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 | 84 Comments »
84 Responses to “How to Draw Hands”
Pages: « 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 [2] 1 » Show All
Pages: « 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 [2] 1 » Show All
March 23rd, 2008 at 8:01 am
i have had a series for years in manga but now i might change it to furry b4 its published online.this site helps me sooo much
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
thank you for your help, it is well appreciated
February 13th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I LOVE THIS SITE!! Its helped me soooo much. I was having such a hard time with the hands until Now!!!
February 6th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Wow, you make such a great point with the hands. I have taken your advice and it has done such a wonderful touch to my toons. Thank you. This is a Great Site! One I stop being a “guest carttonist” at a friends site and get my own up, I’m make sure I’ll link this site!
December 15th, 2007 at 1:03 am
Very helpful. Hands are always tough and since I’m attempting my first furry character this is a good start for me.
November 26th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
thank you, you may have just saved my bacon. I’ve been looking for a tutorial like this as I am doing forepaws for a dragon which I don’t want to be too scary.
Thank you.
Shy
November 26th, 2007 at 8:10 am
hey, this really can help me and otehr people =3 thanks very much!
btw, i discover your comic today, and i read it completly in one try ^^ excellent work! keep with your story! =3
November 23rd, 2007 at 9:19 am
Hands are a right pain in the harris , my technique has developed in all areas but still hands are the beating of me. Not litteraly obviously.
Trying to draw the hands on a Adult form cabbit woman doing a bow in a big Victorian dress with little success.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:22 am
thank for a lot of insight in to the hand and head those are definitely my trouble areas um i was wondering if you had any thing on wings i am having a bugger of a time with those for my character an anthro Clydesdale Pegasus
October 25th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Any help involving hands help. They are the greatest bane to my drawing next to the body and feet.