Drawing Dynamic Hands

by Burne Hogarth

The most comprehensive book ever published on drawing hands, it uses a revolutionary system for visualizing the hand in an almost infinite number of positions.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Reference, Design, Art Design, Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Burne Hogarth started young. Born in 1911, he was enrolled in the Chicago Art Institute at the age of 12 and an assistant cartoonist at Associated Editors' Syndicate at 15. At the age of 26, he was chosen from a pool of a dozen applicants as Hal Foster's successor on the United Features Syndicate strip, "Tarzan". His first strip, very much in Foster's style, appeared May 9, 1937. It wasn't long before he abandoned the attempt to maintain the original look of the strip and brought his own dynamic style to the Sunday comics page.

In 1947, Hogarth co-founded (with Silas Rhodes) the School of Visual Arts which became his new direction in life. He was able to pass his unique methods on illustration to his students in the classroom and, in 1958, to the readers of his first book, Dynamic Anatomy.

Hogarth retired from the SVA in 1970 but continued to teach at The Parsons School of Design and, after a move to Los Angeles, The Otis School and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. During his years teaching, Hogarth authored a number of anatomy and drawing books that have become standard references for artists of every sort, including computer animators. Dynamic Anatomy (1958) and Drawing the Human Head (1965) were followed by further investigations of the human form. Dynamic Figure Drawing (1970) and Drawing Dynamic Hands (1977) completed the figure cycle. Dynamic Light and Shade (1981) and Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery (1995) explored other aspects relative to rendering the figure.

After more than 20 years away from strip work and being hailed in Europe as "the Michelangelo of the comic strip," Hogarth returned to sequential art in 1972 with his groundbreaking Tarzan of the Apes, a large format hardbound book published by Watson Guptill in 11 languages. It marks the beginning of the sober volume of integrated pictorial fiction, what is currently understood to be a graphic novel.

Burne Hogarth passed away in 1996 at the age of 84.

Reviews

[Hon Lady Selene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is great for studying dynamic hand anatomy, especially veins and the way Tendon slides affect the stretches and folds of the skin in a decent variety of positions, forever a challenge even for the experienced craftsman.

That said, it backtracks on the drawing technicalities as it only touches upon the style illustrated on the cover, a overemphasized comic art style bordering on the distorted that really cancels out that meticulous anatomy lesson - I just can't take those bloated knuckles seriously.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hogarth offers some helpful approaches for the initiate artist, but his style and the depiction is highly exaggerated. The bones are cartoonishly portrayed. However, by exaggeration he shows the structure. Worth utilizing but your study of the hands should not stop with this.

[Anzû · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for drawing hands. One of my favorites and most-used books.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book on drawing hands. The drawing of hands is one of the most complex things for an artist to do (for figure drawing). Hogarth spells out the formulas and techniques to make it viable.

[Chalice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for studying hand anatomy. I think if I had had a sketchbook to take notes/practice in, I would have learned more. 😛 That's no fault of the book's though.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

tl;dr Not the best artwork as examples, with little variety. But nice explanations and information, for the most part. Borrow if it's an option, otherwise the internet has better (free) tutorials.

Not tl;dr:

Hands are notorious for being difficult to draw. So of course, wanting to master them is something many artists want to achieve. (That, or avoid them. But you know, I wouldn't be checking out this book if that was the case for me, haha.)

I don't recall exactly what pointed me in the direction of this book, but it's certainly, well, an option. My biggest turn-off with this book was the artist's style. It's quite exaggerated, to the point where it looks inaccurate. Much of the joints are bulbous and, well as someone I know described it--swol. Needless to say, these fingers work out.

Ignoring that aspect though, this is certainly not a bad reference. Just like with any other reference material, you want to grab from multiple sources, and not just stick to one. Along with that, it is a missed opportunity that the artist didn't include a wider range of examples. Don't get me wrong, there are LOADS of examples in this, but all of the same hand. More feminine hands, smaller, older/aged, thinner/fatter, etc. There /is/ one small section towards the back with baby-elderly, and a couple feminine hands ("well cared for, with a certain grace of gesture and figure movement that suggest a cultivated or privileged background"), but it would've been nice, in general, to have a wider range of options throughout the entire book.

Also including a photo or two might've helped make this book stronger, so you aren't left with just the artist's stylization of what they see hands as. I appreciated that Andrew Loomis did that in his figure drawing book. I think it's a nice subtle touch to help see real life versus art.

