#use refs

I wish there were some recipe for hands, but there’s just not. I mean, there’s lots of great tutorials out there, but the MAIN thing is literally to use refs. That’s it. And draw hands a lot. Years ago, when I did my Hands series, I probably drew 1000 hands, and I noticed I had improved my hand drawing skills a lot!

But yeah, hands and feet are really weird, and when in doubt, use a reference. These days, I don’t use refs as much because I know what I’m doing. But when I want to draw a dynamic hand, I always take a pic of my own hand or pull up a photo ref. The way skin overlaps the fingers and all that is so complicated, and it pulls in unexpected ways, especially if your hand is grabbing something.

Practice realistic hands first, and drawing simple hands will be so much easier later. Trust me. Just draw detailed hands in all sorts of positions and you will eventually make mental notes of where things go without realizing it. There’s no short cut with hands!

No short cuts!! Do the work and you will see results!