How to Draw Anime Hand Poses (Step by Step)

Updated August 17, 2022 by Ernie

Looking for some guides on how to draw hand poses? Well, you came to the right place, my friend. Today, I am going to help you draw hand poses step by step! We’re going to figure out ways to draw hands with ease and less stress. Also, we’re going to draw the kind of hands that are usually seen in anime and manga. Realistic hands… are something beyond my abilities at the moment. 

To get the feel for drawing hands, try looking at yours and do different poses with it. It’s important to get a visual feel for the object that you are planning to draw as it makes it simpler to replicate. You can also try looking at other references from anime or manga so you’ll have something a bit more stationary and consistent reference to look at. 

Gone are the days of drawing regular hands and hiding them under a long sleeve, because we’re going to break down how hands work and what possible poses you can try practicing. So, go ahead and get those creative juices flowing and we can start. So, good luck and have some fun!

 

BEGINNER-FRIENDLY TUTORIAL OF HOW TO DRAW HANDS

 

Basic Hand

To start, let’s go and draw a hand in an open palm. This way, we get to see how the fingers work and the overall estimate of the hand. I usually draw hands without guides, I rely on images as references, or I look at my own hand. But, sometimes it gets tricky so let’s use different shapes to draw the hand. We can do this step-by-step, as I am definitely not a professional artist. I’m as much of a beginner like you—heck, you could probably be better than me so? 

Sketch a soft-curved square as a base for the palm. Then add more shapes that help form the fingers. In this one, we’re going to use the mitten method where the sketch looks like a mitten at first, you can also separate the forefinger from the mitten to get a clearer picture of the hand. Add a shape for the thumb to complete your mitten. 

Now, let’s sketch out the individual fingers slowly because we need to make it look like a hand and not sausages. We start with the thumb, you can look at your hand for reference or other images you can find. After that, you can go ahead and draw the rest of the fingers. They don’t have to look perfect yet, so just sketch them out and you can fix them later after the sketch is done. 

Once you feel good about the sketch, you can go ahead and fix up whatever needs fixing. Add details to the hand, like a few lines where the hands ball into a fist and where the fingers curved. 

Next, let’s try drawing the back of the hand. Here, we go with the same first steps except for the line placement. So, after the mitten stage, we go and draw the individual fingers. The lines for the hand go in the knuckles, and some parts of the fingers to identify where the fingers would tuck into the fist. 

These hand poses are typically drawn when your character is waving or probably wanting to highlight something on their hand. You can also try drawing the same hand but from different angles as this can help you with hand study. 

Note: Before proceeding any further, let’s first understand what fingers look like when drawn. As shown in the drawing, you’ll understand how it curves better when you picture where the joints fold. 

Speaking of folds, you’ll also notice how the skin folds and creases when you tuck your finger. So, remember those details as we proceed to more complicated hand poses. 

 

Fist 

Drawing the fist is actually easier than drawing an open hand. If you’d take a look at your own fist, you’ll notice the fingers tucked in and your knuckles are more prominent. 

You start with a curved square that is enough to cover the front of the fist. Then you draw the rough sketch of the thumb beside the square. You can change the sizes of your drawing if you want your hand to look slender. 

After sketching the shapes, you can proceed to add the details necessary to make it look more like a fist than a blob of shapes. Sketch out the shape of your fist by drawing the knuckles (which kind of look like little hills) and then shape the fingers. Since the fingers are close together, you draw lines in between to section them off. By adding the shadow on the bottom of the fingers, you create the illusion that those fingers are tucked in. 

Are you down to try other angles of the fist? It does get tricky because hands look weird sometimes in certain poses but they still make sense you know? So, we start with a curved square as the base for the hand. For this hand pose, we’re going to draw the hand balled up into a fist that is facing us.

After the base, remember that fingers are tucked in when in a fist, so the knuckles are exposed like little hills on top of the folded fingers. You’ll also notice how the fingers compact more towards the thumb, and this is where the weird happens… I know it looks a bit freaky now, but you’ll get to understand why later on. 

Now, let’s proceed with the details so the hand doesn’t bother us anymore.  Knuckles aren’t seen that much in this angle so just proceed to sketch out the fingers with detail. Adding the lines where the fingers fold, and the lines on the palm of the hand. You can also add shading to make add dimensions. 

