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. |