Whether drawing and painting the figure or a portrait, the last thing to really “work” seems to be the hands. There are probably 2 problems and problems are of course opportunities: form and expression. In theater and dance, the hands are invariably at the center of gesture, however in portraiture and figurative work, they are sometimes left hanging around underutilized. Worse still, if left overly sketchy, they may beg comparisons with rubber gloves and perhaps worse still, bunches of bananas!
The key ideas that I keep in mind, regardless of medium are:
- I often start with a mitten-covered hand, focusing on structure and the sweep of knuckles and joints as a group – this is invariably the way to go when time is tight, as in life drawing;
- Start with straight lines, planes and joints – curves come later;
- The thumb is joined in a different direction – make sure that’s clear;
- I try to give the hand “something to do” – a neutral pose is somehow more difficult to capture;
- Drawing a silhouette first can help – then building out the structure when the outline is right;
- When resting upon a surface where a shadow is cast, the shadow can often be used to help form the hand;
- Always look for the wrist and mark it strongly – it gives length and structure;
- Make the hands larger than they appear – it adds expression and invariably looks better!
Here’s a website with plenty of sound information: https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/human-anatomy-fundamentals-how-to-draw-hands–cms-21440
