Hands

[joedorsey]

I remember Don drawing some hands for us on the webinar. Hands can be tricky for me and I thought that having some references might be helpful. If anybody has more...go for it!

Milt Kahl Hands

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii56/dorseytunes/MiltKahlHands.jpg

Here's a link to a public domain book on anatomy that looks good. It has some reference on hands.

Constructive Anatomy (c1920) - George Bridgman (http://www.archive.org/details/constructiveanat00briduoft)

[arif]

Hi Joe.....

Thank you for find it......i like his hands study....lots of things there to learn.......i am always looking for his drawings and animation.....but, dont know which scene he animated....Don will give us a list...so, till then,......

[jeremyhopkins]

If you google Milt Kahl, you'll get some of scenes and work inspired by his animation: http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENCA326&q=milt+kahl&aq=f&aqi=g9g-m1&oq=

His Merlin hands from sword and the stone: http://www.freewebs.com/gnomak/Milt_Hands-1.jpg

One scene to study:
http://vimeo.com/4215260
Really nice hands in this scene too.

[joedorsey]

Thanks for the links Jeremy! Watching some of those pencil tests blows me away.

[DNethery]

Here are some hand studies done for the movie "American Dog" (which became "Bolt") by my friend Rune Bennicke.

See attached.

Also go here:

http://flipbooksnstuff.blogspot.com/2008/11/american-dog.html

[DNethery]

And here is some hand-drawn (literally!) animation of a hand by Antoine Antin:

YVByhfyEba4


http://www.aantin.com/


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[lavallelee]

wow, that is a great reference! thanks david

[WillW]

wow! awesome hand animation. I had a go at animating just a hand a while back but it doesn't even come close to that one.

[joedorsey]

More hands! Thanks (BTW, the last hand animation was way cool)

[Rodney]

Thanks for those links David,
There always seems to be new and informative site to see and there is a weath of knowledge accumulated in them.

I note this sponse by Rune Bennicke regarding his study of hands. It should give us all some comfort as we inevitably get to the point where we think we should know how to draw something because we've been studying it for so long.


For something like a month after doing the hands,,, I could draw any hand in any position I wanted to,, it was great,, it seemed so easy,,, but it didn't last long,, now I'm back to the formula hands,,, but it was great while it lasted,,, you should try it,,
Draw nothing but hands for a week,,, it'll change your life,,, well, for about a month anyway

For those that haven't check out Rune site... please do.
He's got some really fun animated sketches on youtube!

[jeremyhopkins]

I agree very cool stuff!

Bobby has some great hand reference and it's elegantly composed as well:
http://bobbypontillas.blogspot.com/2010/02/schoolism-assignment-4-features.html

Mark Oftedal's short film 4pm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXZjH-GfqSU

Live action reference:
http://www.elfwood.com/farp/hand/

Vilppu's hands:
http://www.vilppustore.com/HFS.htm

[Poulpette]

Thanks for all those links (and the PDF book).:)
That's interesting and helpfull.

[danparkerstudios]

Well, I have to agree, hands were difficult when I drew my characters recently. I am trying to get better on it,though.

[johncbeggs]

my advice is to just simply draw your hand :laughing:, its hard and could possibly take an hour to get it right but you will also be learning what a hand can and cant do!

[matshanley]

Yep, hands are a definite weakness for me.

[Rodney]

its hard and could possibly take an hour to get it right

I hope there is room for varying views on this... ;)
Its also possible to scribble/sketch several hundred hands (of varying quality) over an hour's time. If you really must... throw away the ones you don't like!

Yes, hands are important to get right but I wouldn't recommend approaching learning animation through taking one hour bites at a time.

Quality is as important as the shortness of life.

[johncbeggs]

Yes Rodney just Like I was saying! keep drawing your own hands untill you get one that looks and feels natural!

[Rodney]

I was drawing a few hands today and by looking at them you'd think I'd never drawn a hand in my life. Its times like these that its always good to break out that 'ol reference.

Sometimes it's possible to get it really (hysterically) wrong.
Have you ever drawn an extra left hand on a character's right?

[johncbeggs]

Have you ever drawn an extra left hand on a character's right?

Not recently no, but I cant say I haven't done it in the past :laughing:!

[Thinktink606432]

Thank you for the links. When I draw any human hands I allways end up just taking the easy way out and drawing a flat stub. Any animals or non human characters I can easily animate their hands.

[joedorsey]

Here's some instruction from Toby Shelton's blog.


I've Got To Hand It To You
(http://tobyshelton.blogspot.com/2010/10/ive-got-to-hand-it-to-you-2010.html)

[OwenWelsh]

Wow I love those hand drawings! Thanks for the link.

[Rodney]

Great addition to our study of hands Joe.

Toby covers a whole lot of territory in those few words and drawings.
Eyes, Mouth and Hands... I know I sure need to spend a whole lot more time studying, drawing and emphasizing them!

If I may be so bold as to suggest it...
When you enjoy something someone has blogged about linking to it is wonderful but also take a few minutes to leave a comment. That will really let them know we'd appreciate the time they take to share what they've learned with us. If you've nothing to write in the commentary there is one word that will go a long way toward expressing our appreciation... 'Thanks!' :)

[joedorsey]

I'm glad you guys liked the link. You're right Rodney. I should have said something about the instruction. To be honest, when I read the blog it was a sobering moment of how far I have to go with drawing hands and other extremities. Seeing a professional's work gives me mixed emotions. On one hand, (no pun intended) I'm inspired by how excellent the drawings are. On the other hand, I see how much I suck at it!

Tonight at work I was thinking about putting together various model sheets of things I need to improve on and draw them every day as warm up exercises.

BTW, I really like Toby's version of toothless for HTTYD. So much character in that little dragon.


Toby's Toothless
(http://tobyshelton.blogspot.com/2010/09/some-early-character-sketches-httyd.html)

[arif]

wonderful sharing JOE............i am going to practice right now.........byebye........