Enter the Art College · Hands and Feet in Sketches

Author: Yu Xiaodong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Hands are one of the more challenging parts to draw in character sketches. As long as you summarize the movement patterns of hands and use appropriate training methods, the difficulty can be overcome. Don’t forget: your own hands are the best teaching tools you carry with you at all times. One hand can be used for drawing while the other serves as the model. You can also draw your own hands from a mirror. You can observe, analyze, and contemplate them at any time. Training is always ongoing even when you’re not using paper and pencils.
The reasons why hands are hard to draw: One is the constant occurrence of foreshortening in the fingers, palm, and wrist. Another is the complex coordination between the four fingers, thumb, and palm. To simplify it, treat the fingers as segmented cylinders, showing the cross-section of the cylinders at the joints. Divide the hand into three major parts: the four fingers, the thumb, and the palm. The movement direction of the four fingers is always consistent, and no matter how much it varies, it’s essentially a stepwise increase or decrease. Their flexion, extension, gripping, and spreading are mostly the same. The thumb, which occupies one-third of the hand, is independent.
When drawing hands, it’s essential to start with copying. You can copy sketches, charcoal drawings, famous paintings, or photographs. The second step is to practice drawing hands as individual units, starting with your own hands. The third step is particularly important—it’s the key to overcoming the challenge of drawing hands. This involves practicing drawing hands from memory. You can draw from memory after completing a study, after doing a live sketch, or after observing. All three types of memory drawing are essential and cannot be skipped.
The fourth step is to make the hand’s form come alive in your mind. Visualize the countless variations of hands in your imagination and be able to create them.