How to draw bent arms. Basics of Human Anatomy: How to Draw Hands

If you do not take into account a person’s face, then most of all a person’s emotions are conveyed by the position of his hands. The hands and fingers are very flexible and display perfectly emotional condition person. In this lesson we will draw a human hand with a pencil step by step, from simple to complex.

If you are learning to draw a person, portrait or figure correctly, you definitely need to know how to draw a hand, correctly and naturally, and this requires some knowledge and a little practice.

Proportions

In order to learn how to draw hands, first of all, you need to learn proportions and be able to apply your anatomical knowledge in practice. It's not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Remembering just a few simple rules you will improve your drawing skills several times, and your hand drawings will miraculously acquire believability and naturalness.

General relationships

An interesting fact is that the hand is a bit like a shoulder blade, which consists of two parts: the metacarpus and the fingers.

The length of the fingers is equal to the length of the metacarpus.

This ratio must be respected. The drawing of a hand can be started from a schematic designation of its shape, and a line is used to show the line dividing the hand into two equal parts.

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The length of the entire brush can be completely different. There are people with short and long fingers and, accordingly, a square or elongated brush.

Fingers

Movable and flexible fingers consist of joints. The bones of the metacarpus are the largest and longest, and the finger joints are attached to them. Each subsequent phalanx is smaller and thinner than the previous one.

Our hands are designed according to the principle of the golden ratio, which is why women’s hands attract the glances of surrounding men. The proportions of the phalanges are in the ratio of 2/3 of the length of the previous phalanx.

The picture below shows the first phalanx in red, the second in orange, and the third in yellow.

All fingers except the thumb consist of four joints: three phalanges and one joint in the metacarpus. Thumb set aside, slightly turned in relation to the other fingers and consists of three joints. Its length usually reaches the middle of the first phalanx of the index finger.

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Length little finger almost reaches the bend of the last phalanx of the ring finger. This is shown in the illustration above.

Directions

If you carefully observe your hands different people, another one will appear common feature, which also needs to be taken into account in your sketches. If we outline the brush from above with one line, we get small semicircle, the top of which middle finger.

Pay attention to the inside and outside of the palm. If we draw a conventional line at the base of the fingers, we will also see a small arc that goes from the index finger and goes down to the little finger.

In the illustration below this is indicated by red arrows. You can draw a hand starting from the mitten, which is shown in the corner brown, immediately outlining all directions.

The pads and folds on the inside of the palm also have one common direction; they seem to descend from index finger to little finger.

Fist

A little more information about directions that will help you draw a brush more quickly and correctly. Let's say you need to depict a hand clenched into a fist. Evenly bent fingers again form a certain arc, with general direction “down to the little finger”.

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Notice the top part of the illustration - a small hand drawn in brown. Here is a schematic diagram of how it narrows width of fingers in each subsequent phalanx, take this into account and do not forget to show it in your works. Compare the lengths of the red, orange and green segments.

The hand clenched into a fist, on the outside, under the little finger, forms a fold; it is emphasized by a small green arc in the illustration above. By labeling it, you will be able to create a more realistic image of a hand holding something or clenched into a fist, etc.

Important Details

The picture below shows what the skeleton of a hand roughly looks like. The joints where they connect are slightly wider and thicker. We need to understand this in order to know how to draw a hand realistically. This is especially true for the hands of elderly and thin people. At the bends, the finger will be a little thicker, along the length of the phalanx - a little thinner.

Pay attention to how to draw a curved hand in profile. Look at the joint of the metacarpus and the first phalanx of the finger. In the picture above, the red line shows where the first phalanx attaches to the metacarpus joints. This is the beginning of the finger, it can be identified by the joint protruding upward - the knuckle. The green line indicates the place where there are membranes between them; they are often mistaken for the beginning of the first phalanx.

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If we look at the hand in profile, we will see that the outer side is quite flat, with only the knuckles protruding. The inner one, on the contrary, is soft; under each phalanx there is a protruding pad. There are two “pads” under the first phalanx, one under the joint is especially large and stands out well in everyone.

