How To Draw Hands And Arms

The human body is something you would assume would be easy to draw. We each have one and see countless other human bodies in our lives, so it should be easy!

But artists who have tried to draw them will tell you that it can be incredibly difficult to draw any part of the body.

Human bodies are covered in specific muscles, skin, and bone structure, and if any of those elements are off it can wreck your whole image.

This step-by-step guide on how to draw arms will show you that if you know what to do then this challenge can be made much easier! how to draw arms in 6 steps

What's in this Blog Post

How to Draw Arms – Let's get Started!
- Step 1
- Step 2 – Start the shoulder and bicep of your arm
- Step 3 – Draw the forearm in this next step
- Step 4 – Next, Draw some muscle definition to your arm
- Step 5 – Draw the hand and erase your line
- Step 6 – Finish off your arms drawing with some color
- Your Arms Drawing is Complete!

How to Draw Arms – Let's get Started!

Step 1

The best way to draw any part of the human body is to break it down into simple shapes. For this first step of our guide on how to draw arms, you will need a light pencil.

We will be using a pencil for now because these shapes won't make it to the final image but will help you draw the muscles correctly.

Referring to the reference image closely, you can build up a series of rounded and oval shapes to represent the musculature of the arm.

Once you have it looking as it does in the image, you can start drawing the outline of the arm in the next step.

Step 2 – Start the shoulder and bicep of your arm

We will be using the shapes you drew in the previous part of your arms drawing to draw the shoulder and bicep of the first arm.

You could start using a pen for this stage, however I would actually recommend using a pencil until the arms are both drawn so that all the lines will go together properly in the final image.

With that part of the arm drawn, we shall move on to step 3.

Step 3 – Draw the forearm in this next step

You can continue drawing more of the arm using your guiding shapes from step one of this guide on how to draw arms.

The forearm will be thicker where it connects to the bicep and elbow but then get thinner as it goes down towards the wrist.

This step should be a bit easier, especially when you have your guiding shapes to aid you!

Step 4 – Next, Draw some muscle definition to your arm

This part of your arms drawing is a bit simpler to do, as we will only be adding a few small details.

Using some curved lines, you can draw under the shoulder and by the bicep to create some muscle definition.

This is the stage where it would be recommended to start using a pen if you haven't already.

We will be erasing the lines from step 1 in the next step, so that will be made much easier if these muscle details can't be erased along with them.

Step 5 – Draw the hand and erase your line

Getting to step 5 means you've made some great progress on your arms drawing already! In this step, we will be finishing off this ar while also drawing the other one.

Before you do that, however, let's finish this arm.

First, draw in a hand for this arm. The reference picture shows a simple hand design that you can replicate for your drawing.

Once that is drawn and you've added any final details, it's time to get out your pen.

You can go over any lines that will show up in the final image with your pen or a dark pencil. Once that is done, simply go back and erase the lines of the shapes from step 1.

Be sure to let the ink dry before you start erasing, however!

If you would like to draw a second arm to go along with this one, then you could do so with this very guide! You can draw in a chest as it appears in the reference image.

Then, you could download each previous step and then reverse each image to start over just on the other side. You've done it once before, so this time should be a breeze for you!

Step 6 – Finish off your arms drawing with some color

The last step of this guide on how to draw arms is a fun one! You've done the hard work of drawing some arms, so now you get to kick back and have some fun coloring it in.

There are many different ways that you could go about coloring your image. You could draw a line somewhere on each arm to make it look like a shirt sleeve that you can color in.

If you're feeling extra creative, then you could design some awesome tattoos on the arms that would let you use any colors that you love! The possibilities for you to stretch your creativity are endless.

Once you know what colors you would like to use, which art mediums will you use to finish off your arms drawing?

We will look forward to seeing how you express your color creativity to finish your image.

Your Arms Drawing is Complete!

You have successfully finished your arms drawing now that you have reached the end of this guide!

Drawing arms is no easy task, so you should be extra proud of completing this guide.

Anyone will tell you that drawing the human body can present any amount of challenges, so we hope that this guide made it fun and easy for you to learn.

Now that you have finished your arms drawing, it's up to you to bring it to life in a way that you love!

There are many options, from adding clothing, tattoos, using fun color mediums or even by drawing a lovely background! How will you personalize your incredible arms drawing?

There is more drawing fun in store for you on our website, so be sure to check in often to make sure that you never miss a new guide!

We upload more awesome step-by-step guides very often, so there's a guide for everyone to enjoy!

We would be thrilled to see how you finished off your arms drawing, so please do share your arms drawing on our Facebook and Pinterest pages! We can't wait to enjoy your incredible creativity. how to draw arms in 6 easy steps