Value Study
4.8★ · iOS & Android · 10K monthly active
The art reference tool I built to improve my own art fundamentals. Now used by art students and professionals worldwide, recommended by teachers, and translated into multiple languages.
What I do
Product & research
User interviews, feature prioritisation, app store analytics, competitor analysis. Every decision starts with what artists actually need.
Design
UI/UX design, prototyping, icon design, app store assets. The whole visual identity from first sketch to shipped pixels.
Native development
SwiftUI on iOS, Kotlin on Android. Camera integration, image processing, colour analysis algorithms, accessibility.
Marketing & support
Landing page, ASO, social media, user support emails. Community building with art teachers and students worldwide.
Tech stack
- SwiftUI
- Kotlin
- Core Image
- Camera APIs
- StoreKit
- Google Play Billing
- Localisation
- Next.js
- Vercel
Dev log
The technical journey from side project to shipped product. Decisions, mistakes, and lessons along the way.
Lessons From Building an Indie App for Artists
A lot has changed since I last wrote about Value Study, my little app for artists, back in 2022. I’ve broken one of my five intentions, and I don’t regret it. The app is now used r
Value Study - The Journey So Far
After more than a year of building Value Study–an iOS app that helps with learning to draw and paint–I think it is worth stopping for a breather and having a little Retrospective.
Introducing Value Study
Value Study, available for free on iPhone and iPad, is a tool to help people who're trying to learn to draw or paint. It works by building upon the timeless technique of value stud
Screenshots
Lessons learned
Having clear success criteria is very motivating. Even one review from a stranger is extremely encouraging.
- Ship something small, then let real users tell you what matters. Most of the best features came from support emails.
- Doing everything yourself is slow but means you understand every trade-off. When you fix a bug, you know exactly what broke and why.
- Art teachers are the best beta testers. They think about tools differently and catch things developers never would.
- Localisation isn't just translation. It's rethinking your UI for languages you don't speak. Humbling and worth it.