What makes JustSketchMe a great Magic Poser alternative
A comparison of JustSketchMe and Magic Poser
Magic Poser and JustSketchMe are 3D character posing apps that help you create reference scenes before you start sketching. They both feature a selection of character models, shapes and props to better flesh out your idea before putting pen to paper, and make it easy for you to get past the planning stage and start drawing quickly.
What are the differences?
Character posing
Magic Poser focuses on the use of inverse kinematics to pose their models, whereas JustSketchMe uses a joint rotation system. There are positives and negatives for each of these. The inverse kinematics system is great for quickly "pulling" a model into the desired pose, but lacks fine control over the final outcome. The invese is true to joint rotation in JustSketchMe. Building out the rough pose takes slightly longer but you have more control over the final pose of the character.
Models
Both Magic Poser and JustSketchMe have a range of models available to use in the free tier, however, with Magic Poser the premium models and props are locked behind a complicated coin system that is a bit nebulous and tricky to understand. Each prop or character is unlocked using pay-per-model transactions. JustSketchMe, on the other hand, has a Pro version which unlocks all of the 30+ models and an ever growing library of props and shapes (we're sitting at about 100+ now).
Pre-made poses
Both Magic Poser and JustSketchMe have hundreds of pre-made poses to get your characters up and running in no time. JustSketchMe additionally has a hand-pose library forgoing the need to fiddle with all the little knuckle joints.
Apps
Magic Poser is a mobile app and runs on Android and iOS via the app stores. JustSketchMe is available on the following platforms: Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Linux (on request). One license key will allow you to authenticate JustSketchMe on all of your devices.
Price
JustSketchMe Pro can be purchased as a subscription or once-off purchase. This starts at $12 per month and is discounted according to the billing period (50% off on yearly plans).
The price of Magic Poser depends on how many props and models you want to unlock. It's pretty difficult to tell how much you may spend (due to the coin system where you buy coins and spend them in-app), but assuming more than $3 per model, it would cost about $240 to unlock as many models as are available in the upgraded version of JustSketchMe.
Why is JustSketchMe a great Magic Poser alternative?
Both Magic Poser and JustSketchMe are great tools for planning out your art. However, the simplicity and cross-platform nature of JustSketchMe makes it a great tool of choice.