Drawing a hand step by step

Before drawing the hand, decide on the position of the forearm and wrist. To begin with, let's take the simplest example, use your brush as a nature, and do not redraw the picture below.

Human balance in motion

In general, drawing hands is a skill that needs to be constantly developed and improved. The hands are very plastic and can take on hundreds of different positions and angles.

Complex angles

Interesting angles in which the fingers are in different positions more difficult to depict. There are several ways to help avoid mistakes.

One of the effective and most often used ways to depict a hand from a non-standard angle is to mark the position of each finger with a line:

Sometimes the line does not cope with the task and you have to use auxiliary shapes, cylinders or parallelepipeds to indicate the position of the phalanges:

In order to give the brush some intricate position, first try for yourself how comfortable, natural and generally possible it is. The hand, fingers and each joint are interconnected, changing the position of one element of this structure often changes their position and the rest.

People who try to draw human hands for the first time face a number of difficulties. How to understand the shape of the hands? How to learn the patterns in their structure? Plastic anatomy for artists helps to understand these issues. In this article, I have made a series of anatomical drawings, sketches and diagrams that will help aspiring artists understand the basics and pay attention to key aspects. I tried to present this material as simply and to the point as possible. I don’t rule out that I might have made some minor inaccuracies somewhere, but that doesn’t change the essence.

1. Main titles

Hands consist of three main parts:

• shoulder;
• forearm;
• brush.

The forearm consists of two bones:

• ulna (thickening at the elbow);
• radius (thickening at the wrist).

Main muscles:

• deltoid muscle (raises the entire arm);
• biceps or biceps brachii (flexes the arm at the elbow);
• triceps or triceps brachii muscle (extends the arm at the elbow);
• muscles responsible for the movement of the hand, fingers and rotation of the forearm with the hand (pronation-supination).

Two main muscle groups of the forearm:

• on the side of the external epicondyle of the humerus there is a group of muscles (a), which includes extensors of the hand and fingers;
• on the side of the internal epicondyle of the humerus there is a group of muscles (b), which includes the flexors of the hand and fingers;
• these two muscle groups are clearly visible and clearly separated by the ulna.

2. Anatomical structure of the hand. Core muscles

The shape of the hand depends on the shape of the bones and muscles. Therefore, in the process of drawing a person, you need to pay attention to the anatomical structure of the hands. It is important to “see” which muscles are located where. To understand plastic anatomy, the following drawings, which depict the skeleton and musculature, can help. In each such drawing, I added a diagram in which I highlighted the key, clearly visible muscles in color. These muscles are clearly expressed, so they should be visible in a person’s drawing. Of course, the muscles of women's arms will be more refined and miniature than men's. In addition, there are overweight people, and there are thin and “wiry” people. This means that their muscles will also be different. But the main muscles indicated in the drawings will be visible to one degree or another in each person.

3. Pronation and supination

If you stop and pay attention to how your hand moves, you will notice that it is capable of rotating. That is, we can turn our hands with our palms up, or we can turn our palms down. If upward, then this position of the hand is called supination. And if downward, then pronation. In this case, the radius bone of the forearm moves around the ulna. For clarity, I made a schematic drawing showing how this happens.

During the drawing process you need to constantly compare sizes. This helps to convey proportions correctly. Hand drawing is no exception. If we talk about the forearm, then the belly of the muscles is concentrated in its widest part, and the tendons are concentrated in the narrowest part (although there are some muscles there too). Knowing this feature, it will be easier to draw human hands.

5. The shoulder and forearm are located at an angle relative to each other

When a person holds his hand straight, the hand will still not be absolutely straight. This is explained by the fact that the shoulder and forearm are located at an angle to each other.

6. The connection of the shoulder and forearm is similar to the connection of chain links

The chain example is very helpful in understanding the shape of the hands. How is the widest part of the shoulder rotated relative to the widest part of the forearm? This is clearly visible on schematic drawing. If you remember this feature structure of the hand, then further drawing of hands will be much easier.

