Page:Drawing for Beginners.djvu/68

 almost square shape of the palm. Once you have the larger proportions of fingers and thumbs well fixed in your mind it will not be difficult to observe each finger each knuckle each finger-tip separately.

The rather listless fingers (No.II, Fig.16) can be indicated on the same lines; the fingers, though they are separated can be first blocked in together. When drawing a hand holding a ball be sure that the hand does hold the ball. I would emphasize the point that often, very often, young artists draw a hand holding a ball, or a pen or a hockey-stick, and so absorbed do they become in drawing the fingers that they neglect the object the fingers are clasping, with the result that it appears in a distorted form.

And the excuse offered generally is: "I had to draw it in such a way or the fingers would not have come right."

When drawing a hand grasping an object draw first the pen, or whatever the object may be, and fit the fingers round it, rubbing out later the part which is hidden. If the thing held is straight or round, obviously it must be drawn straight or round.

Have you seen an X-ray photograph of a hand, or held your fingers up to a bright light and seen through the film of pink flesh the dim shape of the bones? Muscles, tendons, veins, flesh, and dimples attract our attention. The bones we are inclined to neglect.

Indeed, it is curious how fond we are of looking for things that matter not at all.

For instance, how often do we see a hand pleasantly but feebly drawn! We wonder vaguely what might be wrong. Ten