Hello, I'm Lost and I'm Belgian. This is my third tutorial, it is rather recommended for beginners. I hope you will like it and that it will be useful to you.

 

Drawing the hands is a difficult exercise, but I will give you some tips to better understand them.

 

Hand proportions.

Before starting, a few notions of anatomy.

 

The proportions of the hand vary from one individual to another, here is a canon of medium proportions.

 

 

The middle finger (A) is the longest of the fingers.

Both the index (B) and the ring finger (C) are the same length and are smaller than the middle finger.

The ring finger (D) is the smallest of the fingers, its end reaches the last phalanx of the ring finger.

 

 

The tip of the thumb, brought down along the palm is under the second joint of the index finger.

hand joints

All fingers have three joints (except the thumb).

The thumb has two.

 

To know the correct length of the fingers and the palm, you can see that the F (palm) will be the same length as the E part (base of the fingers at the end of the middle finger)

 

To better understand the joints, do not hesitate to look at photos of the skeleton of the hand.

 

The back of the hand can be separated into three large parts. The "1" moves with the thumb, the "2" is linked to the index, middle and ring fingers and remains stationary. The "3" moves with the little finger.

 

The palm of the hand.

The palm of the hand can also be separated into three large parts. The "a" moves with all fingers except the thumb, the "b" moves with the thumb and the "c" is stationary and serves as the basis for the palm.

Tips and construction in drawings

 

When you build a hand, it's easier to simplify the subject with shapes. (a hexagon or pentagon for the palm, circles to mark the joints and sticks for the length of the fingers)

The structure made, it is easier to draw the skin over these markers.

1B: we start by creating the hand with the first joints. (5 rounds)

2B: we can add the other finger joints, the curves allow them to be placed correctly.

3B: with the structure we can draw the skin over our landmarks.

The fingers look like rounded sausages on the top.

 

4B: now we can tweak our hand with nails and details.

The palmar side of the hand follows the same constructions as the dorsal side except that we do not need to draw the nails (unless it protrudes) and that the palmar side has visible articular muscles and folds (in pink)

Different types of hand depending on age and morphology.

The hands change according to the age, morphology and sex of the individuals.

 

-The hands of babies and young children: are round, the fingers are short, chubby and the joints are not very visible.

 

• The hands of the elderly: in addition to the ordinary folds at the joints, wrinkles which are added on the phalanges, palm and veins are much more visible.

 

 

 

Trick:

-To give more personality to your hands, do not hesitate to add hair, varnish, jewelry.

 

• Vary the thickness of the fingers and wrists according to the morphology of your character.

 

Find references

References are important when we have to draw something that we do not control or that we have never drawn.

The more you draw them and understand their construction, the easier it will be for you to reproduce them later.

 

There are multiple ways to find references, I'll give you a few.

 

Tips:

 

-Take your loved ones or yourself in pictures.

-Use a mirror in front of your worktop to observe your hands.

 

• Use the webcam on your phone or computer to film or take photos of your hands.

 

• Use internet databases or a wooden hand

 

• You can use the 3D models of Clip Studio Paint.

 

Warning ! The hand has limits of movement, when using 3D models, pay attention to it.

To understand them, I invite you to look at the amplitudes, the axes of inclination or rotations of your hands.

Colorization of a hand

Warning !

When coloring a black skin, many beginners make the mistake of coloring the palm in the same color as the back.

 

The palm of the hand is not the same color as the dorsal side, it is lighter.

To put the shadows and the light, I invite you to look at my previous tutorial or I explain in more detail how to do it.

 

What you should know is that the dominance of colors on a white hand

will be the:

-beige and its nuances

• pink / red for the knuckles as well as on the fingertips

• blue / green for the veins.

 

 

Adding veins and bluish areas on the hand adds realism, you don't have to.

 

 

Do not forget to color the nails.

Make a half sphere a little lighter than your nail on the base and a liserai at the end.

 

Use your references / Draw expressive hands.

 

Hands, like facial expressions, allow your characters to express themselves very easily and get messages across. To have an expressive drawing, do not hesitate to play with hand gestures (Take an object, point your finger, lean on an object, clench your fist ...).

 

Below, I have used photographic references.

I asked my little brother to be a role model.

Taking photos is very useful, because you can have the same pose from different angles just like 3D models on CSP.

 

I started by doing my constructions over the photo, it allows me to understand how the hand and fingers are built.

After making my constructions, add the skin over it, I inked my sketch and I placed a solid color on my hands by varying the colors.

I then put the shadows and lights and also add the missing objects.

When you understand the mechanics of the hands, you can exaggerate certain features, make basic hands, very realistic, you can add or remove fingers according to the style of drawings. (cartoon, comic, realistic)

How I use my hands in my work

Hands are very important in my work. They are as expressive and serve to pass messages as facial expressions.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. Thank you.