Guys I know that not only this sbs, but finishing the sbs figure is more than long overdue. I won't bore you with excuses so I hope you find this useful.


THE HAND The hand, next to the head has to be one of the more daunting parts of sculpting a figure. Like the figure or head, proper measuring and construction of the armature is probably the most important step in getting it right.

In simple tems the overall length of the hand, from the base of the palm to the tip of the middle finger should start at the base of the chin, with the middle fingertip resting on the hairline. Keep in mind that no two heads or hands are the same, and there's no saying that you can't have a figure with a smaller head and big meaty hands.

I like this sort of thing. It helps to keep a minature in scale. When I make hands I usually work on the measurement of the fist being as wide as the pupils. Having this diagram will help even more. Thanks Gary.

MASSES OF THE HAND This consists of two (2) parts.

1. The thumb

2. The remainder of the hand

The wrist bones are fused to the hand thus making it one mass. The hand ALWAYS moves with the wrist (side to side and up and down) and is twice as wide as thick. The center of the hand is slightly below the body of the arm. With your arm laying flat you'll notice that the wrist does not touch the surface it's laying on. The mass of the wrist rises from that of the hand at a slight angle where it joins the arm.

John, Here is another illustration showing the hand in relation to the head along with it's relation to the foot.

Measurements of the hand

The thumb side of the hand is smaller than the side of the little finger.

The hand is broader at the fingers than at the wrist.

The palm is longer than the back of the hand.

The thumb is set into the palm by a highly mobile "ball", which gives it a wide range of movement independent from that of the hand.

The fingers all taper, with the middle finger being the longest.

Each finger tapers and converges toward the middle finger.

The length of the thumb is equal to the length of the middle finger.

The body of the thumb is heavier than the other fingers, but only the last joint tapers.

The finger sections are slightly square, while the last section containing the nail is slightly triangular.

JOINTS AND MOVEMENT

The first joint of the thumb and first two joints of the fingers are hinge joints. They can move up and down but not fully rotational.

When fully extended, the topmost joint of is bent slightly backwards.

The lower joints of the fingers and thumb will bend forward to acute angles, while upper joints or finger tips cannot bend even to a right angle.

This information barely scratches the surface, so if anyone has additional information or observations regarding the construction and or movement of the hand please post it. The purpose of this and the other sbs's are for them not only to be used as learning tool, but as a means of getting members to get involved and make their own contributions as well.~Gary

Hey great stuff Gary!

Hands are indeed one of the most difficult things to do properly. I am still trying to figure them out after all these years. One thing I notice is that it is very easy for them to "grow" on me. When you concentrate so hard at getting the form right, it often happens that you finally get things just so, then stand back from the piece a bit only to find that the things are the wrong scale...... !

DOH!!

Anyway, good hands will make or break a figure. You can make the best figure in the world, but if the hands are not right, the figure will look clumsy. This is good info here and any aspiring sculptors will do well to study it thoroughly and commit it to memory.

Thanks for the "hand up", Gary.......

Mike

Hi Gary,

Excellent information from you as usual. Keep it coming. :lol:

Regards Callum.

Gary,

This thread is fast becoming the most useful SBS about sculpting on the Internet, hands down.

Thank you for your time and dedication.

Gotta go back to watch the Germany vs. Argentina match for the World Cup. Bruno, my thoughts are with you.

Quang

Mike, I really appreciate the kind comments. If you have any other comments to add please do.

I also think a lot of sculptors do not explore the FULL potential of expressive hands. They can add some much to the emotions of the figure.~Gary

Callum, Thanks for the kind words.~Gary

Quang, Thanks for the knid words. The thanks really go to those that patiently wait for future postings. As I said, more participation in these sbs's just add to whatever value you folks feel that have.~Gary

The first step is to create the "bod" of the hand. For this sbs (Step by Step) I'm mixing white Aves putty with green DURO putty. The light to medium green color will make the work easier to see.

After the two putties are mixed together a ball of putty is pressed onto a ceramic tile coated with vaseline.

The ball is pressed down until it is close to the hand thickness I'm looking for.

The next step is to embed four (4) sections of wire into the putty. I have left all four sections long so each can be cut to the proper length when it comes time to flesh out the fingers.

After the putty has cured a little I'll go in and trim the "body" of the hand to where it's closer to what will be the finished hand will be.

I had some Aves putty leftover from something else I was working on so used the remainder to make the basic shape of the lower thumb.

As you will see the basic hand is nothing but simple shapes. Further refining or "fleshing out' will be done once the basic components are done.

The basic lower thumb refined a little.

Here I started to cut into the 'body" of the hand so it can be shaped further.