Hands
Hands are hard because they have many parts and change shape constantly. The trick is to simplify them into a few blocks, get the gesture right, and add detail last.
Step by step
- Block the palm as a slightly flattened box. Seen from the back, it is roughly as long as the middle finger — use this as a rough check.
- The knuckles form an arc, not a straight line; the middle finger is usually the longest.
- Each finger has three segments that get shorter towards the tip. Draw them as cylinders bending at the joints.
- The thumb attaches lower on the side of the palm and has a fleshy pad at its base. Think of it as a wedge that swings across the palm.
- Draw the overall gesture of the hand first — open, gripping, pointing — before any fingers.
- Use your own hand as a model. Photograph it in poses you need for reference.
Common mistakes
- Drawing fingers as equal-length sausages in a straight row.
- Making the hand too small — an adult hand is about as long as the face from chin to hairline.
- Starting with fingernails and wrinkles.
Practice exercise
Fill a page with 20 quick hand gestures (1 minute each) using only boxes and cylinders, then do one 20-minute study of your non-drawing hand.