Figurative Art. Hands.
The first thing you need to do is source as many free images of hands as you can find.
Once you have built a file of images you can use these as references to help you draw your hand. What I did was use them images to create a page with as many different poses as I could fit onto it. I used MS paint to do this and then printed it off so that I had the images in front of me for reference before I began. I studied the pictures I had gathered for some time trying to dissect them into sections that I could sketch to form the basic shape of the palm, thumb and fingers. I try to view all things in terms of circles, squares, ovals or rectangles as it helps me form the shapes of the images I wish to portray. I started with a basic picture of the hand viewed flat from above.
The first thing to do is draw an oval and a rectangle overlapping each other making sure that the narrower end of the oval is at the point of the wrist.
Find the centre of the rectangle where it crosses into the the oval and lightly make a mark. Using this point as the middle of the index finger start to divide the rectangle into five equal parts. These will give you a rough guide to the location of the fingers and thumb.
Next I decided the furthest most point for the tip of the index finger in proportion to the rest of my hand and marked it on the index finger (no3) and then divided the distance between my mark and the top of my oval into three sections making sure my top section was slightly less than the other two which I spaced roughly equally apart. This will give me my points for the joints. Once I had done this I then decided the point of the tip of the little finger and marked it on the edge of my rectangle. I have found that this point is roughly inline with the centre of the middle section of the other joints of the index finger.
The next thing to do is to draw almost a ninety degree angle from the tip of the little finger passing through the tip of the index finger and down to roughly the same point on the the edge of the fourth finger on the opposite side of the hand.
Once you have done this all you will need to do is to add all the points where the joints of the other fingers will be in relation to each other. To do this I roughly copied the arc of my first ninety degree angle making sure it passed threw the points that I had already marked on the index finger (no3)
Now you have a rough idea of where everything is in proportion to the rest of the hand you can start to fill in the fingers and the thumb. Starting with the index finger (no3) begin to fill in between your reference points as you shape each individual digit. I treat each section as a sausage and join the together between the marks.
Once you have done this remove all of the guide lines and begin to properly shape your hand paying particular attention to the finger nails knuckles and thumb in relation to how it meets the rest of the hand. You can use your initial outline for the front of the hand also, as shown in illustration. To spread the fingers use the same method as before only draw each digit separately in the desired position.
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