Learn to draw by Tissa Hewavitharana

Painting hands of males and females

Most beginners draw hands and feet far too small and incorrectly. It is surprising that even experienced artists do so. Hands may seem to be difficult to draw but really they are no harder to do than other parts of the human body. Sketching from life is a simple way to start learning how to draw hands.

We can use ourselves or friends as models. You can use your non-drawing hand as a model. A mirror will enable several angles to be viewed.

Note Figure 1 - The female hands I have painted with a light wash and a flat colour. The back of the female hand is gently curved in convex fashion, while the underside is concave. When colouring you may use different colours, as colour of the skin differs from person to person. A thin outline with a fine pointed pen will complete the art work.

By now you should be experienced enough to know that there is a big difference between the soft, usually beautiful hands of a woman and the rough, blunt fingered hairy hands of men. Study the illustration in Figure 2 - Men's hands. The fingers follow a shallow curve from top of the palm. There are three finger joints which are shown as lines, but these do not correspond exactly, because of the fingers having different lengths.

The cushions at every finger tip vary from person to person and knuckles may be prominent or barely seen. At first a thin light wash of burnt sienna or light red can be used before going to different textures of the skin. Next a complete colour with dark shades of brown or light red is applied. The finished art work is done with a thin pointed pen or sable hair brush No. 1. 150 or 180 grams Kent paper with slight grain.