refern for every workflow and platform
Start with the decision closest to your workflow, platform, or missing feature. Each page explains where refern fits and where a different tool may be better. You can also see the full product.
By category
- reference image managerA reference image manager helps you sort and find the images you use for art. Add folders, name your files, and use tags for poses, light, or colors. In refern, you can also place those images on a board.Read the decision guide
- drawing reference appA drawing reference app keeps useful images in view as you draw. You choose the files, arrange them on a board, and keep that board above your art window. refern also helps you find the same images for later studies.Read the decision guide
- moodboard app one time paymentrefern uses a $35 one-time license for one user on up to three devices. Updates are included under the current license terms. The 30-day trial lets you try the full desktop workflow before buying.Read the decision guide
- digital asset manager for artistsrefern is a personal visual DAM: it catalogs and retrieves an individual artist's reference assets, then connects them to moodboards and working canvases.Read the decision guide
- local first image organizerA local-first organizer keeps the working catalog and media workflow on the user's device while treating web capture, activation, updates, and similar actions as explicit network edges.Read the decision guide
- reference board appA reference board holds the images you study while making art. A moodboard shows the look or feel you want to create. With refern, you can arrange images, add notes, and keep the board in view as you draw.Read the decision guide
- design reference managerA design reference manager should retrieve screenshots, photography, clips, color studies, and source-linked inspiration, then turn selected items into a working board.Read the decision guide
- second brain for visual referencesIt means preserving useful relationships between visual items and the contexts where they appear, so discovery is not limited to filenames or one folder hierarchy.Read the decision guide
- photo organizer for artistsrefern organizes photographs as creative reference material beside images, clips, and canvases. It is not a RAW developer or photography editing suite.Read the decision guide
By use case
- reference organizer for cosplayersIt keeps visual evidence for a build together across canon sources, materials, construction methods, and progress, while making the current subset easy to view at the workbench.Read the decision guide
- reference board for miniature paintersA useful board combines model views, palette references, material effects, faction details, and technique notes for the miniature currently on the desk.Read the decision guide
- reference library for vfx artistsrefern fits the personal research layer around VFX work: visual references, plates used for study, lighting ideas, previz stills, and clips organized for retrieval and planning.Read the decision guide
- reference library for coloristsA colorist's reference library preserves looks, stills, clips, source context, and project associations so prior visual decisions can inform new work.Read the decision guide
By feature
- search images by color desktopColor search retrieves references by visual palette when filenames and tags do not describe the look you remember.Read the decision guide
- hierarchical tags for imagesHierarchical tags help when broad concepts contain useful subcategories, such as anatomy, hands, and gesture, without forcing every query into one flat vocabulary.Read the decision guide
- full text search image libraryFull-text search finds the words stored around visual items, such as names, descriptions, notes, sources, and tags. It complements visual retrieval rather than reading every generic file's contents.Read the decision guide
- video reference managerA video reference manager catalogs clips as reusable visual research beside still images, rather than treating them as isolated files outside the reference library.Read the decision guide
By platform
- reference manager for linuxrefern provides a local image and video library and an editable canvas on Linux. Use tags and search to choose references, then arrange them on a board. The current Linux interface does not offer the window transparency and click-through controls available on Windows and macOS.Read the decision guide
- reference manager for windowsOn Windows, refern combines a local visual catalog with browser capture and a canvas that can stay visible above painting, modeling, or design applications.Read the decision guide
- reference manager for macOn macOS, refern adds a searchable visual catalog and spatial canvas around normal workspace folders without requiring a managed media-copy setup.Read the decision guide