Drawing Hands

Second in importance only to the face, hands play a key role in expressing emotional states—from anger and fear to resignation, serenity, and surprise. This resource features more than 1,000 illustrations, offering figure artists at all skill levels insights into the structure, character, and expression of hands.


Artist and instructor Victor Perard emphasizes the anatomy of the hand: the bones that make up its framework and define its proportions and the muscles that direct its actions. In addition to notes on proportion and perspective, he groups the illustrations of hands in a manner that accents the modifications of their form as they are viewed from various angles. The tremendous variety of images ranges from male and female hands engaged in work and leisure activities to the hands of athletes, babies, and the elderly.