Hands

The human hand is probably the most versatile tool ever created. It is capable of
great strength, yet it can perform the most delicate operations. Its design allows
people to lift, hold, mold, rip, manipulate, caress, build, squeeze, sense, and
rearrange objects of all types. It can be used as a weapon or to give comfort. We
use our hands to greet others and even to communicate. The hand is the very definition
of the all-around instrument. With all that our hands can do, is it any wonder
that it is one of the more complex parts of the body to draw?
There is no quick and easy formula for drawing hands. To draw the hands well,
the artist must know the hands. He must take time to study and understand how
the hand works so that his drawings become more believable. Often the beginning
artist will be intimidated by the complexity of the hand and will avoid drawing it
by hiding it in a pocket or placing it behind the figure. Many otherwise good figure
drawings will omit the hands, or they will just indicate the hands without any
real attempt to draw them correctly.
Part of the frustration that artists have in drawing the hand is that it is the most
flexible part of the body. It can assume almost infinite positions. It is full of moving
parts. There are four fingers and a thumb, each jointed with no less than three

Figure 4.1 The carpal bones make the wrist flexible and strong.

joints. The fingers and thumb are each capable of independent movement. Because of this extreme flexibility, there is not one view of the hand that is adequate for learning to draw it. It has to be studied from many angles and in many positions for the artist to truly understand its overall nature.

extended pressure while remaining flexible when needed. Figure 4.1 shows the bones of the hand
The metacarpal bones run through the palms of our hands. They are longer and narrower than thecarpals and reach to the first knuckles of the fingers and thumb.

The metacarpal bones are evident on the back of the hand in adults and elderly people, but are covered by a thin layer of fat in babies and children