Introduction to the Hand - A Tutorial (Part One)

The hand. For many artists, just the thought of rendering such a complicated form invites short cuts that will eventually reveal your drawing weaknesses. You can't always draw people with hands behind backs or in pockets. We will all know the reason!  So with this hand tutorial, I plan on breaking up this form into basic shapes that are more manageable.

Hands are intimidating to draw. But they are really just a mass of shapes that fit together like a puzzle. Once you understand the basic underlying structure, you can assemble the shapes into various expressive gestures that will enhance your drawings with additional emotional conviction.

Probably the most helpful thing to remember is that fingers are not round cylindrical forms. They have sides much like a long rectangular box. The planes turn in to shadow as the tops of the fingers curve underneath. If you were to wrap a string around your finger from the base to the tip, the shapes would all be slightly different, as in the example above. You can see how the fingernail is set into the tip of the finger - it doesn't just sit on top of it.

And then some exciting things happen as the knuckles come into play. You can clearly see the underlying framework of the tendons and how they attach, particularly when the hand makes a fist. Before you even contemplate a foreshortened fist as I drew above, look at the simple shape above it. The middle finger knuckle is the highest peak, with diagonal lines shooting down on each side indicating the slant of the hand shape. The individual bent knuckle shows the band of tendon stretching down across the bones like a belt that ties machines together. The hand is very much like a machine!

Tomorrow I will be adding part two to this tutorial, where I break the structure of the hand into simple interlocking shapes. Remember it is so much easier to draw something when you view it as a series of forms. 

I want to mention how much I am looking forward to steemfest! 

On Sunday I'm announcing some of my artistic plans for Amsterdam conference attendees. And I would love to hear from any of you attending what kind of subject matter might be appealing as I am working on a list of custom work and commission ideas for one to two hour slots on Sunday November 13th. If you are looking for a unique Dutch steemfest souvenir, be ready to reserve your time. In addition, I will be offering prints available for purchase with SBD. 

Cheers!

J