Drawing Hands #7: Hands I Use All the Time
Here's are the hands that you need to got good at drawing
This is the last post in my series about Drawing Hands. If you like this one, I encourage you to start from the beginning! And if you want to see this as a lecture and are in town for Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, I’ll be there on September 26th from 2-3 speaking about this very topic. And if you can’t make it, I’ll post a video of it here once it goes up on YouTube.
I thought it would be fun to end by going back through my graphic novels and educational comics and finding out which hands I use all the time. These, I suspect, would be a great starting place for people looking to draw hands well. You don’t have to get good at every hand pose—just master a few of these and you’ll have enough of a grasp of the fundamentals to draw every other hand you can think of. You want to get good enough at them that you don’t have to draw from reference to do them, and you can modify them for various functions.
And if you want to get good at them, you really do need to study them. Compare your hands to a reference. What doesn’t look right? What isn’t expressive enough? Between mastering a few basic poses and drawing from reference, you can get proficient. But it does take a lot of work. This is a spot where daily practice is a must.
So here are some samples from my upcoming children’s graphic novel Checkups, Shots, and Robots.
Fists
Fists are used for holding things, expressing anger, and punching people. By lifting a finger or two you can get some other gestures as well.
Pointing
I seem to have my characters pointing a lot. Pointing at things, pointing at themselves, and pointing at each other. This is a easier that it looks, but you’ll spend a decent amount of time figuring out how to draw it without it looking like your character is giving someone the bird.
Open Palm
A gestrue that I use quite a bit when two characters are talking to each other. It’s also good for reaching for things.
Spread Fingers
Another pose that’s versatile, especially to show a character in the motion of grabbing something or in gestures for some sort of extreme action like jumping for joy. And don’t forget to finger bundle!
The Claw
This is a pose in which I don’t go for definition as much as loos expression. I use it a lot with extreme exression, but it can be used for characters that are holding things or turning things. It’s a versatile, loose hand that I like to draw as quickly as possible.
The Pinch
I like using this gesture because it’s fun to draw. You use it for holding small things, giving the okay sign, or making a point. Pay attention to the fingers. Most of the time at least the ring and the pinky are not part of the pinch.
Writing
I remember being very happy when I nailed this one because it’s really hard to draw. It’s actually a variation of the pinch - the thumb and index finger hold the writing implement (or whatever) and the rest of the fingers fold behind. You can also use it for grasping utensils, needles and other objects. Just make sure you are being consistent with whether your character is right or left handed.
Holding
This is a very broad category, because there are a lot of things characters can hold. But remember what your art teacher told you — everything can be broken down into basic shapes like cubes and spheres. Practice your characters holding these basic shapes and you’ll have a good grasp (pun intended) or how to draw many things. This may require you to actually hold things to get an idea of where you are likely to pick them up.
Thinking
I don’t think anyone actually uses these poses in real life when they think, but they are basic cartoon poses. The one I’m missing here that I use every so often is scratching the head in confusion. Again, I’ve never seen anyone actually do that in real life, but it seems to be part of what we think people do.
In Conclusion
There are some other hands that are good to learn that are associated with entire body language, like crossing the arms or holding something under the arm like a beach ball. I’m always finding a use for hands I’ve never drawn as well because I like the challenge. But I have been known to avoid draw certain hands that I can quite master by shifting the pose or the POV slightly.
So that’s it! I hope you’ve enjoyed this series. Feel free to drop me a line if you feel like there’s something I missed, or something that you’d like to see me tackle.
And a reminder that my newest graphic novel, Checkups, Shots, and Robots, comes out on November 12th.