Foreword
This tutorial will focus on the foundations of drawing a hand and will not include rendering. In order to avoid confusion, I will be using the same proportions for the model, however, hands can be incredibly diverse. Because this topic can complicate this tutorial, it will be be pursued in a follow up explanation in the future.
*Terminology: Digit includes the thumb. Finger does not.
General Hand Proportions
On average, the length of the fingers is equal to the length of the palm. Of course, this is not a hard rule, but the model of this tutorial will follow this ratio for simplicity. The webbing between each digit is closer to the palm and slants towards the back, which makes the palm appear longer when viewed from the front. Additionally, the proportions of the model’s digits relative to one another will be the following: middle, ring, index, thumb, and pinkie. The width of the wrist is shorter than the palm and has an oblong shape.
Typically, section C tends to be longer than the other two parts of the finger, which are generally equal in length. As such, neither the joints or the knuckles line up straight with one another. Instead, they follow an arch, with the joints of the middle finger being at the highest point. The thumb doesn’t exceed the first joint of the index finger, and D and E are similar in length. Since the fingers and thumb rotate around a point, the movement of the joints or the tip of a digit also follows an arch from one position to another.
When fingers bend, knuckle A is capable of bending back further than knuckle B. When bending forward, B bends more than A initially. As the finger folds, the muscles squish, and makes the sections of the digit slightly shorter and thicker. The middle section tends to create a triangle-like shape as it folds.
The Hand in Simple Shapes
Using basic shapes will help you draw the hand, and the above images display my method. Some things to note:
Steps 1-2:
The triangle is the foundation for the base of the thumb
The highest point of the triangle only reaches half the length of the palm.
The highest point of the rounded pentagon is about where the middle finger should be, which means it is off-center.
The trapezoid is the point at which the wrist meets the hand
The circles guide the placement of the fingers.
Steps 3-5
After marking the longest point of the fingers, an arch can be the guide for the other digits’ length
Arcs can also guide where the joints will be for each finger.
If the fan shape doesn’t feel right, you can also use lines to indicate the direction of the fingers or draw one or two fingers individually. The important idea is that the fingers generally follow an arc.
I will go more in detail about the features of the hand (shown in Step 5 ) in later sections.
Thinking 3-dimensionally
Flat shapes work fine but chances are the angle of the image or the pose of the hands will require more dimension. Thinking in 3D with complex shapes can be difficult, so start with basic shapes (like cubes, cylinders, or rectangular prisms). With the midpoint guidelines, you can build the figure up from there.
Some things to note:
From the top, the palm is thinner on the side with the pinkie and progressively gets thicker as it reaches the index finger.
The bottom of the palm is thicker than the top
Break the cylinder up into sections and be flexible with its shape since fingers themselves are pliable
Features of the hand
Digits
Some notes on the appearance of the digits:
The finger tends to be thinner at the tip and thicker at the base.
The joints, especially B, can appear thicker than the rest of the digit.
The tip of the digit tapers to a rounded end.
The backside of the digit looks flatter compared to the front.
The front of the digit is fleshy, which creates a rounded appearance for each section and deeper creases.
The nail wraps around the digit instead of being completely flat. A slight curve of the nail going back towards the digit gives it more dimension and indicates the angle of the pose.
Webbing
Webbing is a key feature between the back and the front of the hand. Since the skin folds are closer to the front, they simply look like an extension of the palm when the hand is at rest. When looking from the back, the skin looks like webbing and as though it sits behind the cylindrical shape of the fingers.
Some notes on drawing the webbing:
Webbing forms a “U” or “⊔” shape, not a “V” shape
At rest, the direction that the skin goes is away from the middle finger, but when a finger is stretched backwards or forwards, the skin wraps around that digit.
At rest, the thumb sits more towards the front compared to the other digits, and this can be shown with a vertical line down the side of the palm by the index finger.
Tendons & Knuckles
The tendons that are generally visible are highlighted in purple. The thumb has two separate tendons and the fingers also have horizontal ones, but these aren’t as apparent as the vertical ones. Knuckles, as previously stated, are directly beneath the base of each digit and are positioned in arch. The one for the middle finger is at the highest point and the knuckle for the pinkie is at the lowest.
The visibility of tendons and knuckles can vary depending on the pose, tension, angle, and lighting of the hands. Tendons can vary a lot from pose to pose, but knuckles pop out the most when the finger is bent. It is especially beneficial to draw their rounded shape to make fists and bent fingers more convincing.
