Practicing Hands

• Reptile wrote on 2012-08-31 03:55
  I know for a fact I need improvement, but any specific suggestions would be useful.
  

  [Image: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9lphoHtRL1qmd8gjo1_1280.jpg]

  
  
  I’m the world’s worst at hands and feet, I can’t even draw them without a reference image
  
  edit: I just realized I forgot to finish a thumb
• Murasaki wrote on 2012-08-31 04:27
  Hands and feet give a lot of people I know trouble (myself included).
  The image is at an angle and so it's difficult to see, but I think you want to focus on the width and length. Did you start drawing these out with the curves, or did you start with straight lines instead? One of the interesting things about the human body is you can get it down really well with just straight lines first, then use more and more lines to start defining the curves. The good thing about straight lines is they make proportions and angles a lot easier to see, so corrections can be made before moving on to the details.
  
  What's funny is I'd planned to start practicing hands and feet more today, but ended up making changes to a somewhat recent picture that was bothering me.
• Hiccup wrote on 2012-08-31 04:40
  The only problem with the one in the back is the thumb and middle finger are too fat, for the hand. Otherwise the general shapes, and details are there. If their not too fat, then make the pointer finger wider. To even out the size of the fingers. The hand itself also looks a tad small for the arm, but it's on an angle so I'm not sure.
  
  The one one the right, all the fingers just look freaky. I get what the hand's doing but the placement of the fingers are off.
  
  The back of the hand on the left one is off because of the way the thumb is. The fingers also need some work. (same critique for the fingers that are in the 1st one). The arm itself is also too small for the hand.
  
  Try starting the hand with a circle of the palm. And judge the fingers based off of that. You can also try just drawing fingers. That seems to be the spot you have trouble with. Start with 1, and move your way up to 5.
• Noxctis wrote on 2012-08-31 04:44
  Omg.. when I was younger, I used to do poses where the hands are in pockets or behind a head just so I don't have to draw them..
  
  Well, honestly, I can't really say much to help you besides remembering the basics of the hand. It's almost the size of the character/person's face. The fingers are almost the size of the palm. Middle Finger > Ring Finger > Pointing Finger > Thumb = Pink in length. Well that's how I do it. The gap between the thumb and pointy fingers are curvy.. Eh. Yeah basics.
  
  Once you cover that, learn to draw the space between the fingers and add it if the hand/fingers are spread apart. Remember to draw the lines that indicates where the fingers bend. Sometimes you don't need to draw them but it all depends on the artist.
  
  Like anime/manga, sometimes they add a tiny line or none at all.
  
  Eh.. Thats all I can share. Even I still make mistakes with hands and such.. I still look at my own hands for reference.
• Reptile wrote on 2012-08-31 05:07

  Quote from Murasaki;944585:

  Hands and feet give a lot of people I know trouble (myself included).
  The image is at an angle and so it's difficult to see, but I think you want to focus on the width and length. Did you start drawing these out with the curves, or did you start with straight lines instead? One of the interesting things about the human body is you can get it down really well with just straight lines first, then use more and more lines to start defining the curves. The good thing about straight lines is they make proportions and angles a lot easier to see, so corrections can be made before moving on to the details.
  
  What's funny is I'd planned to start practicing hands and feet more today, but ended up making changes to a somewhat recent picture that was bothering me.

  
  I typically start out with a square, add some curve to it and then draw straight lines following how the finger will bend and work from there
  I took it at an angle because my shadow kept getting in the way ;_;
  
  

  Quote from Hiccup;944591:

  The only problem with the one in the back is the thumb and middle finger are too fat, for the hand. Otherwise the general shapes, and details are there. If their not too fat, then make the pointer finger wider. To even out the size of the fingers. The hand itself also looks a tad small for the arm, but it's on an angle so I'm not sure.
  
  The one one the right, all the fingers just look freaky. I get what the hand's doing but the placement of the fingers are off.
  
  The back of the hand on the left one is off because of the way the thumb is. The fingers also need some work. (same critique for the fingers that are in the 1st one). The arm itself is also too small for the hand.
  
  Try starting the hand with a circle of the palm. And judge the fingers based off of that. You can also try just drawing fingers. That seems to be the spot you have trouble with. Start with 1, and move your way up to 5.

  
  Thanks, proportioning IS my biggest problem, and it goes with everything I draw, especially torso, arms, legs, feet, and hands.
  I also have a habit of drawing the head but making the features of the face either too big or too small.
  

  Quote from Noxctis;944596:

  Omg.. when I was younger, I used to do poses where the hands are in pockets or behind a head just so I don't have to draw them..
  
  Well, honestly, I can't really say much to help you besides remembering the basics of the hand. It's almost the size of the character/person's face. The fingers are almost the size of the palm. Middle Finger > Ring Finger > Pointing Finger > Thumb = Pink in length. Well that's how I do it. The gap between the thumb and pointy fingers are curvy.. Eh. Yeah basics.
  
  Once you cover that, learn to draw the space between the fingers and add it if the hand/fingers are spread apart. Remember to draw the lines that indicates where the fingers bend. Sometimes you don't need to draw them but it all depends on the artist.
  
  Like anime/manga, sometimes they add a tiny line or none at all.
  
  Eh.. Thats all I can share. Even I still make mistakes with hands and such.. I still look at my own hands for reference.

  
  
  I used to do the same thing when I was younger, pockets, behind the head, or in mittens.
  Haha.
  
  I can't work on it anymore because I'm officially out of eraser. ;-;
  I think I'm just going to go out and buy a tablet and SAI, I sold my other one because I just couldn't get used to it, but I'm constantly buying new pencils, paper, erasers and smudgers.
• Murasaki wrote on 2012-08-31 05:21
  Ah, shadows. Yeah, I have pieces I've done that just don't fit in a scanner, so I had to do my best to get the whole thing in, without putting it at a weird angle. I'll see if I can do a step-by-step process of me attempting to draw a hand to see how it goes. XD
• Reptile wrote on 2012-08-31 05:29
  looking forward to it