Hand Drawing – An Easy Guide on How to Draw Hands

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Today’s drawing tutorial was hand-picked for you! We will be teaching you how to draw hands! Learning how to realistically draw hands and fingers is a great way to enhance your drawing skills. Drawing a hand sketch is a great exercise, as you are introduced to an intricate shading process that will take you from a beginner artist to an advanced artist in no time! 

A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Draw Hands

Learning how to draw hands and how to draw fingers is an incredibly important skill, as there are so many intricate details to making a hand look realistic. For example, the creases and small indentations on a hand are what makes it look realistic. After today’s drawing tutorial, you would have learned various skills that you never knew you could learn!

For a more detailed look into the steps we will be taking, you can view our hands drawing collage below.

Step 1: Draw the Palm of Your Hand Sketch

Begin your hand-drawing tutorial by locating the center of your drawing area. Here you will draw a rectangle with curved edges. This should represent the general palm shape of a hand.

Step 2: Add the Guide Shapes

Draw an oval shape on either side of the palm. Somewhere around the middle of the palm, draw a smaller oval shape. These will act as guiding shapes for the following steps.

Step 3: Draw the Index and Thumb of Your Hand Drawing

Make use of the previously drawn oval shapes to act as the joint area for drawing the index finger and the thumb.

Note! The index and thumb should be drawn in three segments. 

Step 4: Add in the Rest of the Fingers

Draw three partially visible fingers just below the thumb. These fingers should curve slightly as if they are clenching.

Step 5: Outline Your Hand Sketch

Use the previously drawn construction lines to aid you in creating a realistic outline for your hand drawing. Draw a partially visible forearm connected to your hand.

Once completed, you are now ready to erase any visible construction lines! 

Step 6: Draw the Nails

On the tip of each finger, draw an incomplete oval shape. This will represent the nail on each finger.

Step 7: Shade the Palm and Partially Visible Arm

Make use of a small, soft brush and black paint, and softly add shading along the edges of the arm leading towards the fingers. Make sure the palm of your hand is shaded darker.

Note! The center of the hand should be left blank.

Step 8: Shade the Fingers

With the same brush and paint you used previously, add shading between the three segments of each finger, focusing mainly on the index finger. Repeat with a fine, sharp brush, and add fine streaks from the palm leading to the thumb.

Step 9: Add Highlights to the Hand

Make use of a fine, sharp brush and white paint, and add fine hairline brush strokes within the hand and on each finger. Complete the step with a small, soft brush and gray paint, and add subtle texture lines on each fingernail.

Drawing hands is not an easy task, and you’ve just completed drawing one! Although it may seem slightly complex, anything can be broken down into easier and more digestible steps that you can manage. Our “how to draw hands” drawing tutorial has taken you step-by-step to achieve a realistic hand sketch. Now that you will be walking away with valuable skills, we can’t wait to see what else you will draw next! 

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Draw Fingers Realistically?

The most important aspect of drawing hands is creating proper shadows. Adding shadows helps to define your drawing and enhance the structure. Also adding the finer details, such as creases and indentations, will elevate the fingers of your hand drawing. All of these aspects combined will help you to draw your fingers realistically!

What Materials Can You Draw Hands With?

For today’s drawing tutorial, we worked with paintbrushes and various paint colors. However, you are more than welcome to draw with pencils if that suits your needs better. Or if you want to switch it up and draw with a pen, you most certainly can! If you are unsure of how to draw hands with a pen or pencil, follow today’s drawing tutorial and switch to the appropriate medium whenever we use paintbrushes. It’s that simple!

Matthew Matthysen( Drawing and Painting Artist )

Matthew Matthysen is a multidisciplinary artist. He completed his fine art degree, majoring in History of Art and Contemporary Drawing Practice at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. Before joining acrylgiessen In 2020, Matthew worked part-time as an art teacher at Reddford Blue Hills High school. Matthew creates drawing and painting tutorials for acrylgiessen and captures them not only photographically and in written form. He also records the creation of his works in his own creative studio as in video format, from which later with a voiceover and a video editor also drawing tutorials for the Youtube channel of acrylgiessen are created.

Learn more about Matthew Matthysen and about acrylgiessen.