Drawing Hands 101

Learning to draw hands is a crucial part of being able to sketch the human form. Hands, along with drawing faces, can be a daunting task, but we’re here to give you a hand with the simple tips below. What are you waiting for? Pick up a pencil and give it a go!

Analyze Your Own Hand:

Take a look at your flat hand and note the following:

1. The length of the fingers is roughly equal to the length of the palm or back of the hand.
2. The middle finger is the highest and forms the top of an arc comprised of the other fingers. All three sets of knuckles and joints follow the same arc.
3. The base of the thumb is a triangular shape attached to the side of the palm.
4. The palm is distributed evenly on both sides of the middle finger.

Let’s Sketch:

Once you’re done with your self-study, it’s time to begin sketching.

1. Begin by drawing the general shape of the palm or back of the hand as a square, slightly wider at the top than the bottom.
2. Loosely add lines for the fingers, beginning with the middle fingers and arcing the others down around it.
3. Give the fingers some dimension by “boxing” them out—remember, fingers are actually more rectangular than circular.
4. Sketch the triangular base of the thumb on the same side of the palm as the index finger and add the thumb shape.
5. Add the details, including rounding the fingertips, adding fingernails, and sketching in the knuckle and joint lines.

Once students have mastered the basic hand, experiment with different gestures, including holding up one or two fingers or making a fist. If any students want to take gesture drawing even further, check out our Gesture Drawing 101 article for more tips!

Gesture Drawing 101

Have you taught your students how to draw hands? Do you have any tips or tricks to share with your fellow art teachers? Let us know in the comments below.

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