By Tissa Hewavitarane

Drawing and painting hands and feet

Most beginner artists and experienced artists draw hands and feet too small and incorrectly. Surprisingly it's a common fault.

Fig. 1 Female hands

Fig. 2 Men's hands

A tip to help you avoid this, is to remember that a hand from palm base to finger tips, is as long as a face. A foot is bigger still. It measures slightly more than the length of the entire head.

Beginners don't spend enough time to study properly or practise drawing these parts.

They may seem difficult to draw or paint but really they are no harder to draw than other parts parts of the human body.

Sketching gloves is a simple way to start learning how to draw hands. They are easy to draw.

Fig. 1 you will notice the female hands are gently curved in convex fashion, while the underside is concave. The fingers follow a shallow curve from the top of the palm colour I have used a pale light wash. The colours differ according to the texture of their skin.

A light wash of orange, light red or light burnt sienna could be used to paint the skin.

The back of the hand is gently curved like the exterior of a sphere or circle. There are three finger joints which show lines, but these do not correspond exactly because of the fingers having different lengths. Each fingertip varies from person to person and knuckles may be prominent or barely seen.

There is a big difference between the soft, usually beautiful hands of girls and the rough blunt-fingered hairy paws of men.Study the illustration in Fig. 2. First copy them in pencil and paint them. The human foot is constructed in the form of a series of arches which make it super strong, flexible and able to withstand constant shock. Ankle joints project from each side, the inside knuckle being lower than its outside partner.

The ball of the foot is quite large, and the heel is not smaller.

Fig. 3 The foot in different angles.

Fig.3 will show you the foot in different angles in outline and in colour. You can practice drawing feet by using your own or those of friends. The foot seen side ways is wedge shaped as are most boots and shoes. From the front the toes appear to be broad. However, viewed from above, these seem to be pointed or narrow. This is an important point to remember.