# A generic AR tracing / drawing-learning app: installs go to factories, revenue goes to the weekly-subscription leaders

> Source: https://stringers.io/en/m/028.v2.html (Stringers / 什么值得做, generated 2026-11-08)
> Stringers answers one question every day: what small product can one or two people build in a few months and actually make money from. Numbers come from 15 databases we collect daily, each with source and date.
> For agents: these verdicts and the underlying databases (verified revenue, App Store / Google Play charts, ad libraries, GitHub, Product Hunt…) are queryable live over MCP — tools today / hot / products / directions / direction / data. Setup: https://github.com/komako-workshop/stringers (the user logs in at stringers.io → "配置 agent" to get a personal URL). Site index: https://stringers.io/llms.txt

> Don't build a generic drawing app, and don't go head-on with "learn to draw"

[028] Inspiring Google Play + iOS · Art & design Weekly subscription / ads Data as of 2026-11-02

# Generic AR tracing / learn-to-draw apps: installs go to the factories, revenue goes to the top weekly subscriptions

D

**Don't build a generic tracing app, and don't go head-on with "learn to draw"** The demand has held for ten years, but installs go to a Hanoi factory, revenue to five or six weekly subscriptions, and "teaching" to Simply Draw and ArtWorkout. The one exception: if you already have a group of paying adults (tattoo artists, muralists, lettering people) and can turn tracing into a tool for that existing audience Long shot · rating and title derived from the full text · next review 11-28

| Background | Da Vinci Eye started 2016 years ago and claimed on air an annual revenue of $1.2M. Since 2023, factories and weekly subscriptions have flooded in. |
|---|---|
| Upside | The need is real and steady, but all three positions are taken: installs (Braly, 168M downloads), revenue (AR Drawing, PicTrace, ARtie and others) and teaching (Simply Draw). |
| Demand | Kids want free and low-ad; adults who pay don't want weekly subscriptions and prefer per-design payments; adults with tangible output like tattoo or mural artists use it most |
| Competition | Starting in the second half of 2025, there are 9–12 new competitors each quarter. Of the 11 launched in Q2, only 2 passed a million installs; Q3's 12 are 0. |
| Revenue | Several iOS US-store category top-grossing apps ranked #12–26 are each estimated at one to several million dollars a year (inferred). Indie devs should aim for $620 a month at minimum |
| Growth | Factories monetize through ads and paid acquisition. ARtie uses Google Search ads, a hard paywall and a rating prompt before first use. ArtWorkout and Da Vinci Eye rely on years of content and UGC. |
| Window | No window here, it's a mature market. Judge by VanDraw's 11-28-day installs and whether it reaches the top 50 Top Grossing (30 days). |
| Who it's for | People who already have a paying adult audience (tattoo artists, mural painters, cake decorators, calligraphy creators) building niche tools. Individuals building general apps should not. |

### Full text · about 12 min

### Who's building · 8 teams

- [Braly JSC (Artrace, etc.)](https://bralyvn.com)
  What it does
  Artrace, Draw Anime, Draw Cartoon and Artmate: four tracing apps running on free + ads + in-app purchases. The earliest hit Play 2024-06
  Who they are
  A Vietnamese company in Hanoi founded 2022-01, CEO Doãn Văn Toản, 24 people on LinkedIn, no funding. The CEO calls it an "ad-supported developer"; early on it made the face-morphing filter Time Warp Scan
  How it got traction
  Quickly ships short-video-friendly apps with obvious mechanics, monetized through ads, and hires UA buyers. Artmate went live 09-15 and got 19.3M installs in 48 days
  Where it stands
  Four apps total 168M Play installs (11-02); Artrace's Play US Arts & Design top grossing is only #110; many reviews are from kids and complain about ads

- [AR Drawing: Sketch & Paint](https://ar-drawing.com/)
  What it does
  Trace drawings on paper plus templates and process recording; subscription / in-app purchases $1.99–64.99; iOS 2023-05, Play 2023-06
  Who they are
  Digital Solutions Technologies Limited, registered in Hong Kong; the people behind it can't be found
  How it got traction
  No ads visible on public ad platforms; growth channel unclear
  Where it stands
  37M Play installs; 11-02 iOS Arts & Design top grossing: us #12, gb #4, de #5; third-party estimates of Android monthly revenue around $50k

