How to Draw Hands
By Kelly | June 3, 2007
The three most expressive body parts, those that are key in depicting a character’s mood, are the face, hands, and feet respectively. In other words, you should spend almost as much energy on a figure’s hand as you would the face! Don’t hesitate to draw hands- many anxious young artists hide them in pockets or behind the back. It takes study and practice, but you can learn to construct a pretty convincing hand if you understand the basic forms and underlying anatomy.
This tutorial makes frequent use of Constructive Anatomy by George Bridgeman, a work in the public domain hosted by the Internet Archive.
I also recommend the following:
Check the Recommended Reading Booklist for more reference books, and tips on getting them cheap.
1. Basic Hand Anatomy
Anatomy studies by George Bridgeman
Understanding the components of the hand – bone, muscle, and tendon- will help you draw believable hands. Draw studies of your own hands, paying particular attention to silhouette and form, and with particular empahsis on change of direction in the lines of the silhouette.
Exaggerate plane changes and overlapping forms to make more dynamic hands
Do many studies of your own hands for practice. After studying, try drawing some new poses using your memory!
2. Simplified Forms
I like to think of the hand as three big pieces- the palm, thumb, and fingers. Imagine the hand as a mitten, with the fingers as one mass. Then, in your mind convert that mitten into a more three-dimensional form. The hand is long and relatively flat, it’s just the folds of the palm and joints of the fingers that make it seem complex.
The fingers have three joints- the knuckle, where it attaches to the palm, a smaller middle joint, and an even smaller joint near the tip. The natural movement of the finger’s bend goes from knuckle, to middle, to tip. In other words, the tip joint only bends in the most extreme poses, and it only bends alone if there’s pressure on the finger tip (such as poking an object).
Don’t forget which side the thumb is on! A simple ‘rule of thumb’ – palms out, thumbs in. Palms in, thumbs out. Check your pose with a mirror or get a buddy to model if you aren’t sure.
Here are some of Bridgeman’s hand studies, showing how he simplifies the form, including some very geometric plane studies-
3. Animals and Anthro Hands
Here are a couple of techniques for making anthro/furry hands:
Cartoony paws use simple, rounded forms to convey the structure of the hand. Detail is minimal, since with animated characters every line must be re-drawn thousands of times. These animated characters typically have 3 fingers and a thumb, and lack extraneous details like furry accents and paw pads.
Mid-way between animal and human, this style of hand has stubbier fingers and bigger joints, plus the animal characteristics of fur and paw pads. This kind of hand is better for more beast-like or masculine anthros.
These examples are how I’d draw hands for my Good Cheese characters. The female hand is slender and elegant, with only pointed nails (and perhaps a pink palm) to lend it some animal flavor. The male hand is more beast-like, with stubby fingers and hints of fur at the knuckles.
Feel free to experiment with different styles, and draw the hands that best fit your character’s design.
Happy drawing! 
Topics: Drawing tutorials | 70 Comments »
70 Responses to “How to Draw Hands”
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Pages: [7] 6 5 4 3 2 1 » Show All
February 4th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
This is a great website, I actually learned every bit of anthro drawing I know from here. Thank you
January 26th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Thank You Soo Much For This, This Is Tho Only Decent Anthro-Drawing Site On The Internet
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:56 am
Great Hand studiesh Well done.
January 21st, 2010 at 10:41 am
thank you so much I had almost given up hope about ever being able to draw anything let alone hands and now pl help me how to draw a hand having apple with small finger towards me and also showing thumb upward not touching apple.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Great hands tutorial, you saved my day!
January 2nd, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Wow… Just wow really helpful now I can start my manga. Thanks guys your so convienant. (crap I think I spelled that wrong)
December 24th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
very nice tutorial! XD
will try this myself
thanks! :P
December 20th, 2009 at 3:12 am
lol im about the same sonic, thou i can do the feet good
December 17th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Thanks so much, this helped a lot.
I’m a begginer furry artist, and i really suck at drawing hands, so thanks!
this helped…like a said xD
December 8th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Thanks a lot I’m new to furry drawing i can do the face, and body all pretty well i just struggle with the hands and feet big time so big thanks again.