The elbow joint provides a movable connection between the humerus, ulna and radius. The principle of its operation is clearly visible in the schematic diagram. The head of the ulna looks like wrench. The junction of the radius and humerus resembles a ball and cup because the radius rotates around the ulna and also moves up and down like the ulna to allow flexion of the arm at the elbow.

8. Three visible points in the elbow joint

Some novice artists may ask: “Why do you need to know the structure of a joint if it’s not visible anyway?” The answer is simple - the joint affects the shape of the hand, its movements, and its three elements are also visible. Internal condyle, external condyle and head of the ulna. While the elbow and internal condyle are visible to a greater or lesser extent in any position of the arm, the external condyle is visible when the arm is bent. When the arm is straight, he hides in the hole. These nuances affect appearance hands, so it is important in the drawing.

9. Pencil drawings of hands

After studying the anatomical features, you need to be able to apply knowledge in practice. Therefore, in concluding this article, I give as an example pencil drawings in which human hands are depicted in various positions. Pay attention to the shading. It seems to repeat the shape of the arm muscles, bending around the surface. This important point in the technical side of the drawing. If we talk about chiaroscuro, then both on the entire hand and on individual muscles you need to learn to see light, penumbra, shadow - just like in the drawing of a jug or geometric shapes. However, in order for your drawing to become confident and professional, you need to practice a lot. It takes time to gain drawing skills.

When drawing a person, Special attention should be given to both the face and hands. Firstly, besides the head, the hands are the most open areas bodies. Secondly, they are also expressive and mobile. Along with this, due to the complexity of the connecting joints, the convex and flat parts of the hand, the hands can, and usually do, become the most the hard part when studying the structure of the human body.

The first mistake when drawing is having too small hands. And here the ability to draw a head comes to the rescue. If you know how to correctly build the proportions of your head, then you can assume that you already have correct proportions for drawing a hand. If you put your hand to your face, the tip of your middle finger will be at the hairline, and the hand will end at chin level. Here's your main way to measure brush parameters.

I hope you now understand the importance of knowing how to draw the human body. If you can draw a human body, you can draw anything for two reasons: 1) you now know enough about the three-dimensional shape of the human body; and 2) if you place this body in a room with various items, you can easily determine the dimensions of these objects in relation to the body. And you will also already know that all these objects have their own volume and shape.

The area of ​​the thumb is significantly larger than the area at the base of the little finger. The hand is wider at the base of the fingers than at the junction with the wrist: however, closer to the wrist it is higher. Now pay attention to your hand: the palm is longer than its back. The thumb is attached to the palm by an independent and highly mobile ball-and-socket joint, which allows it to actively move independently of the rest of the hand. The palm consists of elastic and soft areas - pillows. The surface of the fingers and the entire palm are covered with many pads. The fingertips are pointed, the middle finger - the longest - is the highest point of the hand. The pads on the fingertips are pointed so that they are directed towards the middle - towards the middle finger. If you measure the length of your thumb from the top side, it will be equal to the length of your middle finger. The thumb is more powerful than the rest. The components of the fingers have a more square shape than it might seem at first glance; on the last square is the nail, almost triangular shape, with bulges on both sides, forming a place for nail growth. You will better remember the structure of your hand if you study the structure of the skeleton of the hand, after which problems with drawing your hand will never arise again.

2. Then highlight the volumetric areas - divide the brush into parts, this will help you determine where the convex and where the flat areas are.

4. Add shadows at the end.

I hope you find this tutorial helpful.
Happy work!

