Patty cake: tips on hands

Its gotta be Christmas if I post more than once in a month! Id like to thank my kik ass friend across the pond Andy J. Latham and the wickedly talented robot guy Jeremy Vanhoozer. Both incredibly inspirational people.Thanks for the suggestion guys!

So today is hands and how I think about posing em. I usually continue to use the line of action from the arms. But before we go that far lets travel back in time to a simpler place...pepperidge farms was there...

I think of the hands as mittens. This helps to keep things simple. Simple is a great place to start, because you can experiment a whole lot easier and not be so invested in a certain pose. I hate when I get a great pose that doesnt fit and have a hard time letting go of it because I finessed it too much. Getting the idea down in simple form before hand will ease this, so plan plan plan. ( I love the cartoony so again easier for me to break everything down to those simple shapes. ) When posing a character its good to add contrast in the hands. (Of course that always makes the eyes happy) Having the shoulders angled will keep your hands from twinning most times. The hands should always add to the fun of the characters pose, but seeing as Im lazy and just focusing on hands this time thats what the diagrams are gonnna show...sorry

Once Ive got a great mitten I add that flair in the fingers. OOOOOOOOOOOO this is where I freak out because hands are friggin tough for me. So why am I tryin to give tips on them you ask. I have no clue. So lets keep this simple still. I also think of the fingers as tubes with three spheres for the joints . One at the palm one at knuckle and one at the tip. This is where the fingers bend. Hey! kinda like the arms and legs but with that extra bit of excitement! When I try for more realistic hands I go with more of a box shape for the palm helps me to see the mass of the hand. If you dont put every finger in the same pose ( or offset them, as the fancy people say ) it adds lots of personality to the gesture.

Even when grabbing something, having a finger that is not grabbing as hard as the others is takin it to another level! Bamn!!!!

Hands can be easier if you have reference. Always remember that you have a plethora of hand reference around you Friends, family,internet and books etc. ( if you have tenticles, that would be pretty killer too.) The best way to learn about hands is watch what people do with them. Observe how people use their hands to express themselves. Thats pretty much all I got at the moment. Remember to always practice practice practice and to just have fun. Hands are a weakness for me , so just havin fun and not being so critical makes it easier for me to keep trying to learn more about the subject.


And always keep this in mind:


Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Love who you are and embrace who you can become. Keep on Keepin on!!