Sculpting a Hand

This is a focused hand-sculpting workflow for production-ready hands before retopology or skinning.

The tutorial reference used for this page is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7s7qL33ABs.

Suggested workflow

1. Block basic volumes: palm, fingers, thumb, knuckles, wrist transition.
2. Define broad anatomy planes:
   • Flexion direction.
   • Joint hierarchy.
   • Webbing and knuckle spacing.
3. Refine silhouette first, then micro detail.
4. Add tendons and skin folds only after topology intent is consistent.
5. Keep fingertip pads and nail beds clean and evenly shaped.
6. Decide if the sculpt is for deformation or display before baking details into normals.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Over-defining tiny details too early.
• Inconsistent side-to-side proportions.
• Too sharp a crease near knuckle roots that later causes bad joint deformation.

After sculpting, continue directly into: Retopologizing a sculpted hand.