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Introduction

Hello, I’m zuzuame, an amateur artist with a passion for illustration

In this article, I’ll be sharing some of my humble knowledge about drawing hands, along with a few fun tips to help you depict a hand in the most natural way possible.

You might find this article rather theoretical. However, what I want to do is provide you with this kind of theoretical knowledge so you can have a solid foundation, and from there, feel more confident when drawing hands.

Of course, this is just a short article on hand-drawing tips, so I’ll be condensing many things, and only pointing out certain interesting details or common mistakes we often make xD

Let’s get started!

Hand Structure

First, I want to define the structure of a hand, which consists of three parts:

• Wrist-area

• Palm-area

• Fingers-area

Proportion

From this 3-part structure, we can determine an accurate proportion, which I often use to gauge the overall length of the hand.

The length of the hand is about two-thirds the length from the wrist to the elbow

After that, I slightly reduce the hand length, then divide it in half to determine the length of the index finger.

From there, using the index finger as a reference, we have:

Index finger length=palm area length+wrist length

At the same time, the index finger length also gives us the width of the four fingers

In short, my method of determining hand proportions is:

Go from arm length → slightly reduce it and divide by two to get the index finger length → derive all the other proportions from it

Fingers

As for the phalanges, the thumb has 2 phalanges while the other four fingers have 3 phalanges each

From the starting point of the finger, the phalanges gradually get smaller

Proximal phalanx length=Middle phalanx+Distal phalanx

So, we just need to determine the total finger length, divide it in half to get the first phalanx length, and set the proportions so that the second phalanx is slightly longer than the third.

The starting point of the fingers

Turn your hand palm-up and look at the starting point of the fingers from the palm side. Then, turn it palm-down and look at the starting point from the back of the hand

People often get confused about the starting point of the fingers on the palm side, because the skin crease where the phalanges meet is very visible when the palm is open. However, the actual starting point of the fingers is shown correctly on the back of the hand, where you can clearly see the knuckles when making a fist

This effect is due to the palm being larger than the back of the hand, because the palm has skin that protrudes to increase gripping surface. When viewed from the side, you can see the starting point of the fingers shifted compared to the back.

Therefore, when drawing, note that determining the index finger length should be based on the actual knuckle position, not on the skin crease you see when the palm is open.

Also, when drawing the palm side, make the palm area larger and shorten the first phalanx

Thumb Rotation

The thumb is quite interesting—it has a completely different structure compared to the other fingers.

Besides having only two phalanges and being much shorter, you should also pay attention to the thumb’s rotation angle.

Place your hand flat on a table and observe the nails of all five fingers: you’ll see that the four fingers’ nails face upward, while the thumbnail points outward.

This shows that the thumb has a different rotation compared to the other four fingers. When drawing the direction of the thumb or its nail, you should keep this in mind to accurately depict its rotation.

Finger Spread

Next, I want to talk about another interesting detail of the hand—the way fingers spread.

Try raising your hand as if waving, stretching your fingers as far as possible, and see what happens.

What you’ll notice is that the fingers don’t all spread equally.

If you apply maximum force to spread them, the middle, ring, and little fingers will have the smallest spread (and be similar to each other).

The index finger will spread slightly more than those three.

Finally, the thumb will have the largest spread.

This is because the thumb is special—it has a different rotation and needs a larger spread to allow us to grip objects more easily.

The index finger naturally has a wider spread than the other three fingers because it has an additional extensor muscle (an extra tendon besides the common extensor tendon), which makes it stronger. That’s why, when stretched fully, it opens more.

However, in a naturally relaxed waving position, the ring and middle fingers tend to move closer together—or sometimes the ring, middle, and index fingers all stay close.

In some cases, the little finger is extended or curled to add a more feminine touch to the character.

Tilting Toward the Little Finger

Now, place your hand gently on a table in the most relaxed way possible—what do you see?

Does your hand tilt slightly relative to your forearm?

Then try rotating your hand fully to both sides—notice which side you can tilt farther toward.

It turns out that it’s easier and allows a larger angle to tilt toward the little finger side than toward the thumb side.

This is because the Radius and Ulna bones support the hand in such a way that the ulna side allows a greater tilt, while the radius side resists too much tilt.

As a result, a relaxed hand naturally tends to tilt toward the little finger. So, when drawing a relaxed hand, tilting it slightly toward the little finger will make it look more natural. If you draw it tilted toward the thumb, be careful not to overdo it, or the hand will appear as if it’s applying force.

Conclusion

In the end, these are just some of my personal observations and lessons learned from more experienced artists.

I find that observing and analyzing things is fascinating—by doing so, we can apply those insights to our drawings and make them feel more natural.

I hope that through this little tips article, you’ll gain more experience in drawing hands, as well as in observing body movements, so you can apply them in the best way possible to your art.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end. I wish you joyful drawing~