Sketching Hands And Fingers

By Author: Ruediger Schmidt
Total Articles: 35
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Lately I gave you some tips on how to draft hands. It appears many of my readers consumed these tips and call now for further material. Particularly they asked me to go into the details of drawing hands. So let's take a look at it.

Whilst drawing hands, the biggest obstruction are the proportions of all the digits and little details. In this article I will show you the most important details you ought to pay attention to for perfect outcomes.

When drawing an unstrained hand, imagine the palm as a square and then sketch the digits accordingly. In this case the middle finger is approximately as long as the palm (with slight deviances dependent on the particular hand's dimensions and its position - think of the "magic trick" in my last article on drawing hands).

As longest finger the middle finger makes a great reference for understanding the proportions of all other digits:

The little finger is about two-thirds to three-fourths of the middle finger

The ring finger and the forefinger are always lengthier than the small finger and briefer than the middle finger.

But the exact lengths ...
... deviate - some people's ring digits and index digits are equally long, others have longer ring digits, others have longer index digits. I've even learned of people making jokes by deducing capacities from the lengths of index finger and ring finger. Fortunately my are both equally long so I am on the safe side ;-)

Thanks to the different lengths of the digits the fingertips form a c-shaped curve when dwelling adjacently.

Somethingwn akin is true for the digits' roots: the index finger's and the middle finger's root are topmost, the other digits' roots are a little bit lower so the finger roots form a arch that curves down, too. And the knuckles form the same curve, of course.

Now that we have sketched each of the digits, let us look at the thumb. Contrary to the other digits it is growing out of the side of the palm. Its root inhabits the lower half of the hands side. Having only two joints it contains also more muscles, volume and strength.

Using these directions you are able to draw the primary structure of any hand you want to sketch. But once completing this first draft, please keep in mind: though I wrote about squares and lengths etc., the hand's shape isn't exactly geometrical.

There should be no hard margins or unbent lines in your sketch. The muscles and anatomy on the hand's bones form bent and voluminous contours. Heighten these contours by introducing substantial shadowing. Look where shades form on your hand and add these shadings accordingly.

Significant: The thinner a hand is, the fewer mass the picture should have. So adjust the strength and darkness of shades accordingly. Also you need to correct the shading if the hand is very athletic (e.g. hands of bodybuilders or sportsmen) and for overweight hands that have only few lines and seams in the skin.

Hope these guidelines help you to draft better hands from now on.
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