First we'll block out the underlying structure of the model low poly. There are three stages of working up to high poly. Personally I find it extremely frustrating and time consuming to try and sculpt without these tools set to hot keys any more. All these tools I have set up to hot keys so I can access them quickly and easily, because I'll be using them frequently. Of course there will be a few other features I use here and there as well.

The tools I use here in Maya are May's Split Polygon tool, Maya's Split Edge Ring tool, Extrude Face, MJ Poly Tools, APE Split, NEX and Active smooth. Don't hesitate to try your own methods when it comes to your own models. Where you stop depends how many of them you use and again what you're needs are of the model.

These patterns work in some extent from low poly up into high poly models. I just start out in one place with my patterns I've developed, but each model takes me to a different result depending on its look and function. No two hands I've ever built use the exact same patterns of geometry. By no means what I am about to show a rule of any kind. If I can develop some sort of work flow, the production becomes easier and quicker, which is always one of your goals in production. Patterns that if I start with, as I go on the amount of work I have to do, such as trying to figure out how to cut in a shape has become limited. When it comes to characters, or any other complex things that I know I will have to model over and over, I will sit down and spend time developing these patterns. What I can provide you with are general patterns of geometry that usually give you a foundation to keep carving more and more geometry on and end up with what ever model you like. It really depends on what you want it to look like and what you want it to do.

Young, old, male, female, high poly, low poly, in pose, for rigging, etc and on and on. It's something very dependant on the type of hand you want to make. Writing a tutorial for something like modeling a hand is a difficult thing. I'll cover some of the tools I use and more importantly the patterns I implement. A lot of the knowledge you need to do this is anatomy and observation. In this tutorial we will cover some of the methods I use to model a hand.

Maya hand model