Page:Drawing for Beginners.djvu/64

 then be ready to draw in the dark shadow of the doubled fingers, the upper nail (like a portion of a tiny pink shell), and the square shadowing of the thumbnail.

Before we leave the drawings of our own left hand there are other poses to consider.

For instance, your own left hand holding a small object such as a coin, a flower-stem, or a reel of cotton. The latter, being a light object, you would hold lightly between your first finger and your thumb, supported by the second and third fingers.

Sketch first the upright shape of the hand and wrist, then the first finger and the knuckle from which it springs, the upright thumb, and the angle of the reel of cotton.

Here, by the by, let me say once more that you need not feel bound to pose your left hand in exactly this position. If you should prefer another pose, with the palm more exposed (or less), by all means adopt yours in preference to mine. These hints may then be used as a general guide. My positions are chosen because they present simple problems.

And now let us return to the hand with the reel of cotton.

Having roughly sketched the forefinger, the thumb, and the general proportions of the wrist and hand, we should then pay a little more attention to the hand itself, the back of which lies like a flat upright line breaking into small indications of the second or third knuckle.The first knuckle is slightly indented, and the root of the first finger descends in a firm swelling curve to the folded muscle of the thumb.

The thumb presses inward against the reel, and, marking the angle of its nail, we sketch the firm long line of the knuckle down the swelling curve to the root of the thumb, behind which we have the lower swelling curve of the palm.

The first finger and the shape of it must be carefully noted. My fingers, though long, are plump, and yours may present sharp bone and knuckle. I trust that they may, for bony substances are easier to draw. Their shape is clean and