You can also try these other hand poses in a closed fist: 

 

Peace

Now, for the most common hand pose. Drawing this hand pose is only tricky in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it you’ll be able to find easier ways to draw it. So, we start with the shape of the hand in a fist. Since most of the fingers are tucked and only two are up. 

There are two ways that you can start drawing this pose, you can either start with the pinky and the ring finger folded or you can start with the forefinger and the middle finger being upright. Find whatever is comfortable for you to start with. 

After sketching the base of the hand, you can go ahead and clean it up and add the details. Positioning the fingers can get quite complicated but just remember their proportions and look at the references if needed. 

And if you want to try other angles of these hand poses, take some inspiration: 

 

Thumbs Up

We see a lot of this hand pose too, so might as well include it in the list. This is somewhat similar to the fist but with the thumb extended out. The only difference with this one would be the thumb and the areas that fold, crease and show the lines. 

So, following the similar steps of drawing the fist, just remember to have the thumb extended out rather than having it tucked in with the rest of the fingers. You can also do this with other angles, just remember to add the details and you’re all set. 

 

Pointing

This hand pose is very tricky when its perspective is pointing towards the viewer. Aside from that, it looks weird but it makes sense at the same time. If you remember how fingers curve and think of the drawing as three-dimensional, then you’ll have an easier time drawing. Having a reference for this one will definitely help you make it. 

Using the same steps as the fist, you draw everything the same way except for the forefinger. Also, I think it’s best as well to view the base in 3D to help with the perspective, you can draw a rectangle that is wide as it gets near you and narrow when it is at a distance.

You can also try drawing different angles of this hand pose to get a better understanding of how the overall hand pose would look. 

 

Holding 

For this portion of the tutorial, let’s try to up the ante and dive into more difficult poses with props. You’re welcome to gloss over this part and just take a look at the hand poses drawn here. 

To help you draw these poses, it’s best to have accessible references so you can compare and contrast details. For some of these, I used my own hand to simulate the poses. You can do that as well or you can pull up references from photos of anime characters or other hand study references. 

• Wine Glass

Now, let’s start with holding a wine glass. There are many, many ways of holding the wine glass but here, let’s go with something that shows the hand more. 

You also have the option of whether to draw the glass first or the hand first–maybe sketch how the hand would look and imagine where the wine glass would fit. By starting with the usual step, you can also add more details to help you map out where the fingers could go. 

I did the mitten method to carve out the fingers and proceeded to include the wine glass from there. After that, add the necessary details to make it complete. 

You can also try out other angles with the hand pose and experiment using different kinds of wine glasses. But, don’t forget to have fun and take the necessary breaks. 

• Teacup

Maybe you want to try drawing dainty hands holding a teacup–feeling that royal fantasy. If you’re up for another challenge, you can also try drawing two hands for this one. 

Let’s start with the hand holding the handle of the teacup. Teacups are small so not all the fingers go over the handle, only one or two fingers are usually drawn when holding the teacup and the rest are kept tucked. 

So, as usual, we start with a base for the overall hand. For this one, I made it in a way that has depth so I’d be able to locate where the knuckles are. So it somewhat looks like a cereal box tilted over. After the base, apply the mitten method to carve out the shape of the fingers. Having the forefinger separated helps locate where the handle would go. 

Now, we draw some circles as this will serve as the placement for the knuckles and for the fingers. After adding the last steps of the sketch, we can proceed to add more details and draw the hand itself. 

Once you are satisfied with the hand placement, go ahead and sketch the teacup beside the hand. You can loop up references for the design and size of your teacup if you don’t fancy mine. I drew a glass teacup where you can see the liquid inside. 

On the other hand, I pictured it that the other hand would be supporting the teacup so the fingers would have to be extended. So using the mitten method directly, you are able to pinpoint where you would like your fingers to be placed. You can also experiment with how the hand is placed overall. 

Once you get the shape of the other hand, you can go ahead and add the necessary details in order for it to look like a finished hand. You can add more details to your drawing to exude some of that creativity. 

• Pen/Pencil

Moving on with this hand pose, the base for this one is similar to the hand holding the teacup except all the fingers are out. So, you’ll somewhat end up with a base that is almost shaped like a hand. Using the mitten method, add the shape of the fingers to end up with an overall shape of the hand. 

