This tutorial shows how to depict different hand poses. The examples can exist applied to drawing in the anime, manga and traditional styles.

Hand poses drawing
Hand poses drawing

Before going into this tutorial you may also desire to see (if you accept not done then already):

How to Depict Anime and Manga Easily Pace by Step

Also please note that if you are going to be following the tutorial drawing with pencil and paper you should make very lite lines for at least the first few steps of each hand pose. You lot volition need to erase parts of the cartoon as you move through the different steps.

How to Describe a Hand Reaching Footstep by Step

Hand reaching drawing step by step
Manus reaching drawing step past step

This type of manus pose tin be used when a whoever you are drawing is reaching for something. For example reaching for a helping hand or reaching to take hold of onto a ledge when climbing.

As the hand is tilted forwards it will appear vertically narrower then if you lot were looking at it with the palm facing directly towards you. Go along this in mind when cartoon.

Step 1 – Draw the Outline of the Palm

Hand reaching palm drawing
Manus reaching palm drawing

Starting time the cartoon with a crude outline of the palm of the hand. You can as well give a hint of the base of the thumb with just 1 curve.

The palm will by and large be wider towards the thumb and narrower towards the pinky finger.

Step 2 – Describe Fingers & Pollex

Hand reaching fingers drawing
Mitt reaching fingers cartoon

Onto the palm add together the outer shapes of the fingers and the thumb. Draw the fingers pretty much straight and fanning out from the palm. You can brand the thumb lightly aptitude.

Don't worry most beingness as well accurate in this stage of the drawing as the goal is to simply establish the size and position of the fingers.

Footstep 3 – Describe the Smaller Bends & Curves

Hand reaching shape drawing
Hand reaching shape drawing

Once you end the rough outline of the hand yous can add some of the smaller curves such as those at the base of operations of each finger and the bottom of the palm. Also see the instance beneath for the placement of the joints and make sure the bends of the thumb and the calorie-free bends of some of the fingers are in the the right place.

Hand reaching joint placement
Mitt reaching joint placement

You can run into the rough position of the finger/thumb joints in the case above. This can be helpful in estimating where they curve as well as the positing of some of the smaller wrinkles on the hand.

Footstep 4 – Finish the Reaching Hand Drawing

Hand reaching drawing
Mitt reaching drawing

To finish the drawing you can add the diverse lines and wrinkles around along the palm and fingers and become over your drawing with darker lines.

As mentioned the wrinkles will more often than not be around the joints of the fingers. The two lines in the upper role of the palm are usually effectually the aforementioned area equally the knuckles (if y'all flip the hand over). Ane mistake beginner artists tend to make is drawing the fingers angle directly from the superlative of the palm when they actually bend from around these ii lines.

How to Draw a Hand Casting Pace past Step

Hand casting drawing step by step
Hand casting drawing step by step

This pose is somewhat similar to the previous and tin exist used to show that a characters is casting a spell or gesturing someone to move forwards. For instance casting a fireball or signalling an army to attack.

Step 1 – Draw the Outline of the Palm

Hand casting palm drawing
Hand casting palm drawing

First with a rough outline of the palm. For this particular example it will be tilted on about a 45 degree bending and will pint slightly towards the viewer. Inside the palm describe a hint of the bottom portion of the thumb.

Step two – Draw Fingers & Thumb

Hand casting fingers drawing
Hand casting fingers drawing

Depict the outer shapes of the fingers fanned out adequately evenly around the palm and the pollex pulled dorsum. Draw the pinky and the band finger bent slightly in towards the palm from the knuckles. To create this effect draw them slightly cutting into the palm of the mitt.

Pace 3 – Depict the Smaller Bends & Curves

Hand casting shape drawing
Hand casting shape drawing

Add the smaller curves of the hand to the lesser of the palm and around the fingers.

Hand casting joints drawing
Hand casting joints drawing

You can see the estimated placement of the joints of the hand in this position in the example above.

Step 4 – Finish the Casting Mitt Cartoon

Hand casting drawing
Mitt casting drawing

Add the lines along the palm and the smaller wrinkles along the fingers and pollex. Go along in heed that as the pollex is pulled back some of the wrinkles on it will exist smoothed out. To emphasize this y'all can even leave out some of the wrinkles that would naturally still be visible.