Perhaps no aspect of the drawing is accompanied by greater disorder and presents less adequate material for study than the drawing of the hands. Much of this trouble is caused by running around looking for material instead of looking at your own hands. You have best source information is always available. Perhaps you have never thought of them in this sense. The hand drawing should be based largely on itself. After all, any teacher cannot explain to you more than you can learn by carefully studying your own hands.
The study of the hands, in addition to studying their anatomical structure, consists mainly of examining the dimensions various parts compared. The fingers have a certain length relative to the palm; The junctions of the fingers are in a certain proportion in relation to the whole finger. The palm has width and length. The distances between the joints on the outside of the fingers are greater than those between the folds on the inside. The length of the longest finger from its base to the third knuckle at the back is actually half the length back side palms from fingertip to wrist. The tip of the thumb reaches almost to the second joint of the index finger. The length of the palm is equal to the length of the face from the chin to the hairline. You can take these comparison measurements on yourself or someone else.
The hand is the most flexible and adaptable part of the anatomy of the body; it can grasp an object of any shape and comparable size. This flexibility is also a difficulty for the artist, because the whole hand can take various provisions. But still, the mechanical principle of the hands remains constant. The palm opens and closes and the fingers curl inward towards the middle of the palm. Nails are a very convenient exercise for learning how your fingers work, as they need to be grasped accurately and firmly; you take the pin with your fingertips; take the hammer with your fingers and palm. The back of the hand is more or less resistant to the back pressure of the fingers, and is used in pushing (it is quite difficult to bend the fingers back). The hand is the most perfect mechanism we know for achieving a wide variety of goals. In addition to its perfection, the hand is more closely and precisely coordinated with the brain than any other part of the body. Many of her movements are controlled by subconscious reflexes; for example, typing and playing the piano.
Man began to use his hands before his brain developed and cultural level. An infant can use his hands effectively before he can think. The history of human advancement since ancient times is closely related to the adaptability of the human hand.
It is a fact that the hands and their movements require so little conscious impulse that it is surprising to realize from the outside. Now look at your own hands; You will see in the illustration how the hand automatically takes a shape convenient for grasping the object.
To draw a hand while constructing an object, you must first study the outline of the object, then observe how the automatic adjustment of the hand follows that outline. Watch your fingers before you grab and squeeze a peach or apple. The principle of the grasping mechanism is very important in hand drawing. Only by knowing this, how it actually works, can the hand be drawn convincingly. To draw a hand as you sketch a person, you must first study the outline of the object, then note how the position of the hand matches that outline. First, before taking and squeezing a peach or apple in your fist, you need to observe your fingers to notice how they behave before grasping. The reflex principle is very important in drawing a hand. Only by knowing how the hand actually works can you draw it convincingly. The back of the hand can be drawn in three planes - the first for the section of the thumb up to the base of the index joint, and the other two along the palm, tapering towards the wrist. The back of the hand bends during most activities. Typically, the palm is made up of three blocks surrounding the inside of the palm - the base of the palm, the thick base of the thumb, and the base of the remaining fingers. The joint between the fingers and thumb– connecting, adapted to move the thumb inward towards the palm or pull it at an angle of 900 to the palm. We must also carefully align the nails so that they lie on the same plane as the outer surface of the fingers and are an extension midline each finger. Otherwise, the nail will be crooked, and you will not understand why.
Keep studying your own hands to learn about hands in general. The internal muscles are located so deep that they are not as important as the external forms. The only bones we see are the knuckles of the outer knuckles and the wrists. If you are drawing the palm in action, the fingers can be quite simply attached to the knuckles and aligned correctly. Study comparative finger lengths; remember that the thumb works primarily at right angles to the other fingers. Get rid of the idea that drawing hands is difficult. It's just very easy to get confused if you don't know how they work. Everything becomes much easier once you get the hang of it.
The most important thing to remember about the hand is that it is concave with inside and curved from the outside. The fingers grow so tightly that even liquid can be held in the palm. The hand served to primitive man With a cup and spoon, he scooped up a handful of things that he couldn’t take with his fingers alone.
The thumb muscle is perhaps the most important muscle in the hand. This muscle, supporting or opposing the rest of the fingers, gave a person the ability to make a very strong grip, capable of supporting even the human body. This muscle helped a person hold a spear and club. Just as animals often depend on the strength of their jaws, so man depended on the strength of his hands.
Once you become familiar with the structure and proportions of the hand (Fig. 77 - 85), it will be easier and more convenient for you to depict the features of women's hands, the hands of babies, children, and the elderly.