Once you’re happy with the base, you can proceed with adding the details of the sketch, like the individual fingers and the knuckles. After that, you can go ahead and clean up the whole sketch for a more neat outcome. Just add the pen, pencil, or even a paintbrush and you’re good to go!

You can also try these other hand angles for this pose. You can practice different angles so you can get used to how fingers tuck, fold and extend when holding certain objects. I know, fingers get tricky and all, but remember that this is all a process so be kind to yourself, alright? So, have a go at these angles, whenever you’re ready!

• Weapon

Okay, enough with the dreary mundane items! Care to try drawing some weapons? Well, if you’re interested then keep on reading as we go on a few similar steps. For this one, let’s start with something small like a dagger. 

So first, we draw a base that is similar to the first, since all fingers will be tucked anyways. You can also use your hand as a reference to get a picture of what you’re drawing is going to look like.  After the base, you can go ahead and sketch out the shape of the fingers and the knuckle placement. 

Once you’re happy with your initial sketch, go ahead and draw the remaining details and fix up the sketch. Erase a few extra lines, add some more details and just finish whenever you’re satisfied. 

Now, for the exciting part! How the dagger looks can be entirely up to you since this is your drawing. I drew mine rather simply because I am not good with weapons…. So just go ahead and go crazy with your own design! Just remember where the weapon is supposed to go and the perspective it will look once held.

You can also refer to these other angles of hands holding weapons, maybe you’ll get inspired and try them out too! 

 

Casting Magic/Ability

Aside from weapons, maybe you might want to try drawing hand poses with magic or abilities? Let’s start with a basic hand pose, we can do that too! where the character is charging their power. 

For this one, I think starting with the mitten method would be better since in this pose the fingers are more highlighted rather than the base of the hand. But, it’ll also help if you draw the thumb across the shape you have drawn. This will help you proportion the hand better knowing that the thumb is in the exact place.

After the general shape of the base is drawn, you can go ahead and sketch out or carve the remaining fingers. We want the fingers to exaggerate in a way since this is a showcase of the fingers when magic is cast. Thinking of how mana flows from the fingertips and onto the center of the palm. 

Once you’re happy with the overall shape and with the details, you can go ahead and add the element or the magical ball right at the center. Think of it as if it’s being charged and everything around is being sucked in at the center of the character’s palm. 

 

Holding hands

I know you’ve already gotten a taste of drawing two hands in the teacup portion, but now why don’t we try drawing two hands holding each other? It’s easy once you’ve got the idea of how fingers work, especially when they twine with other fingers. 

Starting with the base, like in the previous hand poses. Draw a soft scare to represent the base of the first hand. After that, include the circles where the knuckles and fingers will be placed. For this one, the mitten method wouldn’t be useful since we will be drawing individual fingers. 

After drawing the circles, sketch out the individual fingers, but not the whole finger since we’re drawing a pair of hands holding each other. Just about at the first joint where the finger folds. Remember to leave some gaps in between the knuckles so the fingers of the other hand can fit right nicely. 

Insert the fingers of the other hand by sketching some short oblongs. After that, you can proceed to add the necessary details to make it look better. You can go over your sketch again and tweak some details until you are satisfied with your work. 

Are you happy with how it turned out? Are you ready to try some more? Well, here are other angles that you can try to replicate. There are also other variations of these hand poses, especially when you’re practicing drawing couples. 

 

Conclusion

Drawing hand poses is really fun to do, it gives you a whole lot of space to explore different gestures and experiment with them. Not only that, you could try to replicate some iconic hand gestures in anime like Naruto, Jujutsu Kaisen, or Tokyo Ghoul. 

I know hands may seem difficult at first, but once you’ve got the hang of it—you’ll definitely be addicted to drawing hands! Just remember to have fun and allow yourself to make mistakes! Practicing takes a lot of time and learning, so don’t be scared to make mistakes sometimes. I, for one, found drawing hands difficult and would just often have them hang around behind the character or tucked in a pocket. 

But that’s okay because drawing is a process and soon you’ll get the hang of it. 

Annnnnd, as a bonus, why don’t we play a little game? Can you name all of these iconic hand gestures? Leave your answers down in the comments! 

First up, is a domain expansion hand sign which has probably garnered the most fans during the Jujutsu Kaisen release. Can you take a guess?

Second, this domain expansion hand sign is part of a Jutsu that you may have not noticed in the anime, or maybe you remembered it as this was one that came surprisingly.