How do you draw your hands?

[OtomeWeekend]

No, I'm not asking a tutorial but just curious what techniques other people use to draw hands. <---You see, it's my weakest point and it took me eventually an hour to make a decent pair of hands

And even after taking such an hour, those hands still look like stupid bananas in our table Q.Q So, how bout others? :]

[SusanTheCat]

I draw hands as mittens, then fill in the fingers.

Susan

[teacup]

I always take pictures of my own hands with my webcam and use it for reference. XD
I usually can't draw hands without reference unless the pose is really basic. I have 100+ photos of my own hands, doing various things (holding something, for example). Maybe not the best way, but that's how I do it.

[15385bic]

I have a bjd with jointed fingers 8D

[[insert name here]]

I also weak at making hands (and feet), but I recently found my method from W's tutorial and yeah, I feel great at drawing hand right now (if you want the tutorial I'd like to give you the link)
But for complex pose I usually take photos of my own hand with my corby (like teacup did)

@ 15385bic : *shocked* I thought you cut off someone's hand or take someone's hands bone, LOL (they look real, you know)

[Niki]

I draw the fingers first, then work downwards... or upwards. @_@ It's hard to explain.

@15385bic: omg, those hands are really detailed and realistic, especially with the veins >< How big are they in real life?

[OtomeWeekend]

i feel super envy hand figures here cause 3000 yen which would mean i won't even have the enough money to buy my monthly B's log I hope i caan get one like that someday xD

[Tag-]

For quick doodles, I just draw freehand from memory. Probably not the best idea :'D


However, for a serious picture or a more difficult hand position, I draw an elongated trapezium and mark the knuckles with circles and continue from there

[Lumen_Astrum]

I take a picture of my hand doing the pose, then refer from the picture.
Hahaha, stupid idea. |D

[15385bic]

I draw the fingers first, then work downwards... or upwards. @_@ It's hard to explain.

@15385bic: omg, those hands are really detailed and realistic, especially with the veins >< How big are they in real life?

About 5cm? The doll is pretty big...i got them when the company had a sale event and the hands were free. Otherwise Really expensive. But its worth having a model

[azureXtwilight]

I take a picture of my hand doing the pose, then refer from the picture.
Hahaha, stupid idea. |D

Same here! Hahaha XD

No, it's called being creative when we can't buy expensive models~

[Deji]

Hands were so hard for me to draw, I even went and bought a book about the subject >>;
http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Dynamic-H ... 0823013685

Other than that, I usually freehand from memory, look at my own hands (which result in twisting my arms in uncomfortable positions) and webcam snapshots when everything else fails and/or when I just can't get it right.
Problem with webcam snapshots is that my hands are really tiny, and for guys' hands, it just looks odd xD;

Those BJD jointed hands looks so cool *___*
I've wanted to buy a wooden model hand for years, myself:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/home-gi ... l/12604645
The only problem is that you can only do so much with it ^^;

[SusanTheCat]

I get in trouble if I copy my own fingers. I have very exomorphic hands - long and skinny. All my characters ended up with long skinny fingers.

Here is a photoref I made of me holding a coffee cup:


Other photo refs I made can be found here:
http://www.thecatsweb.com/copper/thumbn ... m=6&page=2

Susan

[LateWhiteRabbit]

I get in trouble if I copy my own fingers. I have very exomorphic hands - long and skinny. All my characters ended up with long skinny fingers.

Here is a photoref I made of me holding a coffee cup:


Other photo refs I made can be found here:
http://www.thecatsweb.com/copper/thumbn ... m=6&page=2

Susan

Gah! I hate that. I have the same problem. What tiny handed person invented coffee mug handles? It's always so awkward only being able to fit three fingers in.

As for how I draw hands, I study lots of anatomical reference, and I have a lot of books of nothing but hand poses. I tend to draw a shape for the main portion of the hand, the thumb shape coming off of it, and then a mitt on top shaped like the fan of the fingers. Sometimes I'll just do a mitt for the last three fingers and rough in the index finger depending on the hand pose. Then I go back and refine the shapes.

There really is no substitute for good anatomy knowledge though. There are differences between the hands of children, between men and women, between old and young. I can't really use my hands for reference much because I have big meaty hands - great for punching, horrible as reference for a slender feminine hand.

One of my favorite sources for studying how to draw hands is David Finch's DVDs. They cost money, but they are amazing and excellent. I would say they are more for intermediate artists though - he moves quickly, and focuses on how to draw hands (and feet) without reference and getting them to look correct and dynamic. A good foundation in hand anatomy and practice using reference would be helpful going in for any potential viewer.

[Marcelo_Orlando]

Hands are pretty easy for me to draw, but if I have a problem with a particular angle I just turn it into a fist. Lol