What it does
VizRef keeps still images and animated GIFs in mobile reference boards. Its iPad edition can sit beside a drawing app, with a separate Lite edition for iPhone.
A passing gesture is easier to study when the reference can stop between poses. VizRef pauses GIFs and exposes their frames on a visual timeline. This helps compare silhouettes and weight shifts while the drawing remains in another app.
Build a board from Photos, web images or cloud storage, then use iPad split screen or a floating window to keep it beside the canvas. Crop a still reference to the useful area, flip it, or switch it to greyscale for a value study. The board keeps those references out of the artwork’s drawing layers.
The iPad app is a paid purchase. To carry references elsewhere, use the export controls to send images through Files or flatten a board into one image. The developer’s published export notes recommend batches of about 50 images, because exporting hundreds together can exceed available app memory. That is guidance for handling a large board, not a fixed limit on how many references it may contain.
Strengths
- GIF playback can be paused and examined one frame at a time.
- Greyscale and cropping help isolate specific aspects of a reference.
- Boards can accompany drawing through iPad multitasking.
Watch out for
- The developer recommends smaller export batches to avoid memory-related crashes.
Best for
- Gesture studies from animated references
- iPad drawing with references beside the canvas
Sources
- VizRef (Oct 27, 2026)
- VizRef App Store listing and developer release notes (Oct 27, 2026)