6 Give a big hand for hands

Hands are both difficult and important. They can be just as expressive as a face and, at their very least, should complement the action or pose of the character. You can’t fudge your way past them either – people notice. I usually spend nearly as much time painting hands as I do faces. I’ve found some comic book art useful for learning expressive gestures, instructors like George Bridgman are great for building shapes, while photos and using the mirror for detail and anatomy books are good for understanding structure. My goal is one day to graduate from doing good hands to doing great ones. Rule of thumb: don’t get lazy on hands.