App Showcase: AR Drawing
App info
- App name: AR Drawing: Sketch & Paint
- Onboarding steps: 18
- Paywall type: Free Trial - Soft Paywall
- Monthly installs: 350,000
- Monthly revenue: $500,000
- App category: graphics and design
What it does
AR Drawing transforms a smartphone into a modern-day camera obscura. It uses augmented reality to overlay digital images onto physical paper through the device's camera, allowing users to trace outlines and build muscle memory. Beyond AR tracing, it includes AI image generation, step-by-step drawing lessons, and a digital coloring book.
Where it shines
The app excels at lowering the barrier to entry for creative expression. At 02:19, the "Choose a style" feature brilliantly allows users to take any complex personal photo and instantly simplify it into an easy-to-trace "One line" or "Drawing" sketch. Additionally, the core AR drawing interface (04:55) provides highly practical controls like opacity sliders, scaling, and flashlight toggles to make the physical tracing experience as frictionless as possible.
UX highlights
- Contextual permissions are handled gracefully; the app asks for camera access exactly when the user intends to start drawing (04:08), maximizing the opt-in rate.
- Catching users as they abandon a flow (03:51) with a quick, casual exit survey is a highly effective way to gather actionable product feedback on where users get stuck.
- The step-by-step lesson UI (06:38) breaks down complex portraits into manageable, incremental strokes, allowing the user to dictate the pace of learning.
- Integrating a consumable "drops" currency system for premium AI generations (02:19) introduces a flexible monetization model right at a moment of high value.
- The onboarding cleverly uses a fun fact (00:56) to liken the app to techniques used by Leonardo Da Vinci, validating the user's tracing process.
Monetization & growth
The primary monetization engine is a hard paywall at the end of the onboarding sequence (01:46). It presents three clear options: a 3-day free trial leading into a $9/week subscription, a straight weekly subscription without a trial, or a $29 lifetime unlock. To supplement subscriptions, the app utilizes a soft currency called "drops" for its AI features, prompting users to purchase top-ups (09:31) to continue generating unique styles.
Who it’s for
This app is tailored for beginner artists looking to build foundational skills and muscle memory. It is also highly appealing to hobbyists wanting to create custom greeting cards or quick sketches from photos, as well as parents seeking structured, interactive, and less messy drawing activities for children.
Notes & opportunities
The AR tracking can occasionally struggle to find an "anchor" on plain white paper (04:25). The app could improve this friction point by providing a clearer on-screen guide or suggesting the user temporarily place a high-contrast object (like a coin or pen cap) in the frame to help the AR engine lock on before the actual tracing begins.