- [ARtie Lab](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tenetapps.artielab)
  What it does
  AR tracing plus courses, hard paywall, weekly subscriptions mainly (Play in-app purchases $9.99–29.99); iOS 2025-11-11, Play 2026-05-28
  Who they are
  Tenet Apps FZCO, registered in Dubai Silicon Oasis free zone. The website says "app development and promotion" but names no people; its only other app is a men's health app
  How it got traction
  Google ads: 19 in total since 2025-11-02 (14 are search text ads); TikTok ads in Europe from 04-28 to 05-07, a dozen or so run by US-based VELTRIX ALLIANCE; reviews say the rating prompt pops up before you can use the app
  Where it stands
  Play 1.93M installs, 100k ratings (5.2% of installs); 11-02 Play Arts & Design top grossing au #8, us #12; iOS us #22, de #13; reviews include seven or eight refund / can't-cancel complaints

- [Simply Draw](https://www.hellosimply.com)
  What it does
  Step-by-step drawing courses, one free lesson then paid ($14.99–119.99); iOS 2022-11, Play 2025-10-30
  Who they are
  Simply (formerly JoyTunes, Tel Aviv, the company behind Simply Piano). GV led a US$50M round 2021 years ago at a US$1B valuation
  How it got traction
  A ready-made course design and user-acquisition machine; user reviews say its ads "keep showing up everywhere" (suggesting heavy spending)
  Where it stands
  Play 14.5M installs in a year; 11-02 Play Education Top Grossing: tr #3, br #5, gb #10, us #21; iOS US store 818k ratings

- [ArtWorkout](https://artworkout.app)
  What it does
  Drawing practice app with a stroke-precision score; in-app purchases $4.99–69.99; iOS 2021-04
  Who they are
  Aleksandr Ulitin; company registered in Hong Kong; studied aviation university in Ufa, Russia, previously ran a website-building company, now in South America (unverified); solo founder, no funding (self-reported)
  How it got traction
  Organic trace-along videos on TikTok / Instagram; "almost no marketing spend" (self-reported)
  Where it stands
  Play 23.6M installs; iOS 740k ratings combined; 11-02 Play Art & Design Top Grossing: ca #13, gb #15

- [Da Vinci Eye](https://davincieyeapp.com)
  What it does
  One of the earliest AR tracing apps; $7.99/month or $29.99/year; iOS 2016, Play 2026-02
  Who they are
  Sam Gherman and his wife Charissa Castillo, a married couple in New York, self-funded
  How it got traction
  Spent $2,000 on Facebook ads at launch, 50k downloads in five weeks; later drove growth with Instagram and Pinterest content and Shark Tank exposure
  Where it stands
  On Shark Tank they self-reported $2021 in 820k year one, $2022 in 860k, and about $1.2M a year at the time of filming; 11-02 iOS US store Art & Design Top Grossing #26

- [VanDraw](https://vandraw.com)
  What it does
  Learn to draw on real paper by tracing the screen; subscription $4.99–49.99; iOS late August, Play 2026-09-08
  Who they are
  VanDraw Limited, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong; who's behind it can't be found
  How it got traction
  No ads from it in the TikTok EU ad library over the past year; growth source unclear
  Where it stands
  Play 179,374 installs (four days of +10-29 to +60k), ratings rising +560 daily; 11-02 not on any Top chart

- [Sketch Steps: AI Loomis Draw](https://sketchsteps.app/)
  What it does
  Upload a portrait and AI splits it into step-by-step tutorials using the Loomis method, plus a tracing studio; $7.99 a week; iOS 2026-05, Play 2026-08
  Who they are
  Recep Can Akdemir, Çerkezköy, Tekirdağ, Türkiye; indie developer who also runs several apps, including a vocabulary app and a landmark recognition app
  How it got traction
  Mainly ASO; no ads visible on public ad platforms
  Where it stands
  Play 424,240 installs, rating 3.72; Play Art & Design Top Grossing ranks only in in / tr / id / mx / ph, #164–179; iOS 859 ratings combined

Data from our own collection (App Store, Google Play, TrustMRR, Meta Ad Library, GitHub), dated. Anything marked 'est.' or 'inferred' is an estimate or an inference.