In one case you stop calculation all of the smaller details of the mitt you can get over your drawing with darker more solid lines.

How to Describe a Peace Sign Hand Step by Step

Hand peace sign drawing step by step
Hand peace sign drawing step past step

The peace sign is probably i of the near common hand gestures. In anime and manga characters unremarkably brand this when having their photograph taken.

Step 1 – Describe the Outline of the Palm

Hand peace sign palm drawing
Paw peace sign palm drawing

Same as the previous two examples starting time by drawing the palm and the base of the pollex. This mitt pose will squeeze the palm then draw in narrower than normal.

Step 2 – Draw the Stretched Out Fingers & Pollex

Hand peace joints fingers drawing
Mitt peace joints fingers cartoon

Draw the outer shapes of the thumb and the the two fingers that are sticking upwardly. In this pose the pollex will basically be a flip over of its natural position.

For this phase simple describe the ii folded fingers as one combined shape.

Stride 3 – Draw the Folded Fingers & Smaller Bends of the Paw

Hand peace sign shape drawing
Hand peace sign shape cartoon

Add the individual shapes of the two folded fingers as well as the smaller curves of the hand. These will exist along the bottom of the palm and between the other two fingers. Erase the actress lines from the previous step so that your drawing looks similar to the example to a higher place.

Hand peace joints shape drawing
Paw peace joints shape drawing

You can see the estimated placement of the joints for the peace sign pose above. The joints overlapped past other parts of the manus are non shown to avert making the drawing too confusing.

Stride four – Stop the Peace Sign Hand Drawing

Hand peace sign drawing
Hand peace sign cartoon

To finalize the drawing add the details such equally the finger nails and the small lines/wrinkles of the manus. The smash on the thumb should be drawn narrower as it'due south being viewed on an angle. The only other fully visible nail will be on the pinky. You tin can evidence just a hint of the nail on the band finger.

In this view most of the lines on the palm will exist hidden by the fingers but y'all can depict pocket-size hints of them on each side of the hand. You tin can also add together a fairly large wrinkle in the middle bend of the thumb. The rest of the wrinkles volition be effectually the finger joint areas.

How to Draw a Mitt Pointing Abroad Step by Step

Finger pointing away hand drawing step by step
Finger pointing away hand cartoon step past step

This hand pose tin be good to draw when you want the character to exist pointing towards something. For instance an aeroplane up in the sky.

As most of the fingers in this pose are hidden it'south also a fairly easy one to describe.

Step 1 – Depict the Outline of the Palm

Finger pointing away hand palm drawing
Finger pointing away hand palm cartoon

Start the drawing by outlining the crude shape of the palm. Every bit the hand is being viewed from the top of the palm there is no need to betoken the pollex like in the other examples.

Stride 2 – Draw the Index Finger & Pollex

Finger pointing away hand fingers drawing
Finger pointing away hand fingers drawing

Add together the outer shape of the thumb and the alphabetize finger.

Every bit the hand is being viewed on an angle and the index finger is pointing away from the viewer information technology should be drawn both smaller and shorter. This will requite a sense that it is actually pointing away and off into the distance.

Footstep 3 – Draw the Knuckles

Finger pointing away hand shape drawing
Finger pointing abroad hand shape drawing

Refine the shape of the hand past adding the smaller curves. In this case it should exist the knuckles and a hint of the os along the wrist.

Finger pointing away hand joints drawing
Finger pointing away hand joints drawing

Once again you tin can see the placement of the joints for the visible parts of the hand.

Step 4 – Finish the Pointing Hand Drawing

Finger pointing away hand drawing
Finger pointing away manus drawing

Add the finger nails and the small wrinkles forth the joints of the finger/thumb. Same as the previous pose depict the nail on the thumb narrower to as it's beingness viewed on an bending.

How to Draw a Manus With a Claw Like Grip Pace past Stride

Hand claw drawing step by step
Hand claw drawing step past step

The gripping or clawing manus can be useful if you want to draw someone that is trying to grab onto something.

Stride 1 – Describe the Outline of the Palm

Hand reaching palm drawing
Manus reaching palm drawing

Draw the outline of the palm of the mitt with the base of the thumb. In this instance they will be drawn horizontally.