Muscles & Fleshy Parts of the Hand
Other than the front of the fingers, the fleshiness of the hand is most apparent on the palm, they can be divided into three sections:
A bean-like shape underneath the base of the fingers and is parallel to the knuckles.
An oval for the muscles of the thumb. It reaches the middle of the palm and ends at the base of the thumb.
A thinner oval for the muscles that run along the side beneath the pinkie. Its width reaches the middle of the palm and goes up to the bean-shaped section.
There isn’t much fleshiness in the middle of the palm, which creates a triangular dip.
On the back of the hand, there is a thin oval-shaped fleshiness between the bottom of the index finger and the base of the thumb that is visible under certain conditions, like when the thumb is stretched backwards.
These mounds are more visible depending on the pose and angle of the hand, however the thumb muscle is almost always apparent. Drawing the outline of it is a safe bet on making sure the palm looks like a palm. When the hand is folded or a finger is bent forward, the fleshy parts of the palm are more visible as they get squished and expand outward. The squishing of the muscles also creates visible creases.
Tip #1
The bottom two muscles of the hand make the palm stick out more than the wrist, which creates a “W” outline almost. It’s deepest underneath the thumb and fades out as it reaches the other side of the hand.
Tip #2
As you get more comfortable with drawing hands, you can include these features earlier on in your sketch. So instead of drawing a flat prism for the palm, you can include the shape of the muscles of the hand.
Utilizing Wrinkles and Fleshiness for Poses
Wrinkles are a great way to indicate the tension, stretch, squish, force, and their direction on a hand. The areas in which these creases are prominent is highlighted in purple. The direction that these wrinkles go is indicated by the red arrows.
Some things to note:
Around the base of the finger (back or front of the hand), the wrinkles wrap around the finger or outwards and away from the middle finger
For the skin between fingers, the wrinkles stretch towards the direction of the webbing (when one finger is stretched out in a direction opposite from the neighboring digit)
When the fingers are pressed against each other, the wrinkles on the palm run diagonally and follow the shape of the muscles. When fingers are stretched away from each other, the wrinkles follow the direction that the skin is being pulled taut.
When stretched to the fullest extent, the wrinkles are more sparing and thin
In conjunction with these wrinkles, the squish and stretch of the fleshy parts of the hands will make the tension or slack more convincing. For example, the muscles of the thumb exceed the midpoint of the palm when the tips of the fingers are touching each other.
Practicing
Methods & Resources
Developing a better understanding of the structure of a hand comes with practice! Here are some methods to try:
Copying from reference photos
Tracing photos
Copy from multiple references first and then draw from memory
Using an image, either:
Break it down into simple shapes
Create contour or guidelines that follow the shape of the hand
Resources:
Images are great for practicing, but I would highly recommend studying from life. It lets you see how the body moves and how each part interacts with one another. When you have control over the amount of force or tension there is, you can eventually associate certain features to different levels of stretching or squishing.
3D Models
CLIP STUDIO PAINT has default models you can use, or you can go to the asset store and search for materials tagged with “Body Shape” and “3D”. I would recommend supplementing these with observations of real hands in order to capture the movement of skin, muscle, or tendons, which are omitted in current 3D models.
I will explain how to use 3D models below:
Step 1. On the right hand side, click on “3D Material”
Step 2. You can click on the tag for “Body Shape”
Step 3. Drag the 3D model onto the canvas
You have three options:
Option #1:
Manually pose the hand - Each joint is adjustable. Click on any part of the hand and a sphere with three colored lines will appear, which adjusts the rotation of that part.
Option #2:
“Pose” tab - When you click on the figure, a toolbar below it appears. Click on the wrench. A window will pop up, and under “Pose,” you will see a triangle with different hand poses. Clicking on any point of this triangle will change the hand pose. Horizontal changes dictate how spread out the fingers are. Vertical movement dictates where the thumb is placed.
Option #3:
Camera - In the “Pose” tab, if you click on the button underneath “Hand pose,” a camera will pop up. It will be able to capture the pose of your hand to apply to the model. As of the current version, this method will only change the pose of the fingers and does not change anything else.
End
This is all I have for the first part of this hand tutorial. Thank you all for reading, and I hope this has been useful! In the future, I will create a follow up on how one could diversify hand features.
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