Hands can be one of the most expressive elements of your portrait—if you know the right way to draw them. By following Lee Hammond's easy, step-by-step approach, you can render hands that hold and hands that wave. Old hands and young hands. Hands that look real not cartoony.The secret is seeing and drawing hands as simple shapes that fit together like a puzzle. Then, create gradual, smooth shadings to replicate the subtle contours of skin. Before you know it, you'll be drawing realistic hands!You'll find tips on making hands look distinctly young, old, feminine and masculine; drawing hands in action, in any pose or position; and using hands to "tell stories" in your drawing. Plus, you'll learn graphing tricks that make drawing from photos easy! And you'll see that difference in your drawings right away!