 3D Paper Studio is a first-of-its-kind creative suite designed specifically for iPad and Apple Pencil, allowing you to build complex 3D structures as easily as drawing on paper. Draw freely in 3D space and use any 3D stroke as a canvas to draw over as well to enhance your ideas and creative expressions. INFINITE SPATIAL FREEDOM: NO CANVAS REQUIRED Forget everything you know about 3D drawing. Unlike other apps that force you to create a canvas surface or plane before you draw, 3D Paper Studio gives you total spatial freedom. Start your stroke anywhere in 3D space and let it flow. Our engine handles the complex coordinate math so you can focus on the form. Draw in thin air, bridge gaps, and weave intricate 3D webs without ever feeling "stuck" to a 2D surface. THE OMNI-JOYSTICK: CONTROL DEPTH WITH ONE THUMB Experience the revolutionary OmniJoystick—the heart of our interaction model. While your Apple Pencil handles the art, your other thumb controls the universe. The same joystick becomes an object controller when any object/s is selected. No need to draw complicated canvases; Simply long press on the ground or any other stroke to set the precise drawing position and start painting in 3D space. Real-time Depth Control: Glide through the Z-axis as you draw to create sweeping 3D curves. Precision Snapping: Use the joystick to "Lock" to specific axes or snap to existing 3D "Magnets" for perfect alignment. Tactile Feedback: Feel the "click" of the grid as you navigate through your 3D studio. BEYOND DRAWING: TRUE 3D GEOMETRY Don't just sketch—extrude, revolve, and sweep. Use our advanced geometry engine to create ribbons, tubes, and complex lathes with a single stroke. The Bridge Tool: Connect two existing points with a sinuous paper ribbon that respects the surface normals of both objects. The Revolve Tool: Turn a single profile into a 3D vessel, bowl, or column in seconds. Edge Perturbation: Choose between "Clean" or "Torn" edges to give your models a raw, hand-crafted aesthetic. PHYSICAL MATERIALS & CINEMATIC LIGHTING Watch your creations come to life with our high-end material library. Choose from Smooth Bristol, Cold-Press Watercolor, Crumpled Foil, Corrugated Cardboard, and more. Use Cinematic Looks to light your scene with professional studio presets like Golden Hour, Midnight, and Vaporwave. KEY FEATURES: Zero-Canvas Drawing: Draw directly into 3D space with no setup required. OmniJoystick Workflow: Master depth, rotation, and snapping with a single, intuitive control. Tactile Tools: Draw, Bridge, Arc, and Revolve to create complex 3D meshes. Advanced Deformers: Warp, Twist, and Liquify your 3D geometry in real-time. Symmetry Engine: Mirror and Radial symmetry for intricate architectural patterns. Professional Export: Save your work as USDZ for AR, or OBJ for professional 3D pipelines. Camera Tours: Create cinematic fly-throughs and export them as high-quality video. UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVITY IN 3D. Join a new generation of designers who are redefining what it means to create on iPad. 3D Paper Studio—where paper becomes infinite. The app supports finger touch drawing but we recommend using apple Pencil for the best drawing experience and to access pressure sensitivity features. No subscriptions - Ever! Once you purchase the app, thats it. No additional in-app purchases, no subscriptions ever again. Every future update will be free for the life of the app.

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

Art Reference Board4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Art Reference Board at Free against Paper's $6.99. Art Reference Board also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.4). Paper's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Art Reference Board is free to download; Paper costs $6.99 up front. Art Reference Board sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Paper asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Paper against 5.0 for Art Reference Board. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Paper ships an update every 9 days, Art Reference Board every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
Paper versus Art Reference Board: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaperArt Reference Board
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.417.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperImran GulRezonating Apps, LLC

Customer experience

Paper

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Art Reference Board

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

In-app purchases

None

Paper

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 Paper free?
Paper costs $6.99, 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, Paper or Art Reference Board?
Paper and Art Reference Board are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Paper or Art Reference Board have ads?
Neither Paper nor Art Reference Board shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Paper or Art Reference Board?
Paper ships an update every 9 days, and Art Reference Board every 10 days. Most recently, Paper was updated on October 22, 2026 and Art Reference Board on October 29, 2026.

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