Intricate Beauty of Hands and Feet Captured in Colorful Pencil Drawings

Colored pencil hand drawing by Lui Ferreyra

Drawing hands and feet is notoriously tough, but Denver-based artist Lui Ferreyra makes it look effortless with his incredible artwork. He uses vibrant colored pencils to break down complex shapes into bold blocks of hatched patterns that together form the subtle curves of our fingers, palms, and toes.

Ferreyra’s distinct style is reminiscent of the intricate contours you’d see on a topographic map, guiding the viewer's eyes along the organic pathways of human hands and feet. Each section is carefully colored to capture the shadows and highlights of the intricate body parts, highlighting their often overlooked beauty.

Although Ferreyra’s patchwork style is arguably abstract, he manages to capture the human form with captivating realism. Every vein, line, finger nail, and wrinkle is rendered with precision. “When I was a child my dad showed me one of those graphics made up of a bunch of dots that are supposed to determine whether you’re color blind or not,” Ferreyra recalls. “At first, I didn’t see anything and I thought he was kidding around, but after a focused effort, I discovered a hidden number that emerged out of the jumbled mess of dots.”

During this moment, the artist discovered the magic of color. “I think that was probably when I fell in love with the notion of deconstructing the visual field,” he explains. “It showed me, way back then, that an image didn’t need to be photorealistic—that you could represent an image partially and the viewer’s mind could finish the rest.”

When he’s not drawing hands and feet, the artist draws beautiful portraits. To stay up to date with his prismatic artwork, you can follow Ferreyra on Instagram.

Denver-based artist Lui Ferreyra creates detailed drawings of hands and feet using colored pencils.

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

He uses bold blocks of hatched patterns to capture shadows and highlights.

Colored pencil hand drawing by Lui Ferreyra

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Lui Ferreyra (@ferreyralui)

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

Colored pencil hand drawing by Lui Ferreyra

Colored pencil hand drawing by Lui Ferreyra

Ferreyra’s distinct style is reminiscent of the intricate contours you’d see on a topographic map.

Colored pencil hand drawing by Lui Ferreyra

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Lui Ferreyra (@ferreyralui)

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

Colored pencil hand drawing by Lui Ferreyra

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

Hand and feet drawings by Lui Ferreyra

Colored pencil hand drawing by Lui Ferreyra

Lui Ferreyra: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Lui Ferreyra.

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100+ Drawing Ideas That Will Get You Sketching Right Now

20 Pencil Drawing Ideas To Inspire You To Start Creating

Emma Taggart

Emma Taggart is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met. Originally from Northern Ireland, she is an artist now based in Berlin. After graduating with a BA in Fashion and Textile Design in 2013, Emma decided to combine her love of art with her passion for writing. Emma has contributed to various art and culture publications, with an aim to promote and share the work of inspiring modern creatives. While she writes every day, she’s also devoted to her own creative outlet—Emma hand-draws illustrations and is currently learning 2D animation.
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