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

Hand poses drawing
Paw poses cartoon

Earlier going into this tutorial you may also want to run into (if you have not done so already):

How to Draw Anime and Manga Hands Step by Footstep

Also please note that if you are going to be following the tutorial drawing with pencil and paper you should brand very light lines for at least the first few steps of each hand pose. Yous will demand to erase parts of the cartoon equally you move through the different steps.

How to Describe a Mitt Reaching Footstep past Pace

Hand reaching drawing step by step
Hand reaching cartoon step by step

This type of paw pose can be used when a whoever you lot are cartoon is reaching for something. For example reaching for a helping manus or reaching to grab onto a ledge when climbing.

As the hand is tilted forward it will appear vertically narrower then if you were looking at it with the palm facing directly towards you lot. Keep this in mind when drawing.

Step 1 – Draw the Outline of the Palm

Hand reaching palm drawing
Hand reaching palm drawing

Start the drawing with a rough outline of the palm of the mitt. You can too give a hint of the base of operations of the thumb with merely one curve.

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

Step 2 – Draw Fingers & Thumb

Hand reaching fingers drawing
Paw reaching fingers drawing

Onto the palm add the outer shapes of the fingers and the pollex. Describe the fingers pretty much straight and fanning out from the palm. You can brand the thumb lightly bent.

Don't worry about beingness too accurate in this stage of the cartoon as the goal is to just establish the size and position of the fingers.

Step 3 – Describe the Smaller Bends & Curves

Hand reaching shape drawing
Hand reaching shape drawing

Once you finish the rough outline of the hand you tin add some of the smaller curves such as those at the base of each finger and the bottom of the palm. Also see the example below for the placement of the joints and make sure the bends of the thumb and the light bends of some of the fingers are in the the right identify.

Hand reaching joint placement
Hand reaching joint placement

You lot can run across the rough position of the finger/thumb joints in the example to a higher place. This can be helpful in estimating where they curve likewise as the positing of some of the smaller wrinkles on the hand.

Pace 4 – Finish the Reaching Hand Drawing

Hand reaching drawing
Mitt reaching drawing

To terminate the drawing you tin add the various lines and wrinkles around along the palm and fingers and go over your drawing with darker lines.

Every bit mentioned the wrinkles will generally be around the joints of the fingers. The two lines in the upper part of the palm are usually around the aforementioned area as the duke (if you flip the mitt over). One error beginner artists tend to make is drawing the fingers bending direct from the height of the palm when they really bend from effectually these two lines.

How to Describe a Hand Casting Stride past Step

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

This pose is somewhat like to the previous and can exist used to show that a characters is casting a spell or gesturing someone to move forward. For case casting a fireball or signalling an ground forces to attack.

Step 1 – Draw the Outline of the Palm

Hand casting palm drawing
Hand casting palm drawing

Commencement with a rough outline of the palm. For this particular example it volition be tilted on near a 45 degree angle and will pint slightly towards the viewer. Within the palm draw a hint of the bottom portion of the pollex.

Pace 2 – Draw Fingers & Thumb

Hand casting fingers drawing
Manus casting fingers drawing

Depict the outer shapes of the fingers fanned out fairly evenly around the palm and the thumb pulled back. Depict the pinky and the ring finger aptitude slightly inwards towards the palm from the knuckles. To create this event draw them slightly cutting into the palm of the hand.

Step three – Draw the Smaller Bends & Curves

Hand casting shape drawing
Hand casting shape cartoon

Add the smaller curves of the paw to the bottom of the palm and around the fingers.

Hand casting joints drawing
Manus casting joints drawing

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

Step iv – Finish the Casting Hand Drawing

Hand casting drawing
Hand casting cartoon

Add the lines along the palm and the smaller wrinkles along the fingers and thumb. Keep in mind that as the thumb is pulled back some of the wrinkles on information technology volition be smoothed out. To emphasize this yous tin even leave out some of the wrinkles that would naturally still exist visible.

Once you finish adding all of the smaller details of the hand y'all tin go over your drawing with darker more than solid lines.

How to Draw a Peace Sign Hand Step by Stride

Hand peace sign drawing step by step
Manus peace sign cartoon pace past step

The peace sign is probably i of the virtually common paw gestures. In anime and manga characters commonly brand this when having their photo taken.

Step 1 – Describe the Outline of the Palm

Hand peace sign palm drawing
Hand peace sign palm drawing

Same equally the previous two examples showtime past drawing the palm and the base of the thumb. This manus pose volition squeeze the palm and then draw in narrower than normal.

Step 2 – Draw the Stretched Out Fingers & Thumb

Hand peace joints fingers drawing
Manus peace joints fingers drawing

Describe the outer shapes of the pollex and the the 2 fingers that are sticking up. In this pose the thumb will basically be a flip over of its natural position.

For this stage uncomplicated depict the two folded fingers every bit one combined shape.

Stride iii – Draw the Folded Fingers & Smaller Bends of the Manus

Hand peace sign shape drawing
Hand peace sign shape drawing

Add the individual shapes of the 2 folded fingers besides every bit the smaller curves of the hand. These will be along the bottom of the palm and between the other two fingers. Erase the extra lines from the previous stride and then that your drawing looks similar to the case above.

Hand peace joints shape drawing
Manus peace joints shape drawing

You can see the estimated placement of the joints for the peace sign pose above. The joints overlapped by other parts of the hand are not shown to avoid making the drawing besides confusing.

Step 4 – Finish the Peace Sign Hand Drawing

Hand peace sign drawing
Manus peace sign drawing

To finalize the drawing add together the details such as the finger nails and the pocket-size lines/wrinkles of the mitt. The nail on the thumb should be fatigued narrower as it's beingness viewed on an angle. The only other fully visible nail volition be on the pinky. You tin prove just a hint of the nail on the ring finger.

