7 Best Hand Reference Photos For Drawing (With Resources!) (2024)

Drawing hands is one of the biggest obstacles for beginner artists. And one surefire way to improve at drawing hands is using good hand reference photos!

So, where can you get those fantastic reference photos to draw beautiful hands once and for all?

You can get hand reference photos from different stock websites for free, take your own photos of hands to practice drawing, or even use online drawing tools.

So let’s go over some specific examples and websites that you can use to get great-looking hand images for drawing and improve your hand drawing skills!

Table Of Contents

  • 1 1. Handy Art Reference Tool
  • 2 2. Line-Of-Action
  • 3 3. Pexels
  • 4 4. Hands Reference Pack For Artists by Don Corgi
  • 5 5. Pinterest
  • 6 6. Deviantart
  • 7 7. Google Images
  • 8 Hand Reference Tools
  • 9 Hand Gesture Drawing

1. Handy Art Reference Tool

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With both an iOS and an Android version available, this “handy” tool sure is amazing! You can tweak every 3D hand model to a specific pose you need and draw it. This is a great drawing hands reference tool.

It also includes several different body parts that you can draw and tweak to your liking, such as heads and even feet!

You can also tweak the lighting on the image to get the right mood in your drawing.

There’s much to work with regarding getting a perfect reference. So, I highly recommend this tool to practice some specific hand poses!

Get the Handy Art Reference Tool on:

iOS: Handy Art Reference Tool (App Store)

Android: Handy Art Reference Tool (Google Play)

2. Line-Of-Action

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This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned Line-Of-Action (check the Best Pose Reference Websites here), and I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last!

Not only does Line-of-action have a wonderful website with tools for figure and gesture drawing, but they also have specific tools for hands and feet!

You simply need to select a few options, such as “Hands” and “Only Female Read Models” or “Only Male Read Models” and you’re basically good to go.

There are currently over 600 different hand reference photos available for you to draw, making this an excellent tool to practice drawing hands!

One of the best things about this hand reference tool is that you can set timed sessions where the hand photo keeps changing. This means that you’ll have to be somewhat quick at drawing and focusing on the main shapes and gesture of the image!

By doing this, it will help you improve at drawing much faster, I guarantee it. Just set the time interval to something comfortable and go for it.

You can find the hands and feet practice tool here!

3. Pexels

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Pexels is another free stock reference photo website that I will always recommend. It has thousands of hand reference images available for traditional or digital artists.

Not only can you find literally over 100,000 photos of hand references, but you can also find over 47,000 videos!

All of them free to use.

Talk about value.

So, if you’re looking for random hands to draw, I couldn’t recommend Pexels more. It has high-quality photos of hands from different angles and different ethnicities.

Do keep in mind that some of them are a bit more “artistic” than others. So if you’re looking for a more casual-looking hand, I recommend you check other options on this list!

Search “hands” or “female hands” on Pexels, or click here to get hand images from pexels.

4. Hands Reference Pack For Artists by Don Corgi

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With over 120 photos and 2 different videos, there are a lot of photos of hands for you to choose from in this pack!

A small disclaimer here: we (Miguel and Patricia) are the ones who created this pack and took all the photos and videos, so our recommendation can be a bit biased!

But we did create this pack since, at the time, there weren’t many available options for hand reference photos online.

This hand reference photos pack is available for only 1$ (or more if you’re feeling generous), and we hope you enjoy it!

You can find the hand reference photos pack here.

5. Pinterest

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For anything related to images, Pinterest is always a great bet! You can find thousands (maybe even millions at this point) of hand reference photos on the website by simply searching.

One good way to get good hand reference photos on Pinterest is just by typing in “hand photos” or “hand photography” on the search bar.

You’ll be greeted by a huge volume of hand reference photos, so I recommend you scroll around and get the ones you like the most.

I also advise creating a hand photos pinterest board if you have an account there! This way you’ll always have your reference photos quite “handy”!

I do have my own “Hand Reference Photos For Artists” Board there, which you can look at and even pin whichever ones you like! Feel free to use those at will.

Do keep in mind that you never quite know where these images are coming from. So do use these hand photos primarily for practice, not commercial projects.

6. Deviantart

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With many different options of stock photos available on Deviantart, there are quite a few hand reference packs as well!

