Drawing hands?

Question

I've been getting better at drawing, but i have a serious problem with drawing hands, any tips or research websites?

Answer 1

Try drawing your own hand in different positions. We had this as part of an art exam in school and the results were amazing.
Another way is to study the underlying structure of the hand by looking at a skeleton hand (Biology lab).

Answer 2

Drawing your own hands is a really tough assignment and hands are difficult. But hands are neat to look at, aren't they!

If you are using pencil, try using one with a very fine point with a soft #2 lead. Take your time and concentrate on details. You can always use a smudge stick to blend and a soft grey art eraser (one that you can twist into different shapes) and "blot" the excess lead/graphite to create highlights.

Use feathery light strokes and don't bear down on the pencil if you can help it.

When I was in art class, many centuries ago, I found using pencil was nicer than charcoal for the hand drawing assignment. I felt like I had more control over the pencil and could get more detail.

Gee, your question makes me want to break out the old drawing assignment pad and pencils again.

Hope this helps you.

Have fun and enjoy!

Answer 3

If you are drawing cartoons - go for the three fingers and thumb. Then you can reference most animations on TV. If you want to draw proper hands, master a flat hand, a hand making a piece sign, and a fist, or hand holding something from different angles. Try lightly drawing a skeleton, or stick hand using your own hand as reference then fleshing it out. Things to note are, placement of wrist, finger knuckles, position of thumb, and nails. Last of all is getting the hand correct relative to the rest of the arm, body and figure. Big hands will always look wrong even if you get the hand right. Maybe why you are getting alien hands.

Answer 4

i have the same problem, you could look in a mirror or ask someone to be a hand model or use different shapes
i look at my own hand mostly and draw it. You could trace your hand onto paper as practice to get the feel of the hand's curves.
Just remember the difference between a guy's hand(masculine), a girl's hand(feminine) and a baby's hand(innocence).

Answer 5

Practice, practice, practice. Draw as many hands as much as you can.
And don't obsess about how they look. Just do your best and KEEP ON GOING!
Stop thinking of them as "hands" and see/ look at them as objects, forms; what sort of geometric shapes do you see (cylinders, triangles. cones...); what does the negative space look like. (Draw the negative space around and inside the hands; that's a great exercise!)
Anything you can do to alter the way you look at hands (and your preconceptions of what hands should look like) will help. (Drawing photos of hands with the photos turned upside down is another "trick"...from the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain).
Good luck!

Answer 6

Lots and lots of practice. There are also books you can buy that will give you pointers. You could also have friends model for you.