I appreciate the additional explanations and notes on each page. They don't just leave you with the drawings. This is something I think Loomis's book lacked. In addition to that, this author REALLY cares about the minute details of the anatomy. Even if the artwork is, well, not the best, the attention in the literature explaining the effects of certain poses and how that changes the hands--raises or hides the tendons, stretches the skin, etc., was really nice to see. This was a big frustration with me with Loomis's book, as he put almost every single female figure in heels, which he never drew in nor discussed how that changes the posture and muscles of the body.

I do think the chapter on "Communication and Gesture" was, uh, awkward, to say the least. Where the author felt the need to describe what various hand gestures meant in the (though not exactly specified) Western world. And the part about Ancient Rome was, as far as studies have shown, historically inaccurate. He even mentions sign language, but then doesn't clarify the number three, which is different in stereotypical (hearing) American signaling versus sign language. I feel like this chapter would've been better off with just the hands and no text. >_>

One more little issue is the lack of showing his process. The artist clearly has some foundational work in these sketches/drawings, but never is it shown or explained. The structure of the hand, bones, etc., are talked about, but not really any actually /drawing/ itself. I don't mean for this book to be a step-by-step sort of deal, but at least giving some guide to how he starts I think would greatly help any beginners approaching this book.

I did like that the author mentioned tracing and that the author is an advocate of it. He mentions it periodically throughout the book as a useful tool to take advantage of. As I am a huge fan of it myself, I was glad to see someone in a position of authority reference it as something people should do. (He didn't go into as much detail as my ideal, but the fact that it was brought up at all was impactful enough.)

I know I'm nit-picking a lot, but otherwise, this book isn't /that/ bad. I think if you're struggling, this will definitely help you out. Just like I said, I would use a LOT more than just this book as a guide. It's a nice companion to have alongside photo or life references. I'd recommend it if your local library has it, but otherwise, there's honestly better free information (and drawings/references) out on the internets.

[Garth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive guide to drawing the form, musculature and dynamics of hands. This is a must-have book for any artist.

[Francisco Hidalgo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un excelente libro para todo aquel que desea aprender a profundidad todas las posibilidades que la mano ofrece en cuanto al dibujo artístico. No solamente es un libro que ofrece un valor técnico sumamente detallado, ofreciendo conocimientos en cuanto anatomía, estructura (huesos, músculos, venas, piel) si no que además, una amplia variedad de posiciones, usos y simbolismo a que esta herramienta puede ofrecer.
Sin lugar a dudas vale la pena estudiarlo y practicarlo a detalles.

[Helsean K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far, the most accurate drawing book about hands and very detailed. I finally learned properly drawing hands with this book.

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

You cannot go wrong with any Hogarth reference manual. They will stay with you for the rest of art career.

[Aeres · Rating 2 out of 5]

About a third way in. I find the writing in this book hard to follow due to its excessive technical jargon. While I appreciate the exaggerated hand anatomy to understand the internal structures, I would have enjoyed examples that weren't as stylized through out the course of the book. I find Loomis to be much more approachable.

[Emily Christ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author's ability to create a sense of place was remarkable. I felt like I was living in the world they'd created

[Thomas Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandmother gave me a copy of this when I was little. Has been a go to reference book for the past 20 years.

[Ross Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

technical bu tinformative

[JunIL OkaZamI · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Matthew Kapfhammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember starting out and going through this book to copy the illustrations. At some point, I realized that's not at all how to best utilize this volume. You have to READ it - the images are done with heaps of exaggeration to stress a particular point. Once I re-read it with that understanding, I was able to begin to build structurally sound hands pretty quickly and regularly.

[Ricky Walten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find that hands can really make or break a good illustration. I have used this book for years and it has helped me immensely. It breaks down the hand with simple forms showing how to bring life to your drawing.

[Clifford Crose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Along with the author's other "Dynamic . . ." works this was highly recommended by my professor. It clearly demonsstrates and explains dynamic drawing of hands, enhances any artwork! A must for artists of all types of work!

[M0rningstar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hogarth's style is a bit too gnarly for my liking.

[Hadji VanderVeer · Rating 5 out of 5]

really helped me understand how the hands relate to the human body, along with developing my renderings of them.

[Cecilia]

I loved it I'm a master now

[Jaylene Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good illustrations

[Xfoisy]

aspiring

[Fed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Letto edizione italiana.