How To Draw An Arm

Drawing an arm, while seemingly simple, requires some attention to detail. You want to start by sketching out the basic shape of the arm. Start with the shoulder, which can be a simple rounded line.

Then, draw the upper arm as a tube-like shape. The elbow is a little tricky - it's not as simple as a bend in the arm. Think of it like a slightly deflated ball at the end of the upper arm. Next, draw the lower arm, which tapers in slightly at the wrist. Again, think tube-like shape but with a slight curve.

Finally, add the hand and fingers. Make sure to pay attention to proportions here, as hands are actually quite large compared to the arm. And voila! You have an arm.

Although I love drawing, as far as human body parts go an arm is particularly fascinating. The reason is that it is full of convolutions to show how things are made up and what kind of action they make sometimes.

First of all, sketch a simple outline of the arm. For the upper arm, I sketch a cylinder and for the lower arm, I do two interlocking cylinders as muscles. The elbow is drawn out as a curve that connects the two parts together. Two things somebody must remember in human-anatomical proportions: the length of the two parts of the arm is about the same, and its elbow is roughly at about a position just below chest level.

Then, I begin to do detailed pencil drawing, showing muscle form. Normally, I add a little bump at the elbow and a larger one for the forearm muscles. Finally, I draw the hand, which ain’t easy. I start with a shape like the numbers 1–5 and then add in the fingers as long ovals extending from each number you drew.

Remember, the hand is about as long as the forearm分so don't make it too small! With a bit of light shading and additional details, viola: you've got a beautifully drawn arm. Just remember to practice hard and don't let yourself be discouraged if your arms don't come out perfect the first time. Mastery of drawing arms, same as anatomy of the body, takes time.