Stride 2 – Draw the Fingers & Thumb

Hand reaching fingers drawing
Hand reaching fingers cartoon

Drawing the fingers for this pose is probably the most challenging function of all of the examples in this tutorial. Information technology may exist helpful to outset take a look at the articulation drawing example further downwardly before drawing this step.

The parts of the fingers from the knuckles to the first joint are fairly simple. Draw these fanning out from the hand similar to the previous examples. The next set of sections upwardly from that is facing the viewer at a very sharp angle making them announced very brusque or almost invisible. You volition demand to take this into business relationship when drawing if you lot want to create a believable pose. From there to the tips each section are pretty much fully visible. Describe the tip of the thumb and index finger pointing slightly more than inward (towards one another) than the first set of sections. You can draw the other two fingers at pretty much aforementioned angles as their "knuckles to first join" parts.

Step 3 – Draw the Smaller Bends & Curves

Hand reaching shape drawing
Hand reaching shape drawing

Add the curves equally the bottom of the palm as well as the curves and wrinkles at the bottom of the fingers.

Hand reaching joints drawing
Hand reaching joints drawing

You tin see the placement of the visible joints for this pose of the manus in the instance above.

Footstep four – Finish the Hook/Gripping Mitt Drawing

Hand claw drawing
Hand claw cartoon

To finish the cartoon depict the lines along the palm of the mitt and the fingernails. Once again same as the other poses the nail on the thumb will be viewed on an angle and should be fatigued narrower.

To assist that the sections of the fingers from the final joint to the tip are at a slight angle depict the fingernails only a tiny bit farther away from the tips. This will brand the bottom of the fingers appear similar they are angled facing more towards the viewer.

How to Draw a Mitt Pointing Finger at Viewer Step past Step

Finger pointing hand drawing step by step
Finger pointing hand cartoon step by step

This is a sort of "in your confront" pose that basically points at the viewer. In anime and manga "tsundere" characters tend to be drawn doing this.

For drawing dissimilar anime characters archetypes see:

  • How to Draw Anime Characters Tutorial
  • How to Describe Male Anime Characters Pace by Step

Pace one – Describe the Outline of the Palm

Finger pointing hand palm drawing
Finger pointing hand palm drawing

For this pose you can first by drawing the combined outline shape of the palm and base of the thumb. The palm in this view is fatigued at a very sharp bending (almost looking at the meridian of information technology) so it volition appear very narrow.

Step 2 – Draw the Pollex & Index Finger

Finger pointing hand fingers drawing
Finger pointing hand fingers drawing

Draw the index finger much larger than normal, especially towards the tip. This will give it that "in your face" type of appearance. Next depict the thumb and the combined shape of all of the other fingers.

Pace iii – Draw the Fingers & Smaller Bends

Finger pointing hand shape drawing
Finger pointing shape fingers drawing

Add the individual shapes of the other fingers likewise as the duke and smaller bends and wrinkles around the thumb.

Finger pointing hand joints drawing
Finger pointing hand joints cartoon

You lot can come across the placement of the visible joints for the finger pointing hand pose higher up.

Pace iv – Finish the Finger Pointing Hand Cartoon

Finger pointing hand drawing
Finger pointing hand drawing

To end the drawing add the small wrinkles around the alphabetize finger and thumb as well as just one wrinkle for the middle finger. You lot can also add describe the blast on the thumb (once once more narrower due to the view angle).

Once done calculation the details become over your drawing with darker lines to finish.

Conclusion

Easily in anime and manga are drawn very similar to real hands. Sometimes they may exist simplified depending on manner or the detail of the character but generally their overall proportions are normally the same or slightly exaggerated. This means if you desire to draw other hand poses you lot can always utilize real easily as reference. It also ways that similar existent hands anime and manga hands will more often than not exist quite difficult to draw.

If you want some more anime/manga hand cartoon tutorials check the following:

  • 6 Ways to Draw Anime Hands Holding Something
  • How to Draw a Handshake Step past Stride
  • How to Draw Hands Property Chopsticks Pace by Step
  • How to Draw Fingernails vi Dissimilar Means

For drawing poses of the entire body run across:

How to Describe Anime Poses Step by Step