For example, Adorkastock’s 50 Hand Challenge Pack (with 244 Photos) is a great option to practice drawing some hands.

Adorkastock is a professional model that has created thousands of photos for digital artists (and traditional) for many years, so I highly recommend checking her work out!

With that said, don’t just take my word for it. Download the pack or search deviantart for other hand packs available from other of these many artists and go practice!

I’m sure you’ll find the perfect hand reference photo for you there.

7. Google Images

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Good old Google, you never disappoint.

If you run out of options from the other websites I’ve listed and are still looking for more hand reference photos, Google has you covered.

Being one of the most used search engines on earth, google has indexed millions of hand photos you can find!

Simply search for something such as:

  • Hand photos
  • Hand Photography
  • Hand Reference Photos
  • Photos Of Hands

And so on. You get the idea!

And you’ll find a hand pose you need, I’m sure of it.

You can even be more specific and write “hand reaching out” or “couple holding hands”, and you’ll be able to find many different hand poses to draw.

Do remember that most of the results aren’t available to be used commercially. So I would stick to just using these hand reference photos as a practice tool for the most part.

Hand Reference Tools

Other than the previous websites and tools such as Line-Of-Action and Handy Art Reference Tool that I’ve mentioned before, there are a few other options.

For example, one of the best ways to get that perfect specific pose that you want is by using a Hand Figure Manikin such as this one (on Amazon).

It has a decent range of motion and is primarily suitable for static poses.

One of the pros of it is that you can get a flashlight or a lamp and put it anywhere around the hand figure manikin to test out different lighting situations.

This will help you improve your shading skills much faster than other methods.

One other option is to use your own hand as reference of course!

Using your own hand as a reference image for drawing hands can be great since you can get the angle and pose just as you want it to.

You might need a friend to help you take the photos how you want. But even if you’re alone, you can use a mirror to get different angles of your hand.

And finally, another option is a bigger sketching app such as JustSketch.me.

This web app has many settings that you can tweak. You can change the pose around as much as you want, and even test out different lighting!

It does have a bit of a learning curve, so you might want to dedicate some time to try everything out.

The best part about this hand reference tool is that since it has so many options to work with, you can get the exact hand pose you need.

You can even make a sitting pose reference, like the ones in these photos.

Do try it out and let me know if you like it!

Hand Gesture Drawing

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Gesture drawing isn’t only about drawing poses and figures! It’s also about drawing other gestures, such as those in hands.

When doing gesture drawings of hands, you’ll want to focus on two things:

  • Line Of Action
  • Hand Shapes

First, you should start with the line of action, drawing the flow of the hand with just one line.

This should be a long line that will give the entire hand movement.

And then you focus on the bigger shapes of the hand.

You can split these into rectangles, squares, ellipses, or anything that makes sense to you!

This exercise aims to simplify the shapes and improve your hand drawing skills.

I do have a complete guide on drawing hands, so do check that one out if you need more information on drawing hands!

And that’s all you need to know about getting the best hand reference photos for drawing, as well as how to do your practice!

Also, if you’re looking for references for drawing some portraits (taking a break from drawing hands), here’s the 11 Best Portrait Reference Photo Websites For Artists.

Have fun, and keep on drawing!

7 Best Hand Reference Photos For Drawing (With Resources!) (11)

DonCorgi

Patricia Caldeira is the main writer here at Don Corgi. She's an art teacher with over 20.000 happy students across many platforms and courses!

Enjoy your stay and as always:
Keep on drawing!

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7 Best Hand Reference Photos For Drawing (With Resources!) (2024)

FAQs

What is the best website for hand references? ›

Quickposes.com. Quickposes.com is one of the best drawing reference websites out there. You can do a lot of different timed practices, just like hands, poses, animals, feet or landscapes. To be more precise, you can also pick the gender and naked or with clothing references.

Where can I find reference photos for drawing? ›

FREE Reference Photo Websites for Artists
  • The Artist Reference Image Library. Go to the Image Library. ...
  • Pixabay.
  • Unsplash.
  • Flickr. Not all photos are Creative Commons, be sure the ones you choose are free.
  • Dreamstime. Both free and paid images are available on this website. ...
  • Jason Morgan.
  • Morguefile.
  • Paint My Photo.

