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How to Draw Anime Hands on Paper

This tutorial illustrates how to draw anime and manga hands in various positions.

While It's difficult to have one clear guideline for how to draw hands as they can bend in so many different ways this tutorial provides some basic tips and examples.

For anime hands holding different kinds objects you can see 6 Ways to Draw Anime Hands Holding Something.

Anime hands in different positions
Drawing anime hands

Hands a difficult body part to draw and the best way to learn is through a lot of practice.

Drawing anime hands can be a little easier then drawing realistic hands as a lot of the details are left out. But the overall structure and proportions are basically the same.

For drawing arms see:

How to Draw Anime & Manga Arms Tutorial

Drawing Anime Hands With an Open Palm

If you are a beginner then you should practice by first drawing the hand with the palm open and fingers extended to get an idea of the proportions. You can also look at photographs other drawings or at your own hands for reference.

Step 1 – Drawing the Palm & Thumb Base

Drawing anime hands palm and thumb base
Drawing anime hands palm and thumb base

Draw a rough shape of the palm. Next draw the rough shape of the base of the thumb to get it's proportions in relation to the palm.

Step 2 – Analyzing the Proportions of the Hand

Drawing anime hands palm and thumb proportions
Drawing anime hands palm and thumb proportions

Study the proportions of the fingers.

The fingers (fully extended) and the palm of the hand should be roughly the same length. The tip of the thumb if drawn at a 45 degree angle to the hand should reach to just slightly below the knuckle bone of the index finger.

The fingers consist of 3 parts with the distance from the tip of the fingers to the top joint being the shortest and the distance from the knuckles to the bottom join being the longest.

Step 3 – Drawing the Fingers

Drawing anime hands fingers and thumb
Drawing anime hands fingers and thumb

Draw the outer shapes of the fingers and the thumb.

Step 4 – Cleaning Up & Finalizing the Drawing

Drawing anime hands details
Drawing anime hands details

Clean up the drawing and add the details such as the lines and small wrinkles along the palm and the fingers. These will generally be positioned around the finger/thumb joints. Draw a thicker line for the overall shape of the hand and a thinner for the details.

Drawing Anime Hands Side View

Step 1 – Drawing Side View Palm & Thumb Base

This is a difficult view to draw but a very common position of the hand.

Drawing anime hands side view palm and thumb base
Drawing anime hands side view palm and thumb base

Draw the overall shape of the hand without the thumb or fingers and draw the shape of the base of the thumb after.

Step 2 – Drawing Thumb & Fingers

Drawing anime hands side thumb index and middle finger
Drawing anime hands side thumb index and middle finger

For the purpose of the tutorial I will fully draw out the structure of all the fingers (even the parts that wont be visible in the final drawing) for you to use as a reference. You do not need to do this (especially if you are drawing on paper) but you should be aware of the positioning of the invisible parts of the fingers to avoid mistakes when drawing that parts that are visible. For example if you can only see the tip of the pinky but you don't consider the length of the rest of the finger you can end up drawing the tip too far up or too far down the hand.

Step 3 – Drawing Other & Fingers

Drawing anime hands side ring and pinky finger
Drawing anime hands side ring and pinky finger

Same as step two.

Step 4 – Cleaning Up & Finalizing the Side View Drawing

Drawing anime hands side view
Drawing anime hands side view

Clean up the drawing and add the details such as the small wrinkles around the joints of the fingers and thumb as well as the fingernails.

For more on drawing fingernails see:

How to Draw Fingernails 6 Different Ways

Drawing Anime Hands Closed Palm Side View

This position of the hand would be used for something like holding a grocery bag. It's close to a fist but not quite the same.

Step 1 – Drawing Closed Palm Side View Basic Shape

Drawing anime hands closed palm side view hand
Drawing anime hands closed palm side view hand

Draw the overall shape of the whole hand in this position. Next draw the shape of the side view of the palm.

Step 2 – Drawing Closed Palm Side View Finger Proportions

Drawing anime hands closed palm side view fingers and pinky
Drawing anime hands closed palm side view finger proportions

Draw the overall shape of the fingers and get the proportions for the pinky.

Step 3 – Drawing Closed Palm Side View Fingers

Drawing anime hands closed palm side view fingers
Drawing anime hands closed palm side view fingers

If you need a better understanding of how to draw the rest of the fingers (following the pink) in this view you can use the same method as in Steps 2 – 3 of the side view example.

Step 4 – Drawing Closed Palm Side View Thumb

Drawing anime hands closed palm side view thumb
Drawing anime hands closed palm side view thumb

Get the proportions for and draw out the thumb.

Step 4 – Drawing Closed Palm Side View Details

Drawing anime hands closed palm side view details
Drawing anime hands closed palm side view details

Clean up your drawing and add the details.

Drawing an Anime Fist

Step 1 – Drawing Anime Fist Basic Shapes

Drawing an anime fist basic shapes
Drawing an anime fist basic shapes

Draw a rough overall shape of the fist and afterwards draw the overall shape of the combined fingers.

Step 1 – Drawing Anime Fist Thumb Proportions

Drawing an anime fist thumb
Drawing an anime fist thumb

Draw the shape of the base of the thumb and get the proportions for the rest of it.

Step 1 – Drawing Anime Fist Thumb & Finger Proportions

Drawing an anime fist thumb and fingers
Drawing an anime fist thumb and fingers

Draw out the thumb. Draw the fingers slightly thicker than normal (squeezed) to show that the fist is clenched. Also be aware that in a clenched fist the fingers fan out slightly in a direction away from the base of the thumb.

Step 1 – Drawing Anime Fist Details

Drawing an anime fist details
Drawing an anime fist details

Clean up your drawing and add the details.

Drawing Anime Male and Female Hands

Male and female anime hand drawings
How to draw male and female anime hands

Anime male and female hands are often drawn in basically the same. However when drawing close ups of the hands there are a few differences.

Female hands are usually more slender and curvy with long fingernails. Male hands are usually bigger in comparison.

Simplified Anime Hands

When drawing hands for something like a manga you don't always need to make a detailed drawing. Sometimes a basic outline of the main feature of the hand is enough. For example if you are drawing a character that is in the background you don't need to draw the fingernails on their hand.

Anime hand drawings
How to draw anime hands

Conclusion

It takes a lot of practice to be able to draw properly structured hands in different views. Depending on your skill level as an artist your drawings may not come out the way you like at first but don't get discouraged, hands are difficult to draw. If you draw on a regular basis you can improve.

Hopefully you found this tutorial helpful as it was very time consuming to create. Don't forget to check out some of the other Tutorial on the site.

For more on drawing hands see:

  • How to Draw Hand Poses Step by Step
  • How to Draw a Handshake Step by Step
  • How to Draw Hands Holding Chopsticks Step by Step

How to Draw Anime Hands on Paper

Source: https://www.animeoutline.com/how-to-draw-anime-and-manga-hands/

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