How to Draw a Fist
Hello and welcome!
If you’re new here, this is Anatomy of a Sketch, where I teach art tutorials all about the human form.
Today we will learn how to draw a fist from 4 different angles!
My goal is to teach you how to draw a fist easily, without making it confusing or hard to understand.
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Today we will be drawing a fist from both the inside view and the outside view,
as well as from a front view (knuckles forward),
and lastly, a raised fist.
Let’s get started with a couple of easy sketches!
How to Draw a Fist Step By Step
A closed fist is typically found in boxing and fighting poses. Closed, meaning the thumb is wrapped tightly over the first two knuckles.
Let’s look at how to draw a closed fist,
and learn how to draw a fist from the side, but precisely from the outside view.
View #1. Draw a fist from an outside view
In Step 1. below, we draw the fist as a box.
The wrist is a circle, with lines above and below.
In Step 2. we shade the front of the knuckles and draw a line in the center.
This center line will be the outside edge of the fingers.
In Step 3. we draw a circle for the thumb and start outlining the underside of the fingers.
In Step 4. we will draw the front of the fingers and the knuckles,
as well as outline the rest of the fist.
In Step 5. below, you will notice the “X” inside of the pinky finger.
This helps give us a visual when drawing the creases in the skin.
In Step 6. above, you can now see the start of the final linework,
and in step 7. We have our finished drawing. (Minus the purple sketch lines.)
View #2. Draw a fist from an inside view
Next, let’s look at drawing a fist from the opposite direction!
We will draw a fist from the side again, but this time we’re drawing it from the inside view.
Starting with step 1. we will draw a box again, this time with a long swooped line from knuckles to center.
In step 2. we define the wrist and draw a circle for the thumb.
In step 3. we attach the line for the wrist and draw the underside of the thumb and front knuckles.
Below, we have steps 4-6.
Step 4. shows the highlighted outline of the fist.
In step 5. we begin sketching out the final linework, adding creases in the skin and darker lines.
Step 6. shows us the final finished image!
View #3. Draw a fist from the front view
First, let’s look at the finished image.
The most prominent feature when drawing a punching hand, or fist bump, is the front of the fingers and the knuckles.
Let’s go ahead and look at the steps:
Step One: Draw a Box
In step one, we will draw a box/square shape for the front of the fist.
Next, we will draw a triangular form on the side that wraps below for the thumb.
Step 2: Draw an outline that includes the knuckles
Next, let’s outline our image.
The pinky knuckle should be almost flat on top,
the next knuckle will have more of a rounded top,
the middle knuckle is somewhere between round and triangular,
and the first digit knuckle is typically round.
Step 3.
Next, let’s look at where the knuckles are:
It’s important to understand where knuckles are in the hand so that we can draw curves appropriately.
Step 4: Final rough outline
In this first image, you can see that my lines are a little hairy and that I still have sketch marks.
This is because I draw my images 2-3 times before I do my final linework.
Especially with hands, I really want to make sure I get each and every angle just right!
Step 5: Linework
Lastly, I finish my linework.
In this last image, you can see the thumbnail, creases in between the fingers, and the different skin folds in the palm and side of the hand.
View #4. How to draw a raised fist
Last but not least, let’s draw a raised fist!
This is my finished illustration,
Let’s look at the process below:
Step One: Draw a Square shape for the hand
Step Two: Outline the Palm and the Thumb
Step 3: Outline the fingers
Step 4: Draw details and finish linework
Notice the curves in the hand,
it doesn’t look completely flat on any side, and each knuckle is defined.
Thank you for learning with me today!
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below.
I read every comment, and try to answer back as quickly as possible.
If you are interested in furthering your art and illustration skills, even more, keep reading!
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Thank you for being here today and learning how to draw a fist with me!
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