How do you draw a reference from a picture? ›

As you are drawing, place your index finger on your photo, in the exact place you're placing your pencil on your drawing. Go slowly and move your finger to match what you draw. This keeps your hand and eyes working together. You'll be much more accurate this way.

Where do artists get their references from? ›

Where to find good art references. Sometimes it might be easier to look online for an image rather than trying to do a photo shoot. There are many sites that you can use without violating copyright laws. You can use free sites like Pixabay, Unsplash, Pexels, Flickr, FreePik, Wildlife art-Online, Photobash, etc.

How to find references for drawing? ›

Free stock photo websites like Pexels and Unsplash are great resources for finding reference of a variety of subjects. From food to landscapes, from portraits to abstract textures. These websites are great to find study material or specific reference photos you might need to bring your artwork to life.

Where can I find poses for drawing? ›

The best free pose references for artists
  • Sketch Daily. Sketch Daily is one of the first websites that come mind for practicing or getting some pose inspiration. ...
  • Jen (Jookpub Stock) ...
  • Pose My Art. ...
  • The Pose Archives. ...
  • Pose Maniacs. ...
  • Pinterest.
Mar 11, 2024

Where can I get free art pictures? ›

Where to Find Free Printable Wall Art
  • Pixabay. Pixabay offers millions of images you can download and use for free. ...
  • Library of Congress. The Library of Congress has a digital collection of images that are free to use. ...
  • NASA. ...
  • National Gallery of Art. ...
  • Biodiversity Heritage Library. ...
  • Old Book Illustrations. ...
  • Unsplash. ...
  • Morguefile.
Mar 25, 2021

What makes a good reference photo for drawing? ›

Photos with an obvious light source and a good sense of light and dark are much better for newer artists to learn from, since it's much easier to see the volumes. Flat light photos require the artist to squeeze every bit of information out of the photo for any halftones, highlights or shadows to show form.

Do artists use reference photos? ›

Many times through my life, I've heard this myth about artists: A true artist doesn't need to look at pictures to help them draw—they can draw anything right from their own imagination. But, contrary to this tall-tale, reference images and research are wonderful assets for most artists, especially illustrators.

Is it legal to draw from a photograph? ›

In conclusion, drawing from a photo without permission or infringing on a copyright can have serious legal consequences, including potential lawsuits, damages, and legal fees. It can also damage an artist's reputation and credibility in the art community.

How to tell if a sketch is real? ›

Check for signatures or markings: Look for the artist's signature or any distinctive markings that may indicate the piece's authenticity. Keep in mind that some artists may not sign their work, so the absence of a signature does not necessarily mean the piece is not original.

Where can I get reference photos for drawing? ›

Sites such as Pinterest, Dribbble, Juxtapost, or even google images are great for quick references and inspiration, however, most of the images there are protected by certain copyright laws and limit to some extent their use for creatives, especially graphic designers.

Is it OK to trace art references? ›

As Sooz says, as long as you're not tracing someone else's art work and claiming it as your own, I see no issues at all with the convenience of tracing. Agreed, if it's a photo that you own, I would treat it as a part of the process. If it's someone else's then it could be viewed as plagiarism or a copyright violation.

Where do artists get their creativity? ›

Here are eight of the most common sources of inspiration:
  • Visit an art museum or gallery. ...
  • Look through art books. ...
  • Staring at people and sketching them from life. ...
  • Look at work from different cultures or time-periods. ...
  • Get out of the studio. ...
  • Critique. ...
  • Looking back at old work. ...
  • Connecting with other artists in your community.
Mar 27, 2022

Do good artists use references? ›

Professional artists all over the world in various companies and top studios use references for their work. It may be a surprise to many of you who are beginner artists but, yes, using a reference is a common thing we do far often than you realize.

What is the website for human anatomy for artists? ›

Human-Anatomy-for-Artist.com is the biggest online source of Hi-Res human photo references for artists. You will find here more than 200,000 photos.

How do I choose a reference art? ›

Don't use another artist's artwork as a reference, it's not the raw photo. Don't use a really famous photo, too many people will recognize it. Don't use a diagram or chart as a reference, it's too visually limited. Don't limit yourself to a literal references, anything works!

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