In this view most of the lines on the palm will be subconscious past the fingers but you lot can draw small hints of them on each side of the mitt. You can also add a fairly large wrinkle in the center curve of the thumb. The rest of the wrinkles will be effectually the finger articulation areas.

How to Draw a Paw Pointing Away Pace by Step

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

This hand pose can be skillful to draw when yous want the character to be pointing towards something. For example an aeroplane upwardly in the sky.

Equally well-nigh of the fingers in this pose are hidden information technology's likewise a fairly easy one to draw.

Step i – Depict the Outline of the Palm

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

Commencement the cartoon by outlining the rough shape of the palm. As the paw is being viewed from the top of the palm there is no need to indicate the thumb similar in the other examples.

Footstep 2 – Draw the Index Finger & Thumb

Finger pointing away hand fingers drawing
Finger pointing abroad hand fingers cartoon

Add the outer shape of the thumb and the index finger.

As the hand is beingness viewed on an angle and the index finger is pointing away from the viewer it should exist drawn both smaller and shorter. This will give a sense that information technology is really pointing away and off into the distance.

Footstep 3 – Draw the Duke

Finger pointing away hand shape drawing
Finger pointing away hand shape cartoon

Refine the shape of the manus by adding the smaller curves. In this example it should be the knuckles and a hint of the bone along the wrist.

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

Over again yous tin see the placement of the joints for the visible parts of the mitt.

Step 4 – Finish the Pointing Hand Drawing

Finger pointing away hand drawing
Finger pointing away mitt drawing

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

How to Draw a Manus With a Claw Like Grip Pace by Footstep

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

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

Stride 1 – Depict the Outline of the Palm

Hand reaching palm drawing
Manus reaching palm cartoon

Draw the outline of the palm of the hand with the base of operations of the thumb. In this case they will be drawn horizontally.

Step 2 – Describe the Fingers & Thumb

Hand reaching fingers drawing
Mitt reaching fingers cartoon

Cartoon the fingers for this pose is probably the almost challenging part of all of the examples in this tutorial. It may be helpful to commencement have a look at the joint drawing example further down before drawing this step.

The parts of the fingers from the knuckles to the showtime joint are fairly simple. Depict these fanning out from the hand similar to the previous examples. The next set of sections up from that is facing the viewer at a very sharp angle making them appear very short or nigh invisible. Yous will demand to take this into business relationship when drawing if you want to create a believable pose. From there to the tips each section are pretty much fully visible. Draw the tip of the pollex and index finger pointing slightly more inward (towards i another) than the first set up of sections. You can draw the other two fingers at pretty much same 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 every bit the bottom of the palm equally well equally the curves and wrinkles at the bottom of the fingers.

Hand reaching joints drawing
Manus reaching joints drawing

Y'all can see the placement of the visible joints for this pose of the hand in the example to a higher place.

Step 4 – Finish the Hook/Gripping Hand Drawing

Hand claw drawing
Mitt claw drawing

To finish the cartoon describe the lines along the palm of the manus and the fingernails. Again aforementioned as the other poses the nail on the pollex volition be viewed on an angle and should be drawn narrower.

To aid that the sections of the fingers from the terminal joint to the tip are at a slight bending draw the fingernails but a tiny bit farther away from the tips. This will make the bottom of the fingers announced similar they are angled facing more than towards the viewer.

How to Depict a Hand Pointing Finger at Viewer Step by Step

Finger pointing hand drawing step by step
Finger pointing manus drawing step by stride

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

For drawing different anime characters archetypes run across:

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

Stride 1 – Depict the Outline of the Palm

Finger pointing hand palm drawing
Finger pointing hand palm cartoon

For this pose you can showtime by cartoon the combined outline shape of the palm and base of the thumb. The palm in this view is fatigued at a very sharp angle (most looking at the top of it) so it will appear very narrow.

Step 2 – Depict the Pollex & Index Finger

Finger pointing hand fingers drawing
Finger pointing hand fingers drawing

Draw the alphabetize finger much larger than normal, especially towards the tip. This will give it that "in your face" type of appearance. Side by side draw the thumb and the combined shape of all of the other fingers.

Step three – Draw the Fingers & Smaller Bends

Finger pointing hand shape drawing
Finger pointing shape fingers drawing

Add together the private shapes of the other fingers every bit well as the knuckles and smaller bends and wrinkles effectually the pollex.

Finger pointing hand joints drawing
Finger pointing hand joints cartoon

You lot can see the placement of the visible joints for the finger pointing hand pose above.

Step iv – Finish the Finger Pointing Hand Drawing

Finger pointing hand drawing
Finger pointing mitt cartoon

To finish the drawing add the small wrinkles around the index finger and thumb besides as merely i wrinkle for the middle finger. You lot can also add draw the nail on the thumb (over again narrower due to the view bending).

Once done adding the details go over your drawing with darker lines to finish.

Conclusion

Hands in anime and manga are drawn very similar to real easily. Sometimes they may exist simplified depending on fashion or the detail of the graphic symbol simply more often than not their overall proportions are usually the same or slightly exaggerated. This means if y'all want to depict other hand poses you tin can always utilize real easily as reference. Information technology besides ways that similar real hands anime and manga hands will generally exist quite difficult to depict.

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

  • 6 Means to Describe Anime Hands Holding Something
  • How to Draw a Handshake Step by Pace
  • How to Draw Hands Property Chopsticks Step by Pace
  • How to Draw Fingernails half-dozen Dissimilar Ways

For cartoon poses of the entire body see:

How to Draw Anime Poses Pace past Step