How to Draw a Cartoon Hand (Easy & Fun)
Learning how to draw a cartoon hand is easy and fun. We’ll show you how to draw, outline, and color your cartoon hand drawings with markers. From there you can do whatever you want with your drawings.
You could use them as stand alone images with some additional elements added to them. Or you can try making different poses with your hand drawings and add them to your own characters.
Art and drawing are skills anyone can learn. It just takes consistent practice over time. And the more you practice, the better you will get.
Your creative time should be relaxing and enjoyable. So make sure you’re not putting too much pressure on yourself or you won’t truly enjoy this time.
Let’s grab some supplies and get ready to have fun drawing some easy cartoon hands.
* Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. This means I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.
Art Supplies
- Thin black marker
- Paper or cardstock
- Markers
- Pencil
- Click Eraser, Pink Pearl Eraser
- White Gelly Roll pen
Cartoon Hand Sketch Practice
Doing some cartoon hand sketches is a great way to warm up and get some quick drawings in. You’ll not only warm up your drawing muscles, but you’ll also learn a lot about hands in a short amount of time.
And the best part is, they’re quick and easy to do. This is how to do a cartoon hand sketch exercise.
- Get some paper and something to sketch with
- Pull up some reference photos
- Set a timer for three or five minutes
Then you just quickly sketch out as many cartoon hands as you can before you run out of time.
Another option is to keep sketching until your paper is filled. If you choose this method, make sure you’re sketching quickly and keeping your lines loose.
This is a great way to practice drawing cartoon hands and getting familiar with them. You can draw the same pose multiple times, or try a variety of poses.
How to Draw a Cartoon Hand Step by Step
Learning how to draw a cartoon hand is easy, and hopefully you have fun doing it. The first step when drawing anything is to start with simple shapes.
The main part of the hand should be drawn with an oval or a square. This will help block out the size and shape of the hand.
Then draw an oval for the end of the thumb.
Now we need to start drawing the fingers. Start with the index finger. You can draw a complete rectangular shape and erase what you don’t need later. Or you can draw your lines so they don’t connect.
Just do whichever is easiest for you.
Repeat the same process for the next finger. Try to keep your pencil lines light so you can make any changes that are needed.
Then do that same process again for the third finger.
And then finish up your drawing by adding the pinky finger.
You can add an arm to your hand, or just leave the hand by itself. This will probably depend on what you plan on doing with your drawing.
This same step by step process can be used to draw any cartoon hand, in any position. Just break it down into simple shapes and then add in some details.
Cartoon Hand Outline
Making your cartoon hand outline is really easy. All you have to do is trace over your pencil lines with a black pen or marker.
How you choose to make your lines will depend on your artistic style. You could make your lines thin, thick, or a combination of line weights.
You could also use a color other than black if it doesn’t fit your style.
If you’re not sure what your artistic style is yet, it just means you need more practice. It will develop over time and can be identified by understanding what you like and don’t like in your artwork.
After you’ve finished making your cartoon hand outline you can use an eraser to clean up your drawing and remove any pencil lines.
How to Draw a Cartoon Hand with Markers
Learning how to draw a cartoon hand with markers is really easy and there’s only a few things to keep in mind.
First, if you want to be able to blend your colors together you need to use alcohol based markers. Bic, Sharpie, and Copic for example. As well as many others.
Second, you need to work while the colors are still wet or they won’t mix together. This isn’t a big deal. Just make sure you work on a section at a time.
Third, you need to use colors that are similar to each other if you want to create a smooth transition of color. If your markers are too different they will leave a harder edge.
For your cartoon hand drawings you’ll want to use two or three different markers to show a smooth transition of color.
Gray can be used to add some shadows, which is what I used for this example. The colors you have available will play a big part in which markers you use.
If you want to add some highlights a white Gelly Roll pen can be used.
Finish your cartoon hand drawing by adding a background or some color accents around the edges.
Final Thoughts and Next Steps
Now that you know how to draw a cartoon hand, what’s next? Well, if you want to get better, you need to practice. The more consistently you practice the better you will get.
Draw as many different hand positions as you can. They don’t have to be big drawings. Work small to save time. I like doing my drawings on Artist Trading Cards.
As mentioned earlier, art and drawing are skills that we learn. This is done through practice and repetition.
Challenge yourself to see how many cartoon hand drawings you can do in a week. Your creativity will improve as well as your art skills. And don’t forget to have fun.
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