If you’re reading this, you likely already have an appreciation for references and know how crucial they can be for your piece. 

Whether it’s an image, tutorial, or blockouts, using references as a guide can quickly take your drawing from average to excellent, adding a heightened sense of realism and believability. Keep reading to discover our top 5 hand references for CG artists:

Hand References

Hands - Reference Pictures for Creators

With this pack, you receive 524 photos containing a variety of hand positions. Whether hands are the focal point of the artwork, or a minor aspect, realistic poses and proportions of hands are key nonetheless. 

With high resolution images, this reference set has a rating of 5 stars and is highly praised by Marc Brunet, our fearless leader at Cubebrush, who used this exact pack for a lengthy in-depth tutorial.

Male Hands, Arms, Legs & Feet Reference Pictures

Parallel to its female counterpart, this set includes comprehensive photos of hands, arms, legs, and feet in different positions. The reference pack is great for those first learning how to draw human anatomy accurately.

With over 30K followers on Instagram, Grafit Studio provides a plethora of reference pictures, educational material and assets, as well as their own illustrations and conceptual CG art. Their reference packs range from landscapes and vehicles to humans.

Hand Tutorials

How to Draw Hands

The video lessons cover:

• Anatomy of the hand bones, muscles, tendons and fat
• How to simplify forms
• Drawing hands from imagination
• Drawing details of hands such as wrinkles and fingernails
• Drawing cartoon hands
• Drawing demos of various hand poses
• Foreshortening hands
• Female hands

The 28-file package also includes assignments, assignment examples, student critiques, 3D turnarounds, and ebooks.

Hands Tutorial

For more stylized hands, this hand tutorial package will cover the basics of developing a distinct aesthetic. It contains:

• 5K PSD
• 5K JPG
• Video process without voiceover

With over 90K followers on Instagram, Axsens is a popular 2D digital artist who is known for unique stylized characters. Although she is most active on Patreon, many of her best-known tutorials are also featured on her Cubebrush store. 

ZBrush Anatomy Sculpting: Hands

This pack includes a two-hour tutorial in which you will learn to draw a hand from block to final product. This includes laying out proportions, constructing forms, and posing the hand. All in ZBrush, one of the best digital sculpting tools for CG artists, you can learn to draw an incredibly realistic, detailed and interactive hand in multiple poses.

The artist, Brendon Isaiah Bengtson specializes in 3D modeling and texturing as a way to tell stories through characters, props, and environments. This tutorial focusing on hands is the first of his planned series covering ZBrush anatomy sculpting, so be sure to follow his Cubebrush store for more to come.

Hand Assets

CHEAT Brushes - Female Hands

This female hand set will lead to quick and minimal-effort poses for your characters. Compatible with Photoshop CS6+ and after, the pack includes distinct handmade brushes in 10 common poses. Due to demand, a more extensive set was released, which can be found here. While this set is ideal for beginners, it can also come in handy for professionals who are ever in a time crunch.

Previously mentioned, artist Marc Brunet (otherwise known as @Bluefley on Instagram) is highly regarded in the art world, with over 250K followers on Cubebrush alone. His content is known for being comprehensive and informative, and covers a vast range of topics, from brush packs and references to art study schedules and tutorials. Check out his Cubebrush for more.

ZBrush - IMM Hands Blockouts Brush

This MultiMesh brush insert consists of 58 different hand blockouts for ZBrush. These range from standard human hands to monster hands, mutations, and stylized forms. 

With an average of 5 stars, this pack is meant to be versatile and useful to newbies and experts alike. You can also try the free sample before choosing to purchase the full set. Note that this set can only be used in 2021.6.2 versions of ZBrush and after.

Alonso Caballero Guerrero is a 3D artist based in Peru, who focuses on stylized character sculpting, 3D concepts, animation, and more. His primary medium is ZBrush, with which he has created multiple blocks for both head and hand blockouts, which can be sourced through his Cubebrush store.