Figure 77. Anatomy of the hand.


Note the tendons located on the back
side of the palm that extends towards the fingers. They perform
huge function: with their help you can compress and unclench
palm, and also move each finger individually.
The muscles that control these tendons are located
in the forearm. Fortunately for artists, most
tendons are hidden under the skin and muscles, and are unnoticeable.
In children and adolescents, the tendons of the hands are not noticeable; they
appear in old age.

Figure 78. Blocks forming an arm


On the back of the hand, the bones and tendons are located close to the skin; those on the sides and on the inside of the palm are additional. I have outlined these surfaces in such a way that it will be easier for you to become familiar with them. Note the thick fleshy "pads" in
the base of the thumb and the base of the palm. A pad is present at the base of each finger, and together they encircle the top of the palm. The muscles of the fingers protect the bones. Due to their elasticity, they
provide good coordination of movements, just as good tires provide grip on the road. There are no muscle pads on the outer side of the palm,
but the outer surface of the little finger is well protected by the muscle, so much so that it can withstand a fairly strong blow, especially when the fist is clenched.

Figure 79. Hand proportions


The next important thing is the curved lines that can be drawn through the fingertips and knuckles. If you divide your palm in half along an imaginary line, you will have two fingers on each side. The tendon of the middle finger roughly bisects the outer side of the palm. Note also that the thumb grows almost at right angles to the other fingers. They can be moved perpendicularly from and to the palm, while the remaining fingers are compressed and unclenched parallel to the palm. The knuckles of the fingers are located slightly above the folds on the inside of the fingers. Draw imaginary curved lines: the curve crossing the base of the fingers will be gentle, those crossing the joints will be steeper, and the steepest line will be the line crossing the tips of the fingers.
The middle finger is the key finger by which we determine the length of the arm. The ratio of the length of this finger to its joint at the back is slightly more than half the length of the arm.
The width of the palm is slightly more than half the length of the inner side of the palm. Forefinger reaches approximately the length of the nail of the middle finger, the ring finger is approximately equal to the index finger. The little finger only reaches the top joint of the ring finger.

Figure 80. Building a hand

Figure 81. Interior palms (fossa)


In the picture above, notice how carefully the turnout is marked in the middle of the palm. Also mark the curve that goes around the inside of the palm. Hands never look natural and capable of grasping until artists understand this feature. All these hands look like they are holding or grabbing something. The loud flapping sound is produced by the sudden compression of air between these two pits in the palms. A hand that doesn't look capable of grasping or clapping is poorly drawn. Examine your own hands to be sure.

Figure 82. Constructing hands in perspective

Figure 83. Hand in action

Figure 84. Joints

Figure 85. Drawing your own hand

Figure 86. Female hand


Women's hands, like their faces, differ from men's mainly in smaller bones and more delicate muscles, and generally more rounded surfaces. For greater grace of the hand, the middle finger should be about half the length of the palm; oval nails also add grace. Even though female hands thin, they can shrink a lot and be tenacious.

Figure 87. Fingers tapering towards the ends in motion.

Figure 88. Learn many different hand poses.


There's only one the right way learning to draw hands means doing many, many sketches. When drawing hands, more than anywhere else, their position is important. Straighten your fingers along your palm before examining them in detail. The arms are almost never completely straight and flat. Carefully examine the space between your knuckles. Most of the time we see them not in direct projection, but in perspective, as shown in chapters 82-85.

Figure 89. Baby's hand


Babies' hands are studied separately. Their main difference from the hands of adults is that the palm is thicker in relation to the smaller fingers. The muscles of the base of the thumb and the base of the palm in young children are relatively very powerful. Babies can pinch and grasp something equal to their weight. The joints on the outside of the arm are completely hidden by muscles and are marked by dimples. The base of the palm is often surrounded by a thick crease. The base of the palm is much wider than its width at the base of the fingers.

Figure 90. Study of baby's hands

Figure 91. Children's hands


A child's hands are intermediate between those of an infant and a teenager. This means that the thumb muscle and base of the palm are thicker than in an adult hand, but not as thick as in a child's hand. The fingers grow relative to the palm in the same way as in adults. The whole hand is smaller, a little thicker, and more dimpled, and the joints are certainly not as prominent as in adults.

Figure 92. The proportions remain more or less constant.

In junior school age the difference between a boy's and a girl's hand is small, but great changes appear in adolescence. The boy's hand is much larger, stronger, with more developed bones and muscles. The base of the palm and the joints of the fingers are more developed in a boy, while a girl’s hand is thinner and more delicate, with fewer bones. On the boy's hand, the nails, like the fingers, are slightly wider.

Figure 93. Hand of an elderly man

If you have mastered the construction of a hand, drawing the hands of old people will be a pleasure for you. In fact, they are easier to draw than young hands, since the structure and anatomy are more clearly visible there. Main features: thicker fingers, protruding knuckles. The skin becomes wrinkled, but this should only be depicted in close-up.

What You'll Be Creating

Many people think that out of all the body parts, the hands are the most difficult to draw. We all have stories about how early stages When drawing, we hid the hands of our heroes behind their backs or in their pockets, avoiding drawing them whenever possible. And paradoxically, they are our most accessible part, visible every minute of our lives. With just one additional accessory - a small mirror - we can view our hands from all angles. So the only real problem is the complexity of this amazing composite organ. It's almost like drawing a small figure on a larger one - it's hard to know where to start.

In this guide, we'll break down the anatomy of the hand and make it easier to understand so that when you look at the hand, you can understand it as a group simple shapes, which are easy to put together.

Use the following finger abbreviations:

• BP - Thumb
• UE - index finger
• SP - middle finger
• BezP - Ring finger
• M - little finger

Brush Basics

Here short review structure of the bones of the hand (left). The 8 carpal bones are blue, the 5 metacarpal bones are purple, and the 14 phalanges are pink.

Since not all of these bones are movable, we can simplify the basic structure of the hand. On the right is a diagram - everything you need to remember.

Note that the actual base of the fingers (the joint that corresponds to the knuckles) is much lower than the visible base formed by the adjacent skin. This must be taken into account when drawing bent fingers.

Based on the above, a simple way to draw a brush is to start with a basic palm shape - a flat (much like a steak, but more rounded, square or trapezoidal) with rounded corners and then attach the fingers:

If you have trouble drawing fingers, draw them as a stack of three cylinders. Cylinders are easy to draw from any angle, eliminating the need to draw fingers in perspective. Please note that the bases of the cylinders are exactly the folds that need to be drawn in the bent fingers.

This is important: finger joints not aligned in a straight line, and fall on concentric arches:

Also, fingers are not straight, but slightly bent towards the space between SP and BezP. Showing this even slightly in the drawing will make it more realistic.

Don't forget about your nails. You don't have to draw them all the time. They actually show up at a certain degree of detail that only looks right when the hands are seen close enough, but we're not usually taught how they should look, and because of this I, for one, for a long time couldn't make them look normal. A few notes for painting nails:

1. The nail begins in the middle of the first phalanx.
2. The line where the nail separates from the flesh varies: for some people it is completely at the edge of the finger, for others it is very low (a dotted line), so in their case the nails are wider.
3. The nails are not flat, they are more tile-shaped with varying degrees of curvature - from strong to very weak. Study your hand and you will find that this curvature is different for each finger, but fortunately we do not need this level of realism in painting.

Proportions

Now, taking the (apparent) length of the UE as a structural unit, we can roughly outline the following proportions:

1. Maximum opening between BP and UP = 1.5
2. Maximum opening between FP and BezP = 1. SP can be closer to any adjacent finger, this does not affect the total distance.
3. Maximum opening between NoP and M = 1
4. The maximum angle between the BP and M is 90º, taken from the very base of the BP joint: the fully extended M is aligned with it.

I wrote “approximately” because... It's different for everyone, but remember that deviation from the norm may not look right on paper. When in doubt, these settings will always look correct.

Details

The basic shape is only one complex aspect of the hand; the next one is detailing the folds and lines. Who hasn't been frustrated when painting with a brush when it's difficult to get all those lines right? Let's look at the fold lines and some measurement details:

1. The intended continuation of the inner wrist line separates the thumb from the rest. A small tendon line may mark the junction of the wrist and hand.
2. When the fingers are closed as shown above, the BP is slightly hidden under the palm.
3. UE or BezP are often as long as SP.
4. The folds representing the joints are elliptical or parentheses-like, but when the hand is spread out as shown above, they are not pronounced (unless one has prominent knuckles, which is often the case on overworked hands) and can be drawn as simple dimples.
5. The folds on the knuckles show an elliptical shape, but they disappear when the fingers are bent. They are shown by parallel lines on the side of the palm, but are more pronounced on the lower knuckle - usually the upper knuckles are not indicated by two lines.
6. WITH reverse side the lines of the fingers continue to the beginning of the palm, so they look longer on the back of the hand.
   On the inside the lines are shorter, because The upper part of the palm is voluminous, so the fingers look shorter.
7. The lines where the fingers end are tension lines (short horizontal strokes) on both sides, and on both sides these tension lines point away from the SP.

Also note that in the diagram above the nails are not fully drawn, but only lightly outlined, which is consistent with the overall level of detail (which is much higher than necessary to show all the lines). The smaller the brush, the less detail you need to specify unless you want to make it look old.

I didn't mention the hand lines above, so I'll go over them in detail here:

1. The most visible lines on the palm - the so-called heart, head and life lines - are the folds of skin where the palm curves. As long as you are not drawing in a realistic style, there is no need to draw other lines - it will be redundant.
2. Don't confuse the life line with the thumb outline, which becomes visible at certain angles, as shown on the right. The life line is almost concentric with the outline of the thumb, but notice how much higher it starts on the palm - in fact the (true) base of the UP.
3. From the outside, the pad at the base of each finger looks like a series of curved, parallel bumps.
4. These fold lines are partially wrapped around the fingers. They are emphasized when the fingers bend.
5. On the extended finger there is a small bulge formed by folds of skin. It disappears when the finger is bent.

So what do we see from the side when the arm is extended?

1. From the outside, the line of the wrist curves into the base of the palm, so the transition between them forms a gentle convexity.
2. The bottom of the hand appears flatter from the outside than from the inside, although the base of the thumb may still be visible.
3. From the outside last joint BezP is completely visible, because M is shifted towards the hand.
4. From the inside, little or no SP is visible, depending on the length of the SP.
5. On the inside, the line of the wrist is blocked by the base of the thumb, so the transition is sharper and it is important to show the convexity.

Note also that when viewed from the outside, another new one is shown on the palms. contour line. It comes from the wrist and, with a turn of the hand, connects to line M until it covers the base of the BP:

Range of motion

Detailed articulation implies movement, and the arms are constantly moving. We use our hands not only for practical purposes (holding a mug, typing), but also to convey our words expressively or respond to emotions. So it's no surprise that drawing brushes correctly requires an understanding of how your fingers move.

Five fingers

Let's start with the thumb, which moves independently. Its real base and center of movement is located very low on the hand, where the hand meets the wrist.

1. With a natural relaxed position, there is space between the BP and the rest of the arm.
2. The BP can fold in such a way that it touches the base of the M, but this causes tension and leads to pain.
3. The BP can stretch to the width of your palm, but this also leads to tension and pain.

The other four fingers move slightly laterally and mostly bend forward, parallel to each other. They bend at a certain autonomous angle, but not without influencing neighboring fingers; try, for example, bend one joint venture and see what happens to the rest. Only the power supply is completely independent.

When the hand is clenched into a fist and all the fingers are curled, the hand takes on a dome shape, as if it were resting on a large ball. The ball (shown in red) becomes smaller and the curvature increases.

When the hand is fully extended (right), the fingers are either straight or slightly bent back, depending on their flexibility. Some people's fingers bend at a 90º angle when pressure is applied to them.

Let's take a closer look at a fully clenched fist:

1. The first and third folds of a fully bent finger touch, forming a cross.
2. The second fold is a continuation of the finger line.
3. Part of the finger is covered by a flap of skin and the thumb, recalling that the entire structure of the thumb is closest to the outer edge. You can move the fist outward and cover a flap of skin with it, this is anatomically possible, but this is not a natural way to form a fist.
4. The SP knuckle protrudes the most, and the other knuckles gradually descend from the level of the SP, so that at the angle shown here, the parallel fingers are visible from the outside rather than from the inside.
5. The first and third folds touch and form a cross again.
6. The BP is bent in such a way that its last phalanx is shortened in perspective.
7. The skin fold protrudes here.
8. When the hand is clenched into a fist, the knuckles protrude and “brackets” are visible.

Brush as a whole

When the hand is relaxed, the fingers are slightly bent, and when the hand is pointing upward, they are bent more due to gravity. In both cases, the UP remains extended, while the others gradually curl up, and M is the most bent of them. From the side, the sequence of finger placement makes the 2 or 3 outermost fingers visible between the UP and BP.

The M often "runs away" and is placed slightly away from the other fingers - another way to make the hands more realistic. On the other hand, UP and SP or SP and BezP will often go in pairs, sticking together while the other 2 remain free. This will make the brush look more alive. The BezP-M pair appears when the fingers are slightly bent.

Since the fingers are not the same length, they always represent a sequential transition. When the fingers are squeezing something, such as a glass, the SP (1) is visible most of all, while the M (2) is only slightly visible.

Holding a pen or something like that, SP, BezP and M bend back relative to the palm if the object is held between the BP and UP (take a pencil and watch). If you press harder, the joint venture is connected and straightened, because presses on the object. Maximum pressure causes all fingers to point outward, as shown here.

As we can see, the hand and wrist are exceptionally clear, each finger almost has a life of its own, so drawing hands usually baffles the novice illustrator. But when the brushes start to turn out well, we, as a rule, fall into the opposite trap - we start drawing brushes too rationally: the fingers carefully take their places, parallel lines, careful alignments. The result is stiff and simply too dull for a part of the body that can speak as expressively as the eyes. This is suitable for certain types characters (for example, those whose personality expresses rigidity or insensitivity), but most often I would like to draw lively, expressive hands. To do this, you can go one of two ways: add attitude (i.e. add drama to the gesture, resulting in a moving hand position that is probably never used in real life) or add naturalness (watch the hands of people who don't watch their gestures to see the accidents I mean). I can't show every hand position, but below you can see examples of restrained and natural/dynamic hand:

*Note for specific case - trained fighters Always will keep their fingers parallel during impact (as shown in the restrained position), otherwise they may break their knuckles.

Differences

Each person’s hands are individual, as are their facial features. Men are different from women, young are different from old, etc. Below are some existing classifications, but they do not cover the full range of characteristic features that a hand can have. Characteristic sign - the right word, because brushes should be painted as if they were characters with their own character: subtle, soft, dry, calloused, rough, etc. (See Practice Time)

Brush shapes

The proportions of the fingers in relation to the hand matter:

Finger shapes

Even not everyone’s nails are the same! By nature we are given flat or round nail bases, but people artificially give their nails different shapes.

Practice time

• Observe the hands of different people. First, to understand the anatomy: how the fingers look in different positions, how lines appear and change, how certain details are affected by stress, etc. Second, to understand the differences: how man's hands different from women's. How do they change with age? What do they look like depending on a person’s weight? Can you recognize someone by their hands?
• Make some energetic sketches of any hands - yours, other people's, from photographs. Don't worry about getting the proportions right, don't even look at them too much - we just want to capture the expression.
  

  Joumana Medlej is a Lebanese calligraphy artist, trained by a master in Beirut and now living in England. Her body of work encompasses drawing tutorials, graphic design, illustration, comic